We all know and love the classic Harry Potter series. When I was little, I always wanted to see what it would be like to go to school at Hogwarts. And now at UMass, I like to think that the personalities embodied by the different residential areas could themselves be put into the sorting hat. So, here are my thoughts on the different Harry Potter Houses, and which UMass residential areas fall into which house.
Northeast
Northeast, I have to say, would be Ravenclaw. The bookish and nerdy, yet nice and friendly people would fit right into Ravenclaw. Since Northeast is so close to the STEM buildings, most of the science and engineering people live in Northeast, and during their time there, embody the house of Ravenclaw. During my time in Northeast, I found that people here were great at finding resources to help them with their studies, and were great at being level-headed during any difficult time.
ORCHARD HILL
Orchard Hill is split between Ravenclaw and Gryffindor. It is also close to the STEM buildings so there are a lot of engineering majors and life science majors here. There are a lot of people here who are very studious, and may be slightly introverted, but are awesome to hang out with once you get to know them. The hill is something that needs to be factored into the equation. In my book, Orchard Hill people win the title of Gryffindor partially because they have to walk up the domineering hill and also because of how willing they are to step out of their comfort zones and meet new people, yet still be disciplined in their studies.
HONORS COLLEGE
Honors gives off Slytherin energy because of the cutthroat nature of this area. There are some people that are incredibly competitive, and ambitious in their endeavors, but most people I met in Honors are great at talking to people and forming connections with anyone they meet. They are determined and driven people who usually like to have a plan. They seem to dive head-first into new experiences and make sure that they know what they are doing, embodying an ambitious, higher risk = higher reward type mentality.
CENTRAL
Central is Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw for the reason that the majority of people there are some of the most kind-hearted and compassionate people on campus. They are very artsy, usually in a fine arts or life sciences major, and have really creative minds. The Central graffiti wall also gets an honorable mention here also due to its ability to show just artsy and creative central is. The people in central are loyal to their friends, and you know that you can depend on most of them, as they are just genuinely kind people.
SOUTHWEST
Southwest also gets sorted in Slytherin for a few reasons, but the main one is how well people in Southwest can network and form connections with each other. When interacting with Southwest residents, they like to be resourceful and efficient in the way they complete their work and daily tasks. Southwest is known for being a great place for socialization, and that is partly because of how many people are there. With that in mind, most people in Southwest are clever, resourceful, and great at finding their own friend groups amongst so many people.
This is my sorting of the different residential areas into what Harry Potter Houses they belong to. While some were more tricky to sort than others, I love the fact that the personalities given off by each UMass residential area can be incorporated into the world of Harry Potter. Hope you had fun reading, and maybe now you can try and sort the residential areas into the houses you think they fit best! Happy sorting!
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