harvard freshman dorm tour

I'm a freshman at Harvard, living in the the famous Harvard Yards. From small dorm rooms to luxury commons spaces, here's what my dorm life is like.

• I'm a freshman at Harvard, and I live in Lionel Hall, which is in Harvard Yard. 
• I have three suitemates; we all share a common room and a bathroom.
• When I'm a sophomore, I'ill move into Harvard's house system. 

After growing up in a suburb of Chicago, I recently moved to the East Coast to study as an undergraduate at Harvard University .

About a month ago, I moved into my freshman dorm . I've enjoyed it here so far and wanted to share my experience with dorm living at the college .

Almost all Harvard freshmen live in Harvard Yard.

The land that is now Harvard Yard was purchased in 1637, making it the oldest part of the university. The John Harvard statue and some academic buildings are located here, and it's home to most freshmen on campus.

Dorms are scattered throughout the yard, but it's all very walkable.

I'm a proud resident of Lionel Hall, one of the smallest dorms for Harvard freshmen.

Halls are the individual buildings on campus, and they house anywhere from 15 to 250 people. Lionel has about 35 residents, and we're tucked away in a courtyard near the perimeter of campus, so we don't get many tourists in our area. It's very close to Annenberg, the freshman dining hall, and the Science Center, which is great for a STEM-leaning student like me. 

During weekend sports competitions, our building competes as a team against the other freshmen halls on campus. Go llamas!

I've gotten to know most of the students at Lionel.

Our proctor and peer-advisor fellows host study breaks every week, bringing us together for food and activities. Harvard also pays for social events for our building. This month, we're going to a Red Sox game against the Tampa Bay Rays. 

Because Lionel is so small, we've built a pretty strong community.

We can't pick our roommates, but the roommate form tends to work out pretty well.

Over the summer, incoming freshmen fill out a detailed roommate form that helps the school decide where students will live and who their roommates will be. 

The school tries its best to pick arrangements where students mesh well. It seemed to have worked in my case — my roommate and suitemates have been great so far.

Almost all freshman suites at Harvard have a common room, usually shared between three to five students.

Four people live in my suite. We use the common room to hang out with friends, keep supplies, and do work. 

All common rooms at Harvard have a desk, a chair, and a side drawer for each of the suitemates. Every suite sets up the common room differently, but it's a private space that connects the bedrooms and bathroom to the rest of the building.

My desk is useful, but it seems like most people get their work done in the libraries and other study spots around campus.

Although my desk is a good place to study between certain classes, the libraries are really great; two of them are open 24 hours a day and on weekends.

Students often meet up outside their dorms to study in small groups or pairs. But if I don't feel like leaving my dorm, I do my work here. 

My room is off the common room; I live in a double for the first semester.

Since our suite has three bedrooms, we'll each spend one semester in a double and the other in a single. I'm in the double first. It's on the smaller side, but it doesn't really bother me because there's so much to do and so many other spaces on campus that my roommate and I are almost never in the room. The singles are about the same size, and each room has a closet for storage. Some people in other dorms decided to debunk their beds, but we lack the space to make that convenient, so we're keeping our beds arranged as pictured. 

We're right next to a busy road, so we hear the occasional siren in the morning. The room itself is all right. It's nothing too special and I don't spend much time in it, but it's a place to sleep.

Our dorm has an en suite bathroom, which is fairly common for freshmen.

I'm glad I have a private bathroom; it's helped my transition to college life feel more comfortable. I don't have to carry around a shower caddy or worry about gross things in a larger shared bathroom, but it does mean my suitemates and I are responsible for the cleaning.  

It's very common for halls to have a collective common room as well, but Lionel does not.

While we don't have a common room, lots of other buildings do. I don't go into these spaces much, but they provide a place to meet for activities and hangouts.

After my freshman year, I'll move into the upperclassmen houses, which are even better.

After freshman year, students move out of Harvard Yard and get sorted into houses, which are 12 communities on campus that all have their own cultures, dining halls gyms, and activities. 

Generally, the rooms and dorm life get better as the years progress, and each house has access to its own laundry rooms, lawns, and common areas.

