Cambridge’s many squares host a diverse array of stores, bars, restaurants, and coffee shops designed for the high-end college crowd. The town has been built over the centuries to integrate with and support the students and professors at MIT and Harvard, and there’s a sense of the college’s traditional colonial history in its architecture and offerings. Harvard students tend to stick to their side of the Charles and frequent the campus-adjacent pubs and breweries. Should they decide to head downtown to sample Boston’s college-heavy nightlife, Boston’s mass-transit system, the T, makes stops on campus. Nearby Allston, which Harvard is eying as an ideal location for science and technology expansions, is a little more industrial and gritty, unlike the quaint college-brochure charm of Cambridge.

Harvard’s red colonial buildings are arranged around a series of “yards,” similar to the series of squares that make up Cambridge. The college’s campus centers on Harvard Yard, which insulates freshman dorms, houses a number of administrative and academic facilities, and introduces scenic green space into the Cambridge landscape. Some residential houses are situated just south of Harvard Yard by the Charles River, while others extend across campus past the Yard and into the Quadrangle near Harvard Square. The majority of undergraduate buildings are located in the cluster created by Harvard Yard and Harvard Square, but Harvard’s graduate schools extend into Boston and neighboring Allston.

Weld is one of the most popular freshman dorms. A good location, elevator access, and spacious quarters add to its appeal. Stoughton is another popular one, due to its close vicinity to classes, good layout, and wood paneling. Other well-liked freshman dorms include Matthews, Grays, and Wigglesworth. Pennypacker is a dorm primarily known not for packing freshman into close quarters (I mean pennies--bad pun) but for being far from campus. To be honest, I think Pennypacker defeats the purpose of having freshmen conveniently situated, because Pennypacker residents must walk a good deal to attend classes and to eat at the freshman dining hall, Annenburg. Canaday is probably the most disliked freshman dorm. Really, it’s not THAT bad, because it’s very closely situated nearby classes, but when your friends live in very Harvard-esque beautiful buildings and you’re staying in one that’s extremely plain, you feel a little bit sad. The terrible layout makes Canaday one of the worst (if not the worst) Harvard dorms. Apparently, Canaday originated as a dorm to house Harvard students that rebelled and rioted (rioting being a very common occurrence in Harvard’s history). So when you wonder why you’re staying in a dorm that resembles a jail cell more than a student residence, you’ll understand. While upperclassmen dorms (called “houses”, like in Harry Potter!) are farther from classes on the whole, I prefer them because they are more spirited and closer to dining halls, which are smaller and more accommodating. One of the most popular upperclassmen dorms (the most popular one this year, according to freshmen) is Quincy. Quincy has a great location (being pretty much at the center of everything) and a fantastic dining hall. Unfortunately for most, upperclassmen dining halls are variable in their quality, but for Quincy residents, this is only a positive. Fabulous cookies and weekly ice cream are noted Quincy attractions. Other popular houses include Adams (closest location to classes), Kirkland (closest to many eateries and the gym), and Lowell (again, good location). Leverett Towers looks very “un-Harvard” in that it lacks the red brick, but is awesome because of its huge rooms and fantastically large windows. Unfortunately, your chances of staying here are slim unless you’re a senior in Leverett (sophomores and juniors tend to stay in Old Leverett, which isn’t that great). Other upperclass houses include Winthrop, Dunster and Mather. The last two are known for having bad locations and smaller rooms (though Dunster dining hall is one of the best). The Quad houses are the ones that tend to be furthest from classes. Freshmen tend to avoid the Quad because of its very inconvenient location, but once becoming Quad residents, they seem to change their minds, and they learn to love it. The rest of the residential houses can be found here, including Cabot, Currier, and Pforzheimer (PfoHo). Dudley, the 13th and final house, doesn’t house any students but provides food and social activities for interested grad students or off-campus undergraduates. On the whole though, Harvard dorms are awesome. Even if their dorm is “unpopular”, residents tend to love it anyway, because of the strong social bonds they develop with their housemates. Encased in red brick, wood floors, and ivy, Harvard dorms are beautiful things.

You might not expect Harvard to be a jock school, but the college boasts one of the largest Division I athletic programs in the country. Over 1,500 student-athletes compete on 41 varsity teams in the Ivy League conference. A dozen or so intramural sports pit residential houses against each other in sports like table tennis, kickball, dodgeball, and the annual Charles River Run. While its football team might not ever be coming to a BCS bowl game near you, students and alumni take pride in the storied history and traditions surrounding athletics at Harvard. The Harvard-Yale Regatta is one of the oldest continuous college rivalries in the country, with the first crew match dating back to 1852. And the annual Harvard-Yale football game (“the Game” to insiders) draws a huge crowd on every Saturday before Thanksgiving.