<p>can somebody give more info about:</p>
<p>lifescience1a
lifescience1b
physicalscience1
math21a
chem17/27 vs. chem20/30</p>
<p>description of what you learn i guess and if possible, grade distributions.. i know these courses are pretty popular
thx</p>
<p>Harvard kids have are stereotyped to be impersonal, cold, and competitive - how true is this? My brother's at Yale, where everyone seems to be very nice, upbeat, and social, but I haven't really gotten the same vibe from Harvard kids...</p>
<p>Also, does grade inflation actually occur? Or are high GPAs simply the result of smart/hardworking students? I'm not choosing a college because it has/doesn't have grade inflation, but I am a bit curious. </p>
<p>And apologies in advance if these topics have been covered.</p>
<p>coldbeverage-
i would not describe the vast majority of people i've met here as impersonal or cold at all. some people are competitive, depending on their concentration (mostly sciences), but pretty much all of the people here that i've met are more down-to-earth than that. i feel that everyone helps each other instead of getting cut-throat. i've met so many amazing people that i'm so glad to have met. they're great people to have as friends. </p>
<p>in math and science courses, i don't see much grade inflation, at least not in the courses i've taken. i'm only a freshman now so i haven't experienced too much yet, but the only noticeable grade inflation that i've seen is in my current humanities core class</p>
<p>slamdunk-
i personally didn't like life sci 1a at all. watch for cue guide ratings, i'm sure they will be low. it was poorly organized this year. some people really enjoyed it, but i'm not much of a chem person (i prefer bio) so i really disliked it along with the majority of people who took it.
i'm in life sci 1b right now and enjoy it. it's so much more organized, and the labs are more interesting, problem sets are shorter than life sci 1a.</p>
<p>if you have more specific questions pm me</p>
<p>Hi coldbeverage:</p>
<p>It's definitely NOT true. I definitely haven't met anyone here who would fit the stereotype of impersonal, cold, OR competitive.</p>
<p>Students work together on problem sets, they share DVDs and video games, they go to parties and relax together... there is DEFINITELY no kind of cutthroat atmosphere.</p>
<p>As an example- I'm in Chem 20, which is a fairly small and difficult organic chemistry class. Even though the students in the class are primarily chemistry concentrators who will technically be competing for both graduate and medical school admissions, no one in the class thinks about that. We regularly work on problem sets together, compare answers, and laugh about the parts of the class that are difficult. Harvard is very far from the ubercompetitive academic wasteland that some people make it out to be.</p>
<p>Hopefully if you come to prefrosh weekend you'll see that the steretypes aren't true. (Although everything they say about the weather IS).</p>
<p>As for grade inflation- it's hard to answer since, like you said, there are a lot of smart/hardworking students. There's no question that a much larger portion of the class gets A's or A-'s than at most other schools, though from my impression from friends at other schools it's not any worse than the other Ivy's. One thing I know for sure is that it's impossible to get a top grade in a class without working very hard.</p>
<p>If you have any more questions I'd be happy to answer them.</p>
<p>Coming to Harvard is totally worth it.
a) stereotypes are wrong surrounding Harvard- come to prefrosh weekend and you will find that out FAST
b) if you have any doubts about coming, just come and check it out and don't feel guilty if you don't like it because Harvard isn't for everyone
c) Life Sci 1a= great professors, poor class, interesting material for MCB
Life Sci 1b= horrible everything
PS1- good organization, okay professors, okay material, overall good for a first time class
d)things are curved but it really depends on the classes you take. Some are, some arent but remember, this doesn't mean that you will necessarily do well...</p>
<p>for those of you already at harvard- did you take really high level courses throughout all four h.s. years? I was unable to take incredibly rigorous classes because of illness that's affected by stress, etc. but next year (senior year) I'm planning on taking Physics and Precalc (I don't want to major in math or science..more of a history buff). I'm worried the rigor of my courses will affect me if I choose to apply, but I do go to a college prep school so I don't know if that "makes up" for it b/c most of my courses are overall harder?</p>
<p>eek, also I didn't take a foreign language this year because I was interested in art at my old school and chose to take 2 arts and forgo spanish b/c I had already passed the regents,but next year I'll take Spanish 5. I feel like I have no chance of getting in!</p>
<p>is anyone here in the SEAS/DEAS program?
How are the research opportunities - any cool projects you or your friends have been involved in?