In the spring of freshman year, I'll participate in Housing Day.

On Housing Day, I'll be assigned a house and will live there for the rest of my time at Harvard. Although you can live in off-campus housing later on, most students don't choose this option. Houses build a strong sense of community for undergraduates.

For now, I hope to get the most out of my freshman experience with my current resident hall and my fellow classmates.

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All tours are 45 to 60 minutes long. Registration is required in advance for both in-person and virtual tours. Weekly tour registration will be available every Friday. You can download the Visit Harvard mobile app on iOS and Android devices. During business hours you may purchase a Self-Guided Tour Map for $3 available in multiple languages.

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Official Historical Tour of Harvard

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The Harvard and the Legacy of Slavery Walking Tour Experience explores Harvard University’s entanglements with the institution of slavery through a 10-stop tour around Harvard’s campus.

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General tour information.

The Harvard University Visitor Center offers several different types of tours. For our in person tour offerings on campus, we provide the Official Historical Tour of Harvard. All tours are provided to the public for free and to private groups for a fee. Our tours typically run 45-60 minutes.

To view the schedule and register for our free public tours (virtual and in person), please visit our Eventbrite page . To request a virtual or in person private tour, visit this link .

We also offer a free self-guided historical tour through the Visit Harvard mobile app, which you can download on iOS and Android devices. You can take this self-guided tour on campus or from the comfort of your own home.

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The in person Historical Tour of Harvard explores Harvard Yard. Tours depart from the Visitor Center which is located at the front desk in the Smith Campus Center. Our address is 1350 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138.

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Registered tour goers should arrive at the Visitor Center at least 15 minutes before your tour to check-in. Tours depart from the Smith Campus Center and end in Harvard Yard.

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What tours are being offered in the mobile app? Currently on the app, visitors can take a mobile version of our popular in-person and virtual tour, the Historical Tour of Harvard.

How long is the mobile tour? This self-guided tour takes place across 14 mapped stops through Harvard’s campus. At a standard walking pace, it will take between 45-60 minutes to complete the 1 mile long tour.

Can I take the mobile tour in-person or virtually? The mobile tour is designed to be accessed in-person on Harvard University’s campus, starting at the Harvard Visitor Center, located at the Smith Campus Center in Harvard Square (1350 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA). It can also be viewed from the comfort of your own home. Simply download Visit Harvard in the app store, select the Historical Tour of Harvard, and begin your journey!

Where can I download the Visit Harvard mobile app? You can download the Visit Harvard mobile app on the Apple App Store and Google Play . There is also a desktop version of the app you can access here .

Learn more about the Harvard College admissions process

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• Editor's Pick

First Year Housing Round Up

We know you’re all asking yourselves the same questions: where exactly do freshmen live? How do they get assigned dorms? Which dorms are the best? And, what is ~The Yard~? Prefrosh, we’ve got you covered. Welcome to Flyby’s first-year housing guide, where we’ll spill the deets about the housing process and dorm life during your freshman year!

Early in the Summer, you will fill out a housing application, indicating your lifestyle choices (how clean you are — don’t lie, how noisy you are, your sleep schedule, the essentials). You can also write a page elaborating on your preferences. Around mid-August, Harvard will send an email announcing your Yard (a group of dorms), dorm, entryway (20-40 students you live close to), and suitemates! Be prepared to see many (many) Instagram stories of people announcing their dorms. But before that, check out our rundown of the perks of living in each of the first-year dorms.

Ivy Yard consists of eight small but mighty dorms, most of which are located in the heart of the “Old Yard.” If you’re in Ivy Yard, you’ll never have to wake up before 8:50 a.m. for your 9 a.m. class. Although, you may occasionally get tourists peering through your windows.

Typical housing style: Holworthy suites consist of two doubles and one (very large!) common room. Residents share a bathroom with the other suite on the floor.

Nearby: The Science Center, Annenberg (food!), Hemenway (the Law School gym)

Amenities: Arts and crafts room, party space basement, music practice rooms, kitchen

Missing: Laundry room (many Holworthy residents have been seen lugging their clothes to Stoughton or Thayer), trash room

Fun facts: Holworthy has vertical entryways (a.k.a. no typically long college hallways), so you have to make an effort to get to know students in other entryways.

