International Student House - DC

Living in the International Student House was a fantastic experience for me! I'll start off by saying that the management is fantastic and they really do their best to ensure that residents needs are met. The house director Daniel cares deeply about the residents in the house and is always trying to find new ways to make the house even better. Resident feedback and suggestions are taken seriously and usually they are incorporated when possible.

Since the house closed the kitchen and switched to catered meals the food quality has improved exponentially! I really enjoyed my meals from here as I thought the catering team did a great job!

While the pandemic did prevent in person events from occurring for quite some time, the house has had some great events recently now that restrictions have been lifted. If you want a great living experience and the opportunity to meet people from all over the world who work in a variety of fields and are very accomplished in those fields then this is the place for you. The house is very much a community and thrives off engagement amongst the residents. If you're anti-social and not interested in learning from others then I'd recommend you look elsewhere

ATTENTION HOUSE ALUMNI:

My name is Frank Lopez. I am a current resident of the house and I'm a part of an informal student committee that is trying to write a history of the house.

Various histories of ISH reference a wine cellar that is accessibly through a trap door in a supply closet. Unfortunately, knowledge of how to access this cellar has been lost.

If you know how to access this cellar or have any additional information about it, please contact me at theonlyfranklopez1998@gmail.com.

The house is great! 5 stars.

Thank you for your help!

On my first, and only, trip to DC, I stayed here for a week. One of my friends was a resident, and for about $30 a night, I was able to crash in a girls' room. I'd give the ISH five stars, because it is so affordable, but 30 dollars was a bit much to sleep on an extremely uncomfortable mat on the floor. :/

However, four full stars for the friendly and accommodating people, top notch food, location, and house activities!

Okay, this doesn't exactly fit in the nightlife category, but it's not like a complete mis-match either. The International Student House is a residence that houses international students, interns, academics, etc. I used to live here for several years and I can honestly say that I had the best time of my life living here.

If you ever get a chance to stay here, you will meet people from all over the world. In fact, they purposely allow people to stay there based on where they are from so that the residence is diverse. In other words, there are only so many Americans allowed, so many Canadians, so many Italians...you get the picture.

Really, one of the best places to live in DC. A few friends and I are also starting a regular ISH alumni happy hour, so be on the lookout for fun with the former residents!!!

Attended a weeklong training conference here and found the building adequate as a classroom environment. Poor lighting and antiquated HVAC made this the reason for the rating. Old building with lots of charm.

I stayed at ISH-DC for summer 2018 and had a wonderful overall experience.

LOCATION (5/5): Dupont Circle is a fantastic location -- it's a safe and pleasant neighborhood with tons of food options, a very central location, and easy transit access. The metro stop is about a five minute walk from ISH-DC, plus there's a Capital Bikeshare station right outside the door.

COMMUNITY (5/5): ISH-DC has a strong community, and it's very easy to get to know other residents through the meals, occasional events, and group outings arranged in the WhatsApp channel. If you enjoy interacting with people from differing backgrounds, you'll love it. I'd guess around a third of residents are domestic during the summer, and less than that during the academic year. Almost all residents are in their twenties.

PRICE (4/5): D.C. isn't cheap, especially in a neighborhood like Dupont Circle, but my understanding is that ISH-DC is very reasonably priced. Consider also that you'll be saving a significant amount of money on food compared to living elsewhere (see below).

ROOM QUALITY (3/5 for Marpat Hall): I stayed in Marpat Hall, which is a short outside walk away from the main building. The rooms are fairly old, and look/feel a little quirky and dusty, but they're perfectly satisfactory and (crucially) air-conditioned. The few maintenance issues I encountered were addressed reasonably quickly. I've heard that the other two buildings are in better shape. Most rooms are doubles, and there's a waiting list for the singles.

COMMON FACILITIES (5/5): ISH-DC's main building is a gorgeous tudor-style mansion. (You can check it out on Google Street View.) There are several great common areas, including a library with a TV, game room, and exercise room. The laundry is free, although there aren't always enough washers/dryers to go around.

