The Nu is a co-ed community of 10 Penn medical students from all four class years who live and learn together! We’re conveniently located just a few steps from Penn. 

If there's one thing to know about us, it's that we care deeply about cultivating a warm and welcoming space for our housemates and the Penn Med community at large – medical school can be a challenging experience, so we hope this community can serve its members and other medical students through our shared experiences, mentorship, and friendship. We see each other as our medical school family, and are there for each other whenever we need it.

The house itself has four stories and is located right in the heart of Penn's campus. We are conveniently located 10 minutes from the medical school and hospitals and right in front of the Septa and Penn bus stops. We boast large common rooms and spaces, a basement with gym, a full kitchen (with 10 stovetops, 2 ovens, and 4 large fridges), 10 private single bedrooms, 3 full bathrooms, a Victorian library, and a driveway for 6 cars.

The Nu was originally founded as Nu Sigma Nu, the oldest American medical fraternity. The first chapter of Nu Sigma Nu was established on March 2, 1882 at the University of Michigan by Frederick C. Bailey, Charles M. Frye, Benjamin G. Strong, Robert D. Stephens, and William J. Mayo, the last of whom went on to become one of the founders of the Mayo Clinic. By 1953, Nu Sigma Nu had established 45 chapters at medical schools across the United States and Canada with over 30,000 members. The Lambda Chapter of Nu Sigma Nu was established at the University of Pennsylvania in 1896, and the organization purchased its current establishment at 3904 Spruce Street on November 7, 1921, where it has remained ever since. Since the 2010s, the house has been colloquially referred to as "the Nu", and in 2023, we officially shortened our name to "The Nu" and have officially transitioned to being a medical student housing co-op, as our members have felt for some time that this better fits who we are.

Today, we aim to foster a community of medical students who are committed to our core values of scholarship, community, mentorship, and diversity. We strive to be more inclusive in our membership and in the ways we support the social life of Penn medical students. In doing so, we hope to be a positive force in our medical community and to contribute to the development of compassionate and effective physicians who graduate from the Perelman School of Medicine.