Typical housing style: Two roommates to a very, very large room. Doubles for days!

Nearby: The Science Center, Annenberg, Hemenway, Johnston Gate

Amenities: Laundry room, kitchen

Missing: Singles (a.k.a. bring your roommate a gift on the first day)

Fun facts: The Hasty Pudding Club held its first performance on the top floor!

Typical housing style: Like Stoughton, doubles so large you won’t know what to do with yourself!

Nearby: Johnston Gate, The T stop

Missing: Laundry (sorry friends, it’s a short walk next door to Stoughton)

Fun Facts: Hollis was built in 1763 and is super historic. Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau both lived in Hollis, but we promise them fleeing to the woods had nothing to do with the dorm.

Apley Court

Typical housing style: Apley has singles, doubles, and triples (the works)

Nearby: Smith Campus Center, Farkas Hall, Clover Restaurant, JP Licks, the MAC (gym)

Amenities: Laundry, bathtubs!!

Missing: Relevance

Fun facts: Marble… marble staircases! marble floors! And, most importantly, marble bathtubs!

Typical housing style: Triplets and quads, all with their own in-suite bathrooms

Nearby: PBHA, the Science Center, Annenberg, Pokeworks, Felipe’s

Amenities: Lionel shares its own courtyard with Mower

Fun facts: We’re not really sure if anyone actually lives here.

Extra perks: Mower shares its own courtyard with Lionel

Fun facts: Like Lionel, we’ve genuinely never met someone who lives here. But Al Gore did at one point.

Massachusetts Hall

Typical housing style: Doubles and singles

Nearby: Johnston Gate, The T

Amenities: President Bacow’s office ???

Missing: Windows

Fun facts: If you’re placed in Mass Hall, Harvard thinks you’re a goody-two-shoes who won’t throw parties in your room (and you probably shouldn’t). Mass Hall is the oldest building on campus and the only dorm that housed soldiers during the American Revolution!

Typical housing style: Suites of quads, with some doubles and triples. All rooms have in-suite bathrooms

Nearby: Widener, Boylston, Felipe’s, Source Restaurant

Amenities: Common room, kitchen, tiny courtyard shared with Matthews!

Missing: Laundry!

Fun facts: Straus is known for its old-academia style common room - perfect for discussions of Bridgerton season two.

Elm Yard is also in the heart of the Yard. If you live in this yard, you’ll undoubtedly be in the middle of students running to class, tourists, and many friendly squirrels and dogs.

Typical housing style: Suites of four with en-suite bathrooms and huge common rooms!

Nearby: Smith Campus Center, Boylston Hall, Widener Library, Harvard Square

Amenities: Serenity space in the basement.

Fun facts: Grays has an unofficial reputation as the “Hilton of Harvard” but we’re not really sure why. It’s not even that much nicer than Matthews or Weld, though it does have in-suite bathrooms. The suites on the fifth floor are great for hosting parties. Notable alumni include Malia Obama and Natalie Portman!

Typical housing style: Suites of three students with hallway bathrooms.

Nearby: Smith, Harvard Square, CVS, and the T!

Amenities: Multiple study spaces in the basement, cute library nook, two music practice rooms and a kitchen!

Missing: Matthews has literally everything — except an elevator.

Fun facts: Many Matthews do and have in fact lived in this dorm, including Matt Damon. Matthews also stands in the location of Harvard’s Native American College.

Typical housing style: A suite with doubles and singles! You may have an in-suite bathroom or use the communal bathroom.

Nearby: Widener Library, Lamont Library

Amenities: Weld Solarium, Yard Ops and Dorm Crew, laundry, an elevator!

Missing: Large common rooms.

Fun facts: Weld has it all, with extra Covid-19 tests and cleaning supplies in the basement. And, although we’ve been told you can’t really see stars from the Weld solarium, it’s the perfect study nook or late night date spot.

