On pages three, four, and five of this issue is a complicated compilation of the facilities, masters, floor plans, social hierarchies, and what have you of the seven Houses. What all this reveals is that there are some surface dissimilarities among the Houses, just about enough to create mild preferences in the minds of applicants.

But before the present freshman class succumbs to rumors blowing up from the river and starts beating its heads at the doors of "the" House with fervent pleas, it is a good time to de-emphasize the differences. Basically, the best criterion for picking a House is the number of friends you have there or expect to have there.

Some Houses are supposed to be "better" than others. They may acquire this reputation because their masters have strong personalities, because their food is better, their squash courts more resilient, and so on. There are personality differences among the Houses; there are even large personality differences in two or three cases. But the important thing is that everyone will be in a House next year, and that nearly everyone will be well satisfied with his choice.