My living experience has proven itself valuable in more ways than I had expected.

Last year, Penn completely overhauled the housing application system, changing the way students apply to live on-campus by moving everything online to a site called My Home at Penn. The system has undergone few changes since then.

Living in a chapter house is by far one of the most important steps a newly initiated brother can take in embracing his new family.

The DP breaks down the pros and cons of off-campus housing versus on campus housing.

From figuring out how to address food thieves to dealing with drunk roommates, The DP has your back on roommate problems.

With offerings ranging from Women in Computer Science to the Modern Languages Program, Penn’s 11 college houses have more than 40 residential programs to suit student interest and demand.

As an RA in a freshman hall, I get to do things like take my floor to Max Brenner for ridiculously tasty desserts — things that my friends in the high rises aren’t so interested in doing with their floormates.

Choosing between houses, apartments and landlords can be daunting. The DP breaks down your options.

Students wishing to live with other transfers could choose to live in a hall designated specifically for them in Hill College House.

Instead of purchasing all new furniture and appliances for their dorms, some students choose to collect used or borrowed items piled up in hallways and outside of student houses during move-out.

Most partments in the Radian, University City Housing and University Enterprises buildings are filled by the time the on-campus housing process ends.

One of the main critiques of the process last year concerned the points-based system. The system was not designed to accommodate decimals, and some students got later selection times because their average number of points was weighted the same as someone who may have had fewer points.

Off-Campus Services has recently revamped their website to allow accepted graduate students to familiarize themselves with housing resources.

Last year, Provost Vince Price approved a change in the academic year after his office discovered that Penn’s calendar didn’t align with Middle States Commission on Higher Education regulations. As a result, students will have to come back to campus early to start classes in August for the first time since 1974.

The brainchild of coach Mike McLaughlin two years ago, the “Charge for a Cure” program gives the team an opportunity to impact lives by raising funds for five charities.

My proposal is for a multi-use dorm with dorm rooms, a student center, lecture halls, classrooms, athletic facilities, a library and even an auditorium. In essence, it is a campus within a campus.

There will always be some who spin stories to ask for money, but there are 4,000 Philadelphians who are homeless tonight. Many of these people are veterans or victims of the recession; some suffer from addiction or mental illness.