As a first-year student, you'll live in one of four residential neighborhoods called Yards, which are located at the geographic and historic center of College life.
Fall 2021 First-Year Student Housing
First-year students are required to live on campus, and the College and the First-Year Experience Office share the goal of ensuring that every first-year student will be able to live in Harvard-affiliated housing. We also recognize the importance of the first year in building a sense of class identity.
For the 2021-22 academic year, we anticipate using 1201 Mass Ave and a series of apartments on Prescott Street adjacent to the Yard for first-year students. Both have been used in the past for Harvard-affiliated swing housing. These spaces will form a fifth yard and have dedicated staffing, including a Resident Dean and Proctors.
Community
One of the most rewarding experiences for first-year students is the opportunity to be a part of a close-knit residential community. Your dorm's entryway will be made up of between 20 and 40 students who will share your floor or another designated area within a building.
Accommodations
Most dorms have suites with two to four bedrooms and a common room and house between three and six students. A few have private bathrooms, but most share bathrooms with other suites. We assign students to suites rather than to specific bedrooms. In almost any suite, you should expect to share a bedroom for at least part of the year. Some dorms contain doubles, usually one fairly large room with a shared bath. Very few singles are available. All dorms and Harvard Yard are smoke-free.
Housing Assignments
You will receive an email with your housing assignment at the end of July or the first week of August.