FOOD (2/5, but 5/5 for price): ISH-DC provides free breakfasts and dinners most days. Given that most housing options of comparable price don't provide any free food, it's a huge perk. I found the food to be of decent quality, but there is very little variation in the menu, so it starts feeling repetitive fairly quickly (especially if you have dietary restrictions). It's possible to order late meals, but this needs to be done by 4 p.m., so sometimes I would miss a meal when I decided at the last minute to attend an after-work event. (You also don't have any control over what you get for late meals beyond dietary restrictions.)

POLICIES (4/5): Packages and mail are all handled conveniently at the front desk, which is staffed 24/7 by a resident (someone you'll probably know). One small downside to ISH-DC is that it has a restrictive visitation policy. You can have a friend over for dinner for a small fee, but you can't have them stay overnight without arranging it days in advance and paying $75 per night. I was surprised to see others here talking about the policies as though they ruined the entire experience -- those sentiments come across to me as somewhat grumpy and certainly not representative of the way most ISH-DC residents feel.

Living with house residents - quite frankly, a distinguished band of up-and-coming diplomats, visionaries, or otherwise, world-changers - is as endearing as it is empowering. It is not rare to wake up, stumble down to breakfast and find yourself immersed in intense scholarly discussion; each dining table sailing forth on its own voyage toward discursive truth. As residents consume their AM sustenance (which by the way, they have given thanks for in Latin) they are reminded that didactic argument harvests the succulent fruit of truth, logic, and properly nuanced scholarship. The pastries are pretty good too.

As could be expected residents are a special breed, winnowed down through an arduous application process. Although unpublished, the acceptance rate to the House is rumored to be about half that of Yale Law School, which means the likelihood of acceptance to ISH is roughly akin to that of becoming a professional athlete. Some compare the final interview process with a scene from "The Last Supper" - each ISH board member, like Jesus' Apostles before him, famished for the taste of fresh meat only. It's been recommended that candidates prepare for the final interview by reading the biography of Cecil Rhodes, do a bit of research on the Marshall Plan, know why Mitchell matters to Ireland, be familiar with Gates' vision of Cambridge, be well-versed the in plight of John Harvard etc. I even heard that during the Clinton years, because of the influx of applications, the board rejected then Harvard Law student and now prominent Senator Ted Cruz.

A poorly kept secret, the House may be home to the most elite cabal of scholars this side of the Atlantic. An acceptance is not just another line on your curriculum vitae - membership is known to open the doors of DC's most sought after institutions - think White House, World Bank, US Treasury, IMF, Congress etcetera. While you live here you enjoy the 20009 zip code, one of the most prestigious in America (but also known internationally). Study in the library, remove your glasses ponderously, peer ruminatively at an 18th century portrait; benefit from the equanimity brought forth only within these sacred walls. Vox Veritas Vita.

A lot of corruption in the management.

PROS
- Friendly residents from around the world
- Location (near the Metro)
- The Main Hall is nice (except you won't be able to play the piano after 9)
- Basically, the pros has to do with the residents

CONS
- Rules (worst than living in a college dorm)-- no alcohol, no visitors after 10
- Corrupt management (the organization is hiding its financial statements to its stakeholders-- the residents and donors)
- Favoritism by the Management (If you have a problem with your room and the management doesn't like you, it will take a while to fix the problem)
- Food is bad (I'll rather eat out but it's expensive in this area)
- No access to the kitchen
- The resident's fridge stinks! They don't even bother cleaning it!
- Heat in the winter is bad
- A lot of rats

FINAL WORDS
It's nice to live here for a month (internship). Other than that, look somewhere else to stay.

The residents: amazing. The executive director: not so much. This place has gone downhill over the past couple of years due to mismanagement, but a new director is expected to begin Sept 2010, so hopefully iISH will be restored to its full glory. ISH is a student residence for interns, researchers and grad students. It's in the heart of Dupont Circle, and the location can't be beat. Rooms tend to be small and most are shared, but you won't mind because you'll be too busy hanging out in the beautiful common areas meeting an amazing group of individuals from around the world. Seriously, I had the most fun in my life at ISH.