<p>Another indication that danas’ theory may be wrong is that Harvard didn’t go to random assignment until the 1990s (I’m not sure exactly when, and it may have been the late '80s). Before that, in spring of their freshman year people applied to houses. While everyone was guaranteed a placement somewhere, there were definitely some houses that were seen as more desirable, or exclusive, or social, than others. In any event, the houses had the same sort of character differences that Princeton eating clubs still have. I’m not certain how much role current students in a particular house had in selecting the new class, but whatever it was sufficed to ensure continuity.</p>
<p>Anyway, Princeton’s lead in alumni giving has been in place for years notwithstanding the fact that most Harvard alumni of giving age experienced a selective house system.</p>
<p>On the other hand, it’s an attractive idea, and it identifies a double-edged feature of both Dartmouth and Princeton that really turns some people on just as it turns others off – greater student control over student life.</p>