The housing process is a hallmark of the Harvard experience, connecting students to a new community that will remain constant for three years. But many sophomores are now getting shuffled into side buildings with separate communities, forced into the college’s ever-growing overflow housing.
To accommodate the large number of students in the Class of 2026, every House—except the largest, Leverett—is overflowing into additional buildings this year, including several Houses requiring additional space for the first time.
The Dewolfe buildings (Mather, Quincy, Dunster), the Prescott buildings (Kirkland and Eliot), Hampden (Adams), and the Harvard Inn (Adams) are now mainstays of dorm life. Ridgely (Lowell) and Fairfax (Winthrop), located on top of many Cambridge storefronts, will also be occupied. The Cronkhite Center (Cabot, Currier, Pforzheimer), formerly a graduate student dorm that was converted into a Covid-19 ward during the pandemic, is Harvard’s newest overflow destination.
Although overflow students are still considered House members, they remain physically separated from their peers, especially for those already distant from the primary part of campus in Quad dorms. Each overflow building tends to form its own distinct communities, much smaller than that of the main House. Some even have amenities not present in their corresponding Houses. DeWolfe’s suites are more apartment-like than traditional dorms, including full kitchens and air conditioning units. The Inn features a full lobby, carpeted floors, and one of the most modern designs among student housing.
Yet the ultimate separation from the physical House undercuts one of Harvard’s main selling points: its close-knit upperclassmen communities, with students often notified of their exclusion from this tradition only a month prior to move-in. Carina Myteveli, the Director of Housing and Residential Operations for Harvard College, stated that integrating these students is up to each individual House. “[The Houses] have been planning carefully for their expanded physical footprint in terms of programming, housing assignments, and community-building projects,” she said. “They are eager to work with and to hear from students about their experiences in these spaces.”
The ongoing renovations on each House are usually cited as the primary contributor for requiring overflow units. As the University continues cycling through updates on each House with more modern amenities and increased space, large sections of the old Houses are closed off, necessitating more buildings to house the remaining students. The current renovations of Adams House and Randolph Hall, ongoing since 2019, have forced several Adams students to relocate to overflow housing for the past few years. Myteveli also cited increased gap years due to COVID as a factor behind recent large classes. “These students, approximately 300, returned to campus at the same time in addition to the incoming First-Year class,” she said. “This created an usually large class that will be going through the Houses in the next three years.”
However, Harvard’s admissions policies have also contributed to the increased housing demand. An increase in applicants and fewer available admitted spots have led to a lower acceptance rate in recent years, yet the College still struggles with larger-than-expected class sizes. Even before the rapid increase in Covid-induced deferrals, the rate of students accepting their admittances was rising, with the last few years of attendance rates higher than most of Harvard history.
The Harvard Gazette has highlighted the yield for the Class of ‘26 as “historically strong” due to the wide range of opportunities and programs drawing in more people. Harvard’s recent financial aid and first-generation recruitment initiatives ease the decision to accept for many. While these incentives have helped individual students, it has also led to difficulties with accommodating them.
Harvard must scramble each year to provide necessary amenities as these larger classes progress into higher grades. Some former renovation-induced displacement housing from 2021 was converted into general overflow housing for the larger Class of 2025, many of whom deferred enrollment in 2020, representing the first freshman class on campus after the pandemic hiatus. First-year proctors reported feeling increased stress and burnout as they struggled to manage and mentor so many assigned students.
If Harvard’s yield rates continue to rise as many more students apply to the school, overflow housing may have to adapt to something more permanent to handle the increase in students. Myteveli says that while Harvard is not looking to add more facilities or change its approach, any new additions “will depend on our housing needs given House Renewal and the size of future first year classes.” Harvard has added Houses to its system before, and the renovations have been able to diminish some of the demand. As it stands now, overflow housing operates as an increasing quasi-House for many students compared to the temporary arrangement as it was pitched years ago.
Next year, the anticipated large Class of 2027 may require even more expanded housing if trends continue. In the meantime, students will adapt to their new separate enclaves, while the University continues to expand its increasingly permanent temporary solutions to accommodate them. The limbo of student housing for future classes will continue, one converted building at a time.
Ryan Golemme ’23 (ryangolemme@college.harvard.edu), who got the exact same room two years in a row, writes news for the Independent.