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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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. 

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.

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.  

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 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.

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.