Why Aren’t First-Years Applying to Theme Houses?

Being a first-year at St. Lawrence is tough, and often things can be really intimidating. Applying to theme houses surely can be as well, but it doesn’t have to be. This year applications to theme houses are down significantly compared to recent years. A member of The Artist Guild, Quinn Meyer ’25 weighed into the issue saying that “I feel like freshman feel intimidated to apply to the theme houses, I think they usually feel like they’re forced to only apply to one. But that’s not true, it’s totally non-committal.”  

A problem that many members of the theme house community cited was the intimidation factor. As Meyer referenced, first-years often feel like theme houses operate like fraternities and sororities. They feel like they’re stuck only applying to one. That isn’t the case. Students can apply to any number of houses and don’t have to worry about being stuck with one. For example, you could theoretically apply to every theme house, and it wouldn’t hurt your chances of getting into any of them. Meyer also added that “while I myself only applied to the Artist Guild, many of my housemates applied to multiple theme houses, some of them even got into multiple houses.”  

These houses also don’t behave like Greek house would either. Rather than acting as a “brotherhood” or a “sisterhood”, these houses act much more like families. The houses have a tendency to get close and many people end up coming out of the themes with a brand-new group of close-knit friends. “I feel like we’re not just a house, we have grown so much closer than I did with anyone in my FYP, it’s so much more like a family. We all have something in common, and that’s a great place to start making friends. Friends that turn into families.” Meyer said when referencing how he and his housemates have grown closer together.  

First-years who may have had negative or not-so-great experiences within their First-Year Programs shouldn’t give up on finding that community somewhere. The themes are the best opportunity for sophomores and others to try and find a close-knit group. People who are looking to apply to live in the themes should look to presence to find applications. Often these applications are short and easy to fill out and give the applicants an opportunity to find out more about the houses. The next step after the application is meeting the house during an in-person interview.  

Overall, the themes allow for first-years and other applicants to find communities that help to enhance their St. Lawrence experience. Students should give them a chance, they may just end up like Meyer, with a new group of friends that he views as a family.