Oddly enough, if the answer to either of these questions is yes, Mather will suit you perfectly. On the one hand, the house's high concentration of sweatpants and baseball caps is rapidly increasing its fame as "the other Kirkland." On the other side of the spectrum, you'd be hard-pressed to find more math majors congregated in one place outside the third floor of the Science Center than you would in Mather.

Before you get too excited, realize there's a catch: while the house is a veritable haven to those diverse passions, the same can't be said for those on the spectrum between the two extremes. Mather is a very cliquish house, and, well, a lot of people don't fit into a particular clique.

Luckily, the house's facilities partially make up for its social fragmentation. True, the concrete doesn't make for the most beautiful setting, but the house--which has two buildings, a low rise and a tower--is quite functional. To begin with, the food is the best you'll get along the River this side of the Guest Quarters Suite Hotel. And if you live here, you can drop the word "double" from your vocabulary, since you'll have a cozy little (yes, this does mean little) bedroom all to yourself for three years.

If you live in the tower (as most seniors and some juniors do), you'll actually have a single bedroom the size of most people's common rooms, with the catch that, well, you won't have a common room yourself. In the tower you'll also have the bonus of an unobstructed view of Peabody Terrace (with Boston in the background).

Although it may take a while to get used to Mather's factional social atmosphere, its well-above-average living arrangements should offset this drawback and make living in this house a pretty pleasurable experience.

North

The way most Harvard houses are set up, with entries usually consisting of only two rooms per floor, you'd think the planners designed them specifically so that you could get through your college years seeing as few people as possible.

Luckily, there's one place on campus you can find a respite from this antisocial setting: North House.

Although it's one of the smallest houses, you end up knowing more people in this house than you do in most others. This comes largely due to the house's long hallways and centralized setup, both of which encourage frequent congregations.

Besides the impromptu gatherings, there are plenty of planned ones, too. Nights are spent hanging out at the grill, where those feeling unsatisfied by dinner can buy food ranging from frozen yogurt to cheesesteaks. Movies are frequently shown on the big screen TV in the grill area, often making the JCR a social hotspot at night. And then there are the old standbys: milk and cookies every Sunday night and open houses on Friday afternoons.

Those in the know have already found that North House has the best dining hall and some of the nicest rooms on campus. And you can't beat the great house masters, Woody and Hannah, whose enthusiasm and love for the house creates a genuinely friendly atmosphere.

The Quad will become home to you; it won't take long before you really appreciate the peacefulness and the spirit that every "Quadling" feels about where he or she lives. The walk is a stress reliever, and the shuttle bus is a way of making you feel like a sardine. It's all in the spirit of things, and everyone has fun. Welcome to North House! If you're lucky enough to have gotten assigned here, you're going to love it here.

Quincy

Quincy House is fine. Not great, but fine.

The rooms are fine. New Quincy rooms are spacious but ugly. Old Quincy rooms are nice but cramped. On the whole, Quincy rooms are OK. Nothing special. Just OK.