Caltech’s residences aren’t the typical college dorm experience that one would expect. Instead of students living in arbitrary buildings around campus, Caltech students instead live in what we call ‘houses,’ or residences that have unique cultures and traditions rooted in Caltech history. You could think of Caltech’s eight houses as the best parts of the Harry Potter houses (without Voldemort, of course) and Greek life combined. Living in the houses is a great way to build community and get to know your classmates and upperclassmen at Caltech.
Caltech has eight houses: four North houses (Avery, Lloyd, Page, and Venerable) and four south houses (Blacker, Ricketts, Dabney, and Fleming). When students begin their freshman year at Caltech, they go through a process called rotation, where they experience all the eight houses through different events that the houses host. Whether that be dinner, a dessert event, or another fun social activity, freshman have about ten days to experience the houses, at the end of which they rank their favorite houses. At the end of rotation, when the Fleming cannon fires, freshman receive their final house affiliations, and the next day they move into their new residences. It’s a pretty exciting and invigorating experience, especially during your first weeks at the school! Throughout your four years at Caltech, you can also get social or full memberships at other houses, which means you can participate in their activities and be part of their house culture. Every house also gets to throw one giant themed interhouse party a year, which is always a great way to meet people from other houses!
Though I can’t talk about the specific culture and vibe of each house – that would be breaking Rotation Rules (upperclassmen can’t influence the decisions of freshman by revealing any stereotypes or rumors of the house) – I can talk about my favorite traditions in my house! I rotated into Avery House during my freshman year, and I had an amazing time meeting my peers and the upperclassmen in the house. Avery contains 8 alleys, and my alley (Alley 2 best alley!) always had a really fun time.
One of my favorite experiences was going on Avery’s annual beach trip (which most houses also have) in May 2024. We rented a giant mansion in Oceanside (near San Diego) for three days. Over 80 people stayed in the beach house, and we all went to the beach, walked around the town, and tried new restauraunts. It was so much fun to hang out with my friends at the beach and spend time with them on the trip!
An Avery-specific tradition that I really enjoy is Avery Assassins, a water gun game that happens every spring. Everyone teams up in groups of three and is given mini water guns and another team of three people to target. In the meantime, we are unaware as to who is targeting our group. For 36 hours, we have to stay vigilant, making sure that we don’t get wet from the group targeting us while we try to get our targets. Last year’s game was especially intense; my roommate and I disguised ourselves and snuck out of our window to avoid getting eliminated!
Living in Avery House my freshman year was where I made some of my best memories. This year, as a sophomore, I decided to live in the Bechtel Residence, which is a suite style residence. Bechtel is part of Caltech’s unaffiliated housing, so any undergraduate student can live there. I currently live in an 8-person suite with my friends, and we share two bathrooms and a common living room. Despite not living in Avery house anymore, I don’t feel disconnected from the house culture. I always attend all of the Avery events and eat dinner at the house’s open kitchen, so I still get to hang out with my Avery friends.
Being part of Caltech’s house culture is something I’m grateful I participated in because I truly found lifelong friendships and connections in the house. I would strongly recommend all freshman going through rotation to experience the house culture. A lot of students end up loving the house that that initially rotate into, but if you end up liking another house or want to unaffiliate from the house system, that is completely okay as well. The house culture and rotation experience is truly what makes Caltech’s student life unique and special!