Oak Yard is the part of Harvard Yard that is furthest from the Square, but closest to the Science Center, Annenberg, and basically all of your classes (unless you’re an engineering student). If you live in this Yard, you will endlessly appreciate the ability to wake up three minutes before class and still be on time.

Typical housing style: Some hallway singles and a lot suites with a common room and four bedrooms that are mostly singles!

Nearby: The Science Center, Annenberg, Memorial Church

Amenities: Harvard College Women’s Center, vending machines, air hockey table, laundry room, kitchen

Missing: Elevators.

Fun facts: The top floor has skylights and really tall ceilings! Canaday is riot-proof which is why the entryways don’t connect and there are locks to both the hallway and rooms inside it — so rest assured, no one will break into your room. Living in Canaday can feel like being in a fortress, but the good news is it makes living in an upperclassman House feel like the Ritz.

Typical housing style: Doubles! Singles! Small suites that hold 2-3 people.

Nearby: Memorial Church, The Science Center, Annenberg

Amenities: Kitchen and common room space decked with a pool table, T, and laundry. Also, a functional elevator.

Missing: In-suite bathrooms — everyone uses hallway bathrooms (but they get cleaned for you!).

Crimson Yard

Crimson Yard isn’t in the traditional Harvard Yard, but if anything, that makes the community stronger. Crimson Yard is located a few minutes away from the Yard across Quincy street and has more of a neighborhood feel compared to the other freshman dorms. A plus is that you won’t have any tourists sticking their phones up to your window, trying to snap a pic of your dorm room.

Pennypacker

Typical housing style: Suites of four arranged in two doubles around a common room with in-suite bathroom.

Nearby: Food!! (Zinneken's, Berryline, Kung Fu Tea), The Barker Center, Lamont Library

Amenities: Home to WHRB, Harvard’s student-run radio station.

Fun facts: Pennypacker only has one central staircase, so you will be running into everyone. At all times.

Typical housing style: Suites of typically six people with an in-suite bathroom.

Nearby: Food!! (Hong Kong, Santouka), Lamont Library, Barker Center

Amenities: Laundry room, it’s very own ~lawn~

Fun facts: Everyone in Hurlbut is really close since there’s a backstair case that connects the suites together. We’ve also heard it has a particularly noteworthy vending machine.

Typical housing style: Big suites, typically of six, with in-suite bathrooms. Also has singles, doubles, and triples that share a hallway bathroom.

Nearby: Barker Center, Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts, Harvard Art Museum, Lamont

Amenities: Laundry room

Fun facts: Greenough has giant windows in common rooms with lots of natural light. You might have a beautiful view of Harvard Art Museums!

Wigglesworth

Typical housing style: Suite style, typically of 4-5 people, with an in-suite bathroom.

Nearby: Basically every interesting store and restaurant on Mass. Ave, since Wigg takes up a large portion of the street. Particularly noteworthy is the proximity to J.P Licks (ice cream!!), the Smith Center, and a Harvard Shuttle stop at Widener Gate.

Amenities: Music practice rooms, printer in the basement of Wigg-let, laundry room in Big Wigg, air hockey & ping pong!!

Missing: Quiet — the T runs under Wigg so sometimes students can hear/feel the train.

Fun facts: Wigg is the second biggest of the first-year dorms, composed of three buildings: Wigglet, Mid Wigg, and Big Wigg. It is also the former home of Bill Gates.

Maple Yard is the newest and coolest (literally true given that it has air-conditioning) Yard. It was created to house first-year student overflow, and contains some of the most coveted dorms. Unfortunately, all of Maple is away from the Yard like Crimson Yard, but the large rooms and numerous amenities make up for it.

Typical housing style: Doubles with in-suite bathrooms

Nearby: Food!! (Tatte, J.P. Licks), Lamont Library

Amenities: Several large study and social spaces, laundry, and practice rooms

Missing: The coveted ~old and traditional~ Harvard vibes, since it looks like (and used to be) a modern hotel

Fun facts: Everyone will make fun of you when you tell them you’re from the Inn. But don’t worry, they’re really just jealous of your air-conditioning.

