Residential Life
Source: https://college.harvard.edu/student-life/residential-life Parent: https://college.harvard.edu/admissions/apply
Video description:
Aerial of Harvard, students in dining hall, and hanging out by Charles River
Residential Life
Overview
Home at Harvard
At Harvard, you'll meet friends in expansive libraries and historic classrooms. You'll uncover cozy reading nooks, stumble across sun-kissed lawns, and discover the joys and frustrations of roommates and late-night study sessions. As you grow more familiar with the faces and places around you, you'll begin to recognize something else: a feeling of belonging. Make yourself at home.
First-Year Students
Life in the Yard
First-year students live in dorms with shared suites adjacent to Harvard Yard and eat the majority of their meals in Annenberg Hall. This is a place of far-ranging conversations where you'll get to know fellow new students. The dorms are grouped into larger clusters called Yards (Crimson, Elm, Ivy and Oak). Here, you'll engage with your peers during the many activities designed for first-year students.
First-Year Living
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First-Year Living
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Entryways and Yards
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First-Year Experience Office
Dean of Students Office
From student-led social events to campus-wide traditions, the Dean of Students Office is here to enhance your experience.
Learn more about the Dean of Students Office
Upper-Level Students
A House Away from Home
The Residential Community system is one of Harvard's best known traditions. In the second semester of your first year, on Housing Day, you'll receive your sophomore year residential affiliation to one of Harvard's 12 Houses. Each House accommodates between 350 and 500 students. Alternatively, you can join the Dudley Community, which serves a small community of undergraduates including Visiting Undergraduate Students, Dudley Co-Op residents, and off-campus students. The Houses and the Dudley Community help create close-knit communities within the broader College. You will be introduced to your unique residential community during Sophomore Orientation.
Upper-Level Students
Learn more about the 12 Houses
Dining
Meals are the backdrop to some of the College's most rewarding experiences: sharing stories, debating ideas, forming friendships.
Learn more about undergraduate dining
House Renewal
House Renewal
Harvard’s House system is one of the most unique features of our undergraduate experience. Ensuring its excellence and vitality in the 21st century is critical to our educational philosophy. Harvard is undertaking a major renewal of the Houses creating a home where students can bring together their academic, social, and personal passions and pursuits. This program is proceeding smoothly with the sixth House (out of 12) now in renewal.
### Watch the video about Winthrop House Renewal
Cambridge & Boston
Boston and Cambridge combine New England charm with modern innovation, an impressive culinary scene, and youthful energy. We'll help you make the many opportunities that surround you a part of your residential experience.
Related Stories
- [### First-Year Student Housing Explained
Author:
Nadine Class of '22 Alumni](https://college.harvard.edu/life-at-harvard/student-stories/first-year-student-housing-explained) - [### Finding Family: A Home away from Home
Author:
Braeden Class of '21 Alumni](https://college.harvard.edu/student-life/student-stories/finding-family-home-away-home) - [### Ten Things I Love About Currier House
Author:
Maria Class of Alumni](https://college.harvard.edu/student-life/student-stories/ten-things-i-love-about-currier-house)
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Related Topics
[### Campus
From our libraries to our museums, our support services to our common spaces, our campus is teeming with resources to guide your experience.](https://college.harvard.edu/about/campus)
[### Student Activities
Activities outside the classroom help you explore new interests, grow your talents, and make new friends.](https://college.harvard.edu/student-life/student-activities)
[### Health & Wellbeing
From fitness, to mental health, to peer support, Harvard has everything to keep you well. Read more about the health and wellness resources available.](https://college.harvard.edu/student-life/health-wellbeing)