Students commend prime location, spacious dorms after Radian becomes college house

Students living in the College House at The Radian said that they are enjoying their residential life experience and its amenities.

In September 2022, the Board of Trustees voted to lease The Radian as student housing to accommodate upperclassmen in on-campus housing during the Quad facilities renovations from August 2023 to August 2026. Housing costs for the Radian are $15,958 per academic year, which is the same as the current higher-cost housing option for upperclassmen single, double, triple, and quad apartments with single rooms. 

Students told The Daily Pennsylvanian that The Radian includes programming similar to other college houses. 

“I think they’re making a lot of an effort to cultivate the kind of dorm feel that you get in the high rises or in the Quad,” Wharton junior Christina Nguyen said.

Nguyen added that residential advisors and graduate residential advisors plan floor events and hosted weekly pre-professional mixers and other events at The Radian. 

Nguyen also said that her living conditions have “so much more space compared to other dorms on campus," pointing out how unlike other upperclass housing options, each dorm has an in-unit washer and dryer.

Students expressed satisfaction with The Radian's location, although the college house was considered off campus last year.

In terms of location, Nyugen said that The Radian does not feel far from campus, noting its proximity to Gutmann College House and Rodin College House.

Wharton junior Lucas Habtemariam also said that location was an advantage of living at the Radian.

“As a junior, a lot of my friends live off campus, so it’s a lot more convenient to see them and hang out with them coming from the Radian than it would be from one of the high rises,” he said.

Habtemarian added that he believes the high rises might be a better fit for sophomores, who are required to be on a meal plan, because it is closer to 1920 Commons. Habtemariam added that he enjoys the accessibility of food options and grocery stores nearby such as Acme and CVS.

However, College sophomore Roxanna Rodriguez said that she believes The Radian is a better option over the high rises “if you’re somebody that really doesn’t care too much about house bonding and getting a sophomore experience where you go out a lot, hang out with your hallmates a lot, and do a ton of bonding.”

Residents said that they appreciated how each room in The Radian is private with kitchens. They also named in-unit washers and dryers as a highlight of their experience thus far.

Rodriguez said that she uses the in-unit washers and dryers often. As opposed to living in the Quad her freshman year, she said that “now in The Radian, I can do [my laundry] every few days, and I don’t have to worry about running out of clothes; it’s just so much better to have in-unit/closer laundry.”

Habtemariam also noted the in-unit washer and dryer as a nice amenity, given that “there’s four people sharing one washer and dryer as opposed to two floors sharing three washers and three dryers in the high rises.”

Habtemariam said that the mailing room was the only inconvenience about living at The Radian, because “The Radian has its own mail room, but the school just doesn’t use it.” Radian residents are served by the Harnwell Mail & Package Center.

Similar to other college houses, The Radian has security portals and an information center open to all Penn students. The Radian’s other amenities include study rooms, a two-story city view club room, and an in-house gym.

"The [24-hour] gym is a major plus, because there will be nights where I’m really busy and want to get a workout in, but I want to make sure I get all my work done and when I’m done, Pottruck’s closed,” Habtemariam said.

Rising sophomores, juniors, and seniors will be able to select the College House at The Radian as a housing option next spring when the housing application portal opens.