Typical housing style: Apartment style rooms with bathrooms, kitchens and many singles along with large open common rooms.

Nearby: Next door to Starbucks, Broadway Marketplace (a small grocery store), and Harvard Art Museums.

Amenities: Your own bathroom AND kitchen, printers, and singles.

Missing: Proximity to the Yard. Once you leave your dorm for the day, you are probably not coming back for a while. Even Prescott NARPS have an excuse to get a scooter, but this is just good preparation for upperclassmen House Life.

Fun facts: A full sized fridge?? A bathtub?? A literal monster sized room?? This is peak housing.

While there are pros and cons to each first-year dorm, we promise that each offers a unique experience and will serve as a warm welcome to your new Harvard home. Here are some Youtube videos ( Straus , The Inn , Wigg ) that we found helpful when scavenging the depths of the internet for dorm information the summer before moving onto campus — you might too!

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Important note: Compared to other universities, Harvard housing is pretty darn nice. So this isn’t really a list going from good to bad, but rather, “What the fork this is DISGUSTINGLY beautiful” to “Eh. This is what I expected.” Proceed with caution.

Apley Court

Full of marble and people you’ll never see, Apley is right outside the yard and offers some of the country’s best freshman housing. If you have T.S. Eliot’s room on floor four, you have the best room for first-years, no question. What you trade in convenience of location you get back in weird animal feet on your private bathtubs. Formerly a high-security dorm for the “precious cargo” freshmen (aka the rich ones), it’s now filled with the luckiest of the Class of 2022/people who bribed the housing officers, half of whom will end up in the Quad. 

Everyone in Grays will remind you that they live in the Harvard Hilton, and unfortunately, they’re kind of right. While not technically as nice as Apley, the close proximity to food/class/fun makes this arguably the best freshman dorm. Your suite common room will be the de facto location for all friend hang-out sessions whether you like it or not. Also, if you’re in Natalie Portman’s room (Grays West, Floor 2), you’ll have the only suite in the yard with locks/the ghost of a black swan that materializes at 2am.

Everyone on the first floor will claim that JFK lived there, and everyone besides them will give not a single shit. That said, the six-person suites on Floor 1 are gorgeous, and the rest of the rooms aren’t too bad either. There’s a solarium on the top floor that provides spectacular views of the yard and is a secluded spot for Weld residents who don’t have singles. You gotta do what you gotta do. Just listen for footsteps on the stairs.

Honestly, we don’t really care for Thayer, but everyone else seems to like it so it’s in Tier 1. Um. It’s super close to Annenberg. And math/ec/science office hours. And most classes. And the rooms are big. Okay. We get it. 

Wigglesworth

Where a ton of you will be. Stretching along Mass Ave, living in Wigglesworth means you’ll become a temporary tourist attraction: If you’re on the first floor, you better enjoy random German visitors taking pictures through your window. Also the good vibrations of the T rumbling beneath you. But each entryway tends to grow really close, so...Tier 2!

Aside from move-in day, we have never actually seen someone enter or leave Holworthy. Like, who lives here? Have anyone besides Holworthy residents been inside? What we know: The proctors are apparently super nice, which is a plus. They hang adorable lights up during the wintertime—another plus. Alas, everyone forgets about it. Nevertheless, close proximity to food/class, so...Tier 2!

Despite its tragic name and status as a Union Dorm (i.e., off the yard by four minutes), Hurlbut will either provide you with a MASSIVE suite or a single. So it’s a pretty good deal. If you’re willing to go deep in the ‘but, you’ll find a charming common room and laundry machines, too. Nice rooms but distant from humanity, so...Tier 2!

So Matthews should really be in Tier 3. Like, the rooms are large but awkwardly designed. Lord have mercy on your soul if you live on the fifth floor, because no elevator + big stairs = rock-hard glutes by May. Despite these shortcomings, people seem to love Matthews. Also Matt Damon lived there, so...Tier 2!

