The answer, it seems, is that no matter how cramped the dorm room or tasteless the food, Harvard's houses provide a sense of camaraderie and belonging which is hard to reproduce off-campus.
The tradition of identifying with a particular house is so firmly entrenched at Harvard that it plays a major role in keeping the majority of undergraduates on-campus, Millett says.
"So much of going to Harvard is living is a house," says Millett. "It's a way of identification. When you talk about Harvard, people talk about what house they lived in."
Even off-campus students sing the praises of the positive aspects of house life, choosing to remain tied to their assigned houses as non-resident affiliates.
"Harvard has a strong and centralized, active house system and if everyone moved off, it would have a negative impact," Bull says.
Haled says students should try living in their assigned houses for at least one year after leaving the Yard, because house life gives undergraduates a chance to make friends.
"There's definitely something to be said about the house system," says Haled. "There's definite bonding that goes on there."
Students who do decide to move off-campus often find and apartment through Harvard Real Estate, Inc., which lists both Harvard-owned and private homes. The agency also matches up students looking for roommates.
Harvard's low percentage of off-campus students is surprising when compared to the much higher rates at other Ivy League colleges.
At the University of Pennsylvania, for example, about 56.5 percent of undergraduates live off-campus this year, according to Eleni Zatz, director of off-campus housing Traditionally, the university has not been residential, Zatz says.
But the surplus of inexpensive student apartments in Philadelphia is what really encourages students to move off-campus, she says.
"Students live off-campus because it's cheaper," Zatz says. "There are some vacancies on campus. This leads me to believe that people choose to live off-campus."
At Brown University, 23 percent of undergraduates live off-campus, according to Gail Medbury, director of rental facilities at Brown.
The number of non-resident students at Princeton University rose slightly this year, with about 7 percent of all undergraduates living off-campus now, according to Randi Schweriner of the Princeton undergraduate office.
Since first and second-year students are required to live on-campus, this figure translates to 10 percent for juniors and seniors.
"Housing in Princeton is becoming cheaper with the recession," said Schweriner.
A Different Experience
So far, the recession hasn't worked any wonders at bringing nosebleed-high Cambridge rents within student-budget range.
But for that 3 percent of Harvard undergraduates seeking independence and sunny suites with singles and a kitchen, the benefits go a long way toward balancing out the cost.
"It's a different student experience," says Putsches. "I don't know whether it's better or worse; it's different."