Participation in all programs is optional. College programs are designed to integrate classroom and residential learning and increase student knowledge of academic resources and opportunities on campus. Courses taught at the College include Freshman and Sophomore Seminars, House Seminars, and Economics and Introduction to the Humanities sections. The Dean offers regular office hours to meet with students informally. As in all residences where freshmen and sophomores live, the College staff and student government organize a wide range of social and cultural activities such as ski trips, barbecues, and excursions to San Francisco for performances, concerts, museum visits and scavenger hunts.
Sophomores act as peer mentors for freshmen.
Upper-class students live in the two adjacent houses of Sterling Quad, Potter and Robinson. Two College Directors live in cottages attached to Schiff and Adams Houses. The College Dean resides in a home across from the College. Rooms for freshmen and sophomores are interspersed on all floors in both houses, so students have the opportunity to mix across classes. All other freshmen residence options on campus are limited to one year.