Welcome to Penn, Class of 2029! Here’s everything to know about on-campus housing, dining plans, student health services, study spots, and other campus essentials that will shape your first-year experience.
On-campus housing
Penn students are required to live on campus for two years. There are six first-year College Houses — Riepe, Fisher Hassenfeld, and Ware in the Quad and Hill College House, Kings Court English College House, and Lauder College House — and three four-year houses — Gregory College House, Stouffer College House, and Du Bois College House — where both new and returning students can live.
In the Quad, newly renovated Riepe and Ware dormitories will be open to first years, while Fisher-Hassenfeld will remain under construction. Room options include singles, doubles, and triples, with communal bathrooms on each floor. With a reputation for being the social hub for first-year living, the Quad boasts large courtyards, music and game rooms, and the Cafe at McClelland.
Hill, located on the corner of 34th and Walnut streets, has single and double rooms. Hill is home to the Benjamin Franklin Scholars program residential community and has a dining hall, Hill House, on its lowest level. The nearby Lauder has suite-style rooms, each equipped with its own bathroom, and a dining hall. Kings Court English College House — also known as KCECH — is located on Sansom Street. It has single and double rooms, shared bathrooms, and a dining hall.
Gregory offers suite-style single, double, and quad rooms, with private bathrooms in its two buildings, Van Pelt Manor and Class of 1925, which are adjacent to Locust Walk. Stouffer, located near the Quad on Woodland Walk, includes Stouffer Hall and Mayer Hall, with the former containing traditional dormitory-style rooms for first-year students. Du Bois — the smallest house, featuring suite-style singles, doubles, triples, and quads on Walnut Street — provides a focus on Black American scholarship and culture.
Dining options
There are six dining halls and eight retail dining locations on Penn’s campus. Penn students are required to be on a dining plan for two years; meal swipes can be used at residential locations and Dining Dollars for retail locations.
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The largest dining hall on campus is 1920 Commons — often just called “Commons” — which offers new made-to-order dishes each day and a variety of premade options. Lauder’s dining hall, open for dinner only, has new featured dishes during its open hours and several self-serve dishes. Quaker Kitchen — Penn’s newest dining hall, serving dinner in Gutmann College House — offers fun and unique menus that require reservations made through the Penn Mobile app on the day of. Known for its freshly made chicken wraps (or veggie wraps), Falk Dining Commons in Steinhardt Hall offers a fully Kosher menu, open to all students.
The Commons building also houses Gourmet Grocer and Starbucks — nicknamed “Grommons” and “Stommons,” respectively — which accept Dining Dollars. Pret a Manger, located on the ground floor of Huntsman Hall, has both indoor and outdoor seating.
Houston Market, a popular retail dining spot located in the basement of Houston Hall, has eight different stations that offer options to use both meal swipes and Dining Dollars. Houston Hall’s stations often get busy due to their variety and convenience, so consider ordering ahead through the Penn Eats mobile ordering app.
When the fruit in the dining halls doesn’t strike your fancy, get some fresh produce at the on-campus farmer’s market. Every Wednesday, you can use your Dining Dollars at the farmer’s market located right outside the Penn Bookstore at 36th and Walnut streets.
Free food simply tastes better, so keep your eyes peeled for opportunities to snag a free bite around campus.
For quick snacks and prepared foods, there are two Wawa locations on campus. You’ll also find plenty of familiar chains, including McDonald’s, Chipotle, Raising Cane’s, Qdoba, Panera Bread, and Sweetgreen.
Fraternity and sorority life
An estimated 25% of Penn’s student body participates in fraternity and sorority life, and the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life houses 39 Greek-lettered social organizations led by the Interfraternity Council, Panhellenic Council, and Intercultural Greek Council.
Students are required to have at least four course units completed to be eligible and must also have a cumulative grade point average of at least 2.50 to participate in a Greek-lettered organization.
