How does the Harvard housing system work?
First-Year students live in one of the seventeen dormitories located in and around Harvard Yard. Rooms are assigned based on a brief survey sent to admitted students. The survey asks questions like ���How many roommates do you want?���, ���How comfortable are you with noise?���, and ���What type of music do you listen to?���. After the first year, the majority of students move into one of the twelve residential Houses. Houses are assigned in March of a student���s first year. Rather than randomly assigning individual students to houses and scattering close friends, students can assemble into ���blocking groups��� of no greater than 8 students and each group is randomly assigned to a House. If 8 friends aren���t enough, two blocking groups can link themselves in the lottery. Linked groups will not be assigned the same House but are guaranteed to be assigned the same Neighborhood (e.g. The Quad).