Congrats on your acceptance to Penn!  We hope you are considering Gregory as your new home away from home!  Here's some info about our House and freshman community.

• Gregory has a sizable number of first-year students, generally at least 80.  Freshmen are generally consolidated on the top two floors of each building; usually all of the fourth floor and much of the third floor.  In either building, you will be surrounded by your peers, even though you will get to know our upperclassmen-- the majority of whom are returners back for their second, third or fourth years in Gregory-- at our multitude of events.


• Gregory underwent extensive renovations in summer 2014. The rooms have new furniture and flooring, and our public spaces are top-notch.  The West Wing on the first floor of Van Pelt Manor is the center of much of our programmatic identity.


• Gregory averages close to 25 events each and every week-- so there are innumerable opportunities to get to know everyone.  Standby social gatherings include Tuesday BYOM (Bring Your Own Mug), Wednesday study breaks and Sunday brunches, but we have a long list of regular traditions. 


• We have two unique ongoing programs that bring Penn faculty and other notable guests into the House to meet with you: Dinner with Gregory and Diversity Discourse Across the Disciplines.


• Our freshmen live in four bedroom quads-- so each Gregorian has a private bedroom and shares a bathroom with no more than three students. A very limited number of freshmen are in four bedroom quads with living rooms (Modern Languages Program freshmen only). Each bedroom comes with a twin extra-long bed, a desk, desk chair, two chest of drawers and a small bookshelf; each quad comes equipped with (1) microwave/refrigerator unit. No AC though; so be sure to bring a big fan or buy one at nearby CVS!  See more suggestions on what you'll need in your apartment at Gregory.


• You'll have three roommates! See our suggestions for conversations to have with your roommates over the summer and during New Student Orientation.


• Gregory's dedicated staff for 2017-2018 includes the House Dean (Christopher Donovan), Faculty Director (Lisa Lewis, Professor of Nursing), two House Fellows (including Bioethics Professor Lance Wahlert), our House Coordinator Theresa Cotter, 9 Graduate Associates, 3 undergraduate Resident Advisors, and a sizable band of undergraduate Managers.  Check out our staff page for bio/photos, though it will not be updated for fall 2018 until the summer. Gregory has the best staff-to-student ratio in the college house system, so you will surely get to know some of the staff throughout the year.


• Gregory has two extremely active, prestigious residential programs: Film Culture  and Modern Languages. The Modern Languages Program (MLP) has five set language houses-- Arabic, Chinese, French, German and Spanish.  Keep in mind that any schedules listed on the webpages/syllabi are for the current year-- the schedules for Fall will be decided in late August.


• Freshmen applicants for Film Culture are housed together on the fourth floor of Van Pelt, a predominantly freshman hall. Freshman Modern Languages Program applicants are housed together on the top two floors of the Class of 1925 building; note that your roommates might be in any of the language houses, since it is during the biweekly (at least) events that you will be practicing in your target language.


• Our Residential Program participants have the option of obtaining course credit in Arabic, Cinema Studies, French, German or Spanish by participating in our residential programs!  No other College House offers that many academic options in residence. See the individual program pages for more information (but note that schedules and syllabi will be different for Fall 2018).  Don't worry about enrolling during summer pre-registration... attend the intro meetings the first week of classes and decide then.


• Other Gregory perks include free coffee and tea at the Darkroom Cafe and DVD and boardgame rentals from the House Office.


• The House is named after Emily Lovira Gregory, the first woman faculty member at Penn. 


• Since Gregory is one of the smallest Houses at Penn, many students won't know that much about us (we kind of like it that way), and what they think they know is often way off base. In addition, many of the photos/videos out there are pre-renovation.  You can read all about our storied history, our coat of arms and our namesake, but the best way to get more information is to ask Gregorians-- if you have questions for current residents, staff, or even alumni, please let us know and we will easily put you in touch! And be sure to follow us on facebook!

For more information about the various college houses, check out the first-year page on the College Houses and Academic Services website.  And for questions on HOW to  apply for a room, consult the Residential Services webpage. 

Hope to see you in late August!