<p>I wouldn't take my advice as entirely credible, as I was only there for the summer session. I have two siblings that attended; at the same time, I haven't been there during the actual school year myself.</p>
<p>They said they loved it because of the general freedom and huge course offerings. At the same time, Harvard is different from the other Ivies -residential colleges, or small family-like groups are almost non-existent. Because people are in the middle of Cambridge, connected directly to Boston, along with the huge number of resources at Harvard's disposal, everyone is always out or doing something.</p>
<p>Partly because of the city and huge number of opportunities, students aren't as close. There are certainly amazing people, and it's almost definite that you'll find a certain group of people you can't imagine yourself without, but the student body isn't necessarily cohesive as a whole. You have to meet people. Some people get frustrated and leave, as school spirit or any kind of general Harvard identity doesn't really exist.</p>
<p>That said, for the aforementioned reasons, there's no shortage of things to do. My siblings loved it. And even though I only went for the summer, and nothing was really similar, so did I. Bricks grow on you.</p>
<p>There are so many opportunities that you can't find anywhere else, peer institutions or otherwise.</p>
<p>what makes it sweet?
and please don't tell me that it's because you go/went there. x]</p>
<p>What is the most important thing you have learned at Harvard?
I mean things outside of the classroom, and even humorous things like "You learned about the true potency of Jack Daniel's" if you want to share.</p>
<p>I had a grateful-to-Harvard moment tonight. I went to a major Broadway musical road show, opened the Playbill -- and there at the top, in the starring role, is somebody I sang with in musicals at Harvard. Turns out he's been singing this role in New York, and now he's touring. We hadn't kept in touch, as you can tell from the fact that this was a surprise, but it was still cool to see him up there bringing the house down. I'll never star on Broadway myself, but I did get to sing WITH a Broadway star, and that makes me smile. (By the way, he was a biology major.)</p>
<p>Sounds like Harvard students are pretty disappointed with their education and social life. I've read quite a few Crimson links about this dissatisfaction... would it be accurate to say that Harvard is less than many hope it to be?</p>
<p>My S thinks that Harvard is pretty much as he expected it to be, both for good and bad. He did not expect perfection and he is not getting it. But he would not want to be anywhere else.</p>
<p>The Crimson does not see its mission as disseminating Happy News. Having read other college newspapers I have come to the conclusion that the Crimson does a lot more investigative journalism than many others. And much of that investigation is focused on the imperfections of Harvard.</p>
<p>Harvard has recieved some pretty bad scores in student satisfaction. I get this feeling that students there don't love it the way students at other schools love their experience. However, if I get in I am going to do some serious investigation of my own and try to figure this one out from ground level. I like Harvard a lot, and I want to analyse it critically if it becomes an option.</p>