Both on-campus and off-campus groups will host events in the fall prior to formal rush to gauge students’ interest in joining. There are 21 IFC organizations — 20 men’s and one co-ed — and seven all-women Panhellenic organizations, all of which rush during the spring semester. Registration for spring recruitment requires a fee, and each organization requires various annual dues.
The IGC chapters — which are affiliated with various cultural identities — have unique recruitment schedules.
Student health services
Wellness at Penn, located at 3624 Market St., is responsible for the majority of health and well-being resources on campus and is centered around two pillars: Student Health and Counseling and Public Health and Wellbeing.
The Student Health and Counseling team focuses on offering confidential medical care and counseling, while the Public Health and Wellbeing team looks to help students through “education, advocacy, and action.”
Services range from primary care and sports medicine to individual and group therapy. Appointments can be scheduled by calling (215) 746-9355.
Wellness at Penn offers additional resources, including Peer Wellness Coaching, and works with other campus partners to operate the Penn Farm — which is located on campus in Penn Park and hosts various wellness programming opportunities.
Wellness at Penn also hosts an annual flu clinic, which will run from Oct. 15-17, and offers free flu shots to the Penn community.
Penn Medicine also operates two emergency rooms in West Philadelphia: one at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania at 34th Street and Convention Avenue and another at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center at 39th Street and Powelton Avenue.
Penn’s student-run Medical Emergency Response Team also works with Penn’s Division of Public Safety and the Philadelphia Fire Department to offer pre-hospital emergency medicine treatment.
MERT operates 24/7 on weekends and from 7 p.m. until 5 a.m. on weekdays, and is staffed by Penn students who are certified emergency medical technicians. MERT can be reached at (215) 573-3333.
When MERT is dispatched, the Philadelphia Fire Department “is dispatched simultaneously,” according to the MERT website, to allow for transport to a hospital if necessary.
Penn also follows a medical amnesty policy for students seeking medical help related to alcohol or drugs.
“No student seeking medical treatment for an alcohol or other drug-related overdose will be subject to University discipline for the sole violation of using or possessing alcohol or drugs,” the policy reads. “This policy shall extend to another student seeking help for the intoxicated student.”
Penn Violence Prevention is an on-campus organization “committed to ending interpersonal violence” through trainings and confidential resources. PVP’s resource guide can help members of the community determine the best path forward in various situations.
Finally, take advantage of the Pottruck Health and Fitness Center, which is free to all Penn students. The Walnut Street center houses four floors of cardio equipment, weightlifting equipment, a basketball court, a climbing wall, and plenty of multipurpose space.
Libraries and study spots
Penn has ten library buildings and even more study spots. As a first year, take the time to find a couple of locations that fit your needs for different classes.
To book a Group Study Room, members of the Penn community can download the Penn Mobile app. The app asks for a PennKey login and then allows users to book a GSR for any of the available rooms in 10 library sections. Users can reserve GSRs up to a week in advance, but they can only book a limited amount of time in any given location per day.
During midterm or finals seasons, it is always helpful to book in advance!
Wharton undergraduates lay claim to Huntsman Hall — with GSRs that can only be booked using a Wharton PennKey, the bustling building is difficult to snag a spot in. While any member of the community can use the building, other undergraduates tend to rely on their business-minded friends if they need a study room there.
Engineering students finally experienced the exclusivity of Huntsman Hall when Amy Gutmann Hall opened its doors last spring. The “116,000-square-foot, six-story building” boasts classrooms, labs, group areas, and individual pods.
Fisher Fine Arts Library is a classic library study spot, with spiral staircases, nooks between bookshelves, seminar rooms, and near-complete silence. One of the “most important library buildings in the world,” Fisher Fine Arts is a great place to embark on a long study session without distractions.
Van Pelt-Dietrich Library is a go-to, with study rooms you can book in the windowless basement, the communal reading room with sunlight pouring in, the social study booths that are appropriate any time of the day, and even the stacks for secluded individual studying.
Other spots include Holman Biotech Commons, the Perelman Center for Political Science and Economics, and the Academic Research Building, all of which have GSRs and various seating options.