How many people are in the program each year?</p>
<p>any other info on the program would be greatly appreciated - I'm into applied math and comp sci btw</p>
<p>Shazzy4- It is in your best interest to take the "hardest" classes because it shows Harvard and any other school that you can succeed and handle the most rigorous schedule and that gives them an indication of how you may do here. If you did not take the hardest classes, not to worry because there are students here that had to sacrifice the "hardest" classes for another interest of theirs. I did take the hardest science classes, but did not take the hardest gov/history classes. I showed them where my interests were by challenging myself in one area. However, if you just opted not to take the hard classes just because and you did not really do much of anything else (challenge yourself in another way be it in sports, extracurriculars, etc) then perhaps that sends the wrong message to the college of your choice. Most students here did take the difficult classes for a challenge- something that students continue to do as they come to Harvard as well. It all depends on where your interests lie. Going to a "prep- school" does not make up for the fact that you did not challenge yourself however. They don't care really where you went, but how you dealt with the environment you were given and if you made the most of it. :) Hope that helps!!!!</p>
<p>tachobg-
I have gotten into research here at Harvard on my own, as many other students do. You do not necessarily have to go through some program to get an opportunity. If you seek, you shall definitely find :)</p>
<p>thanks DocT
would you say a lot of people take advantage of the opportunities and do research? I know (at least on a smaller scale from what i've experienced in my high school) that if a lot of people are involved in their own cool project it makes for a very energetic and inspirational atmosphere</p>
<p>also, how easy is it to take grad courses as an undergrad (i know it happens but what is the attitude of the administration/professors toward it)? Are the administration and professors cool about skipping prerequisites if they determine that you know your stuff?</p>
<p>Thanks Doc T, your advice/opinion is always appreciated! I'm definitely interested more in history/english, but I hope it doesn't look like I've jumped around too much. For instance I may possibly volunteer at a research lab this summer that does cancer research, etc. although I'm not interested in being a science major, but I've had health issues that sparked my interest in the field and would like to at least have some insight into the research world. Hopefully I'll also take 2 independent studies next year (Linguistics and Jane Austen), which will hopefully be impressive because of the fact that it's independent study. haha enough of my ramblings about my course load...anyways, thanks!</p>
<p>DocT...</p>
<p>I am currently facing a choice between Harvard and Stanford. I am torn between the two schools.</p>
<p>The only concern that I have about Harvard are the rumors out there that Harvard does not care about its undergraduates, classes are large and taught mainly by TAs, and that professors are inaccessible. From your experience at Harvard, do you think that these criticisms are at all valid? Thanks, any help is greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>Some of the entry level courses are taught by TF's but out of the three courses I've had so far with TF's, 1 TF is amazing and the other is also amazing and has a Phd, the other has a Phd but wasnt as good</p>
<p>Hey guys!</p>
<pre><code>Okay, so here is the deal with the whole "Harvard doesn't care rumor" (which it is indeed a rumor):
</code></pre>
<p>Because Harvard does not coddle its first year students, it has gotten the horrible reputation for being cold and curt towards them which is entirely not true. What is true is the fact that no one really spoon feeds you here unlike other colleges. Harvard accepted you in because you have shown you know how to navigate and go above and beyond the norm, so they expect you to do the same thing here. Harvard has everything you could ever imagine in a school- every resource possible and a great network to back it up but YOU need to find it. They expect you to take initiative and go after what you really want, and if it is not there, it is up to you to make it. That is one thing I love about Harvard is that I am able to do anything I want and I really see students trying to do everything. There are some students who are bitter and say that Harvard didn't care for them, but that is because they didn't go after what they really wanted, they didn't take the initiative enough to do what they really wanted to do. Harvard has everything there is, you just need to go out and find it which is how the real world is...harsh??? perhaps, but reality is exactly what Harvard gives you.</p>
<p>TF's, you can hit it well or you can hit is not so well. Professors teach the lectures, TF's teach your sections. Since students are usually intimidated of the professor, they will go to their TF's for the answers or for help but I actually don't- I write to my professors and schedule one-on-one meetings with them because I want individual attention outside of office hours. Only once have I been ignored and that, for such a large institution, is really good.</p>
<p>Hope all is well... congrats on getting in guys!</p>
<p>lots of question on the harvard foreign language placement exam, particularly for spanish</p>
<p>ppl say it's similar to SAT2. is that with the listening or without?
in other words, is there a listening component to harvard foreing language placement exams?</p>
<p>foreign language is my worst subject so would it be better to take the spanish sat2 for june now (i'm pretty sure i can get 600) to waive the language requirement or will the harvard placement test have a similar curve/level of difficulty?</p>
<p>
[QUOTE]
foreign language is my worst subject so would it be better to take the spanish sat2 for june now (i'm pretty sure i can get 600) to waive the language requirement or will the harvard placement test have a similar curve/level of difficulty?
[/QUOTE]
</p>
<p>I took it in June to get out of the requirement, and I'd recommend that (that way, if you don't score high enough for some reason, you can take the placement test at Harvard). However, there isn't a listening portion of the Harvard placement test (I'm almost positive), so you could take either.</p>
<p>im thinking about majoring in either economics or government(one of the four concentrations) and I was wondering if someone could possibly compare/contrast the difficulty of the two concentrations. If it will help, I know that I'll be taking the pre-med classes.</p>
<p>I think the difficulty depends on what you are good at. Instead of worrying about it now, just take courses in both fields once you are there and decide which you enjoy more and/or are better at. Government's Harry Mansfield is still whining about grade inflation, for what that is worth.</p>
<p>I was wondering how hard the economics program was.</p>
<p>Also, are there any students at Harvard that just know it all? For example, they always have all their work in and they are always getting A+ on the exams ands so on and so forth? What i want to know is how the top 5-10 students at Harvard's life is going? Do they have time to "play" or is it constant work for them?</p>