First-year undergraduates live in the most visited area of the school, Harvard Yard. At the end of that year there's a lot of apprehension as you wait to see where the "randomized" lottery system has placed your blocking group of friends to live for the next three years. I was lucky enough to spend my last three years at Eliot House(http://www.eliot.harvard.edu/house/), which is one of 12 large dormitories in the college. The pro's about these Houses are that there's a tremendous amount of history behind each (http://www.college.harvard.edu/student/houses/histories/index.html) and you feel it. In fact, freshman year you're given a list of famous people who have stayed in your room. My friends were lucky enough to have Conan O'Brien come visit his old freshman room a few years ago! The history and greatness of these dorms are not really subject to contention... unless maybe you count the uni-bomber's one-man single room in Eliot House, that's just eerie. The convenience of these dormitories is also great, as they each have their own dining hall, laundry system, library, studies, gym, lounges, etc. For all intensive purposes, you could make your House at Harvard your college hangout. It's pretty swanky. Why 4/5 stars? Why are these not the greatest dorms? Well, with the exception of a few Houses, they all seem really old, somewhat dilapidated, and a little unclean. They try their best to clean things up, but at the end of the day, these buildings are extremely old and deserve a good make-up to modernize them a bit. For instance, few houses have elevators and most have at least 5 floors, but we could never imagine Harvard tearing up these historic buildings to install elevators. In conclusion, the dorms are historic, beautiful, and convenient, but tend to be worn on the inside.