“Did you know Mark Zuckerberg lived here? Oh yeah, he totally lived here. In that room. Oh, Mark. We go way back.”—every conversation with someone in Straus, about Straus, ever. The rooms are cozy but you can hear literally everything (and we mean everything) happening up and down the entryway. Also, tourists will definitely look in your window. But they have a gorgeous common room you can mooch off of, so...Tier 2!

Lionel/Mower

Rumor has it these are somewhere in the yard. Like, close to the Science Center or something. Please get back to us if someone finds this to be true. We’ve heard the kids living here become very tight-knit. We just don’t know where the fuck they live.

Clearly at the lower end of Harvard freshman dorms. But hey! You still have your looks. Like the homeschool of dorms, this contains criminally few kids  (approximately fifteen people), all of whom are housed above Larry Bacow. Which means you can’t be loud, or smelly, or disagreeable. Be prepared to weave through protestors of every sort when going to class. 

Fun fact: Greenough got it’s name from kids walking in, taking one look at the hospital-ward style green paint, and letting out a disappointed “green…..ohh.” That was a mediocre joke for a mediocre dorm. If you get a six-person suite, you’re set; if not, meep. Filled with awkward hallway doubles and lacking a strong sense of community (though this can really depend), Greenough has a few perks. And this writer lived there so...it’s okay to say that.

Pennypacker

The Quad of the freshmen dorms, we’re pretty sure Pennypacker is in Connecticut. We kid! It’s in Massachusetts, just really fucking far from civilization. The spiral staircase means you’ll inevitably see every face in the dorm (bonding!), and the rooms themselves are spacious and clean (quality!). But like. Consider investing in a bike.

Hollis/Stoughton

So unremarkable. We struggled to come up like, thirty words for these dorms. But you will have a huge double. So big you may not be able to see your roommate on the other side. But again, they’re still doubles. You’ll never be able to pick your nose in solitude. Sorry, bud. 

Do you like big windows and good views? Canaday has both, and also features close proximity to Annenberg. You might even get lucky and have a single in a suite.

More info here!

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View an Elm Yard Dorm

Filmed in spring 2022

Filmed in spring 2018

Grays , built in 1863,  was previously home to Natalie Portman and Frank Rich, and houses approximately 100 first-year students divided into three vertical entryways. Highlights of living in Grays include:

• A central location, spaciousness, hardwood floors,and large picture windows with excellent views of historic Harvard Yard.
• Room configurations include suites of quads and quints with in-suite bathrooms and large common rooms.
• Grays also houses the Serenity and Mindfulness Room, where you can find peace away from the stresses of college life.
• Located close to: Massachusetts Avenue and student favorites like  J.P. Licks  and  Mike's Pastry .

Matthews , completed in 1872, is named after Nathan Matthews and has been home to Matt Damon, Chuck Schumer, and Senator Barney Frank. Highlights of living in Matthews include: 

• A central location with two main foyers in the building that facilitate a strong sense of community. 
• Room configurations include suites of doubles or triples with shared hallway bathrooms and spacious suite common rooms.
• Matthews also contains the Ecker Reading Room, a cozy space for relaxing and studying, and two large practice rooms with pianos that are perfect for your collaborations with friends.
• Close to: student hubs like  Café Gato Rojo , Starbucks, and  CVS .

Weld  was constructed in 1873 through donations by shipping magnate William Fletcher Weld, in memory of his deceased younger brother, Stephen Minot Weld and was home to President John F. Kennedy during his first year. Highlights of living in Weld include: 

• Long open hallways, a central elevator to help with move-in, and a central location with a view of the Yard.
• Room configurations include mostly suites of quints and sextuplets with a mix of in-suite and hallway bathrooms,
• A hidden gem on campus is Weld's sun-filled "observatory" at the top of the building, a great study space with unparalleled views of campus.
• In the basement of Weld, you can find  Yard Operations  and  Dorm Crew , where one goes for toilet paper, free CFL light bulbs, or to ask for help with a problem relating to your room.
• Close to:   Widener , the John Harvard statue, and Harvard Square.

Katia Chadaideh, Ph.D.

It is my pleasure to be serving as Interim Resident Dean for Elm Yard, consisting of Grays, Matthews, and Weld halls. I am here to...

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