And while they wanted to cut down on the number of large blocking groups in which students were not close friends with all of their blockmates, they also hoped the smaller block size would make groups less cliquish and more involved in the larger House community,

If there is a consensus on the issue, it is that the change has not drastically affected House life one way or another. The process of picking a blocking group is still stressful, rooming difficulties still arise, and most students still do not know all of their classmates in their House.

“I’m not sure this is one of the tools you can adjust to really change the House system,” concludes Chopra, who says he supports an increase to 12 but doubts that the system will be reviewed.

As long as masters and administrators—and most first-years, who from this year on will have no memory of the old group size—remain satisfied with the eight-person groups, it seems unlikely to be headed for review, leaving intact the legacy of the Class of 2003 as the hesitant pioneers of the reigning system.

—Daniel P. Mosteller and Jenifer L. Steinhardt contributed to the reporting of this story.

—Staff writer David C. Newman can be reached at dnewman@post.harvard.edu.