One freshman said she may go to one House in large part because it has no reputation. "When we were thinking of Quincy, everybody said that it's a good House because it has no stereotype," said Nicolette D. Mayer '88.

The council poll substantiated the freshman attitude that the Houses do not represent what administrators have called the "ideal microcosm" of the College population.

While more than half of students polled by the council said they thought achieving diversity in the Houses was important (and less than one in three said it was not), only slightly more than one in five said the current choice-based lottery achieved this ideal:

Jaime A. Capella '88 said a lot of freshmen are afread go to a House with a particular stereotype because they might acquire the reputation. He said he ad his roommates eliminated at least two Houses because of their stereotypes.

Push For Diversity

Although Masters have no control over who ultimately ends up in their Houses, Masters often encourage freshmen from a wide array of backgrounds and interests to put their House at the top of the list.

Mather Master David Herlihy and Lowell Master William H. Bossert told The Crimson in February that they have tried to create an atmosphere that is attractive to minorities, mainly by letting them know that minority groups have been happy in their Houses in the past.

Kirkland Master Donald H. Pfister said he and former Masters have combatted the underrepresentation of women in that House by "encouraging" them to put Kirkland first on the list.

Masters at Adams, Quincy, Winthrop and North said they do not recruit, even on an informal basis. "I feel awkward going out and saying 'You're a politically desirable minority--come to Winthrop House,'" said Winthrop Master James A. Davis.

All the anxiety--or most of it--will end in less than three weeks, when freshmen wake up to a computer printout on their doorstep. If the lottery goes as in years past, nearly 70 percent will be wearing smiles to break fast as they ponder life for the next years in their first-choice House