<p>I'm a freshman at Harvard willing to take questions :) Keep them short -- I'm busy, but I wanted to help you all because I remember how confused and stressed and all that I was about college apps last year, and I sympathize! Questions about college life, food, academics, professors, hot TFs (kidding, there are none ;) haha), laundry, dorms, the party scene, applications, whatever -- it's all game.</p>
<p>Here goes.........</p>
<p>I'm worried about the student atmosphere at Harvard. Rumours has it that most people really REALLY care about their grades and usually very competitive. Furthermore, I've heard that a lot of people suffer from depression and stress. How has your experience been? Would you say that most students at Harvard are happy, active, etc. and not just manic nerds. </p>
<p>Secondly, is there such thing as a booze-free party where people would just get together and play scrabble? </p>
<p>Third question: How are student-professor interactions? I'm used to being really chummy with my professors (i'm at CEGEP in Quebec), often dropping by to say hi (we even call them by first names). Obviously, i know i can't expect the same amount of contact at a college, but can you give a general idea?</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>Conan O'Brien, BJ Novak and Rivers Cuomo went to Harvard... If these people are manic nerds, I want to be one too.</p>
<p>crazyformints, I completely understand your concerns. To be honest, I was VERY reluctant to apply to Harvard (or to go, once I was admitted) because I had the exact same impression of Harvard students as you did - insanely competitive nerds who don't know, or don't want, to have fun. THIS IS COMPLETELY OFF THE MARK. (Nearly) everyone I've met here is so nice and really excited about getting to know other people. I've participated in really efficient, effective, and useful study groups for midterms where everyone shares their notes to amass a huge amount of information you could never have processed yourself. People are not nearly as competitive as I expected. Having said that, I am in all-humanitites classes this semester, so the experience could be different for a math or science major. From what I've heard from frieds, though, I highly doubt it.</p>
<p>Also, everyone at Harvard is deeply involved in a few activities that keep them busier than classes do! I know that's definitely true in my case. People care passionately about their extra curriculars (and they are amazing here -- there is something for EVERYTHING you could imagine, and they're all very active and well-run) and put a lot of time into them. I'm really happy here, and though I don't like to generalize, I think I can say the same for almost everyone I know.</p>
<p>Yes, there are many people here who don't drink, but still like to have a good time. I do drink, but there are weekends where I don't want to go out and feel like just hanging out with good people, and that's perfectly fine too. There's no pressure to drink, from what I can tell. 40% of Harvard student arrive as freshmen <em>NEVER</em> having had a drink in their lives. You will have plenty of great company, even if you don't want to drink.</p>
<p>I can't compare prof-student relations here with any other school because Harvard is all I know, but I definitely don't feel starved for attention or anything. I went to a very small high school where I had close relationships with all my teachers, and that's obviously not possible here. However, if you make the effort to approach professors after class or go to their office hours, you can develop great relationships with them. All of my professors encourage their students to talk with them or come by office hours. They genuinely want to get to know their students -- learn their names, answer their questions, hear their stories. Even in large lectures, many take the effort to learn students' names.</p>
<p>However, it's true that you'll likely be closer with your TF (teaching fellow). The professors teach every single lecture themselves, but you will meet once a week in section with your TF to discuss material, clarify things, etc. Sections are usually capped at 15-20 students, and so your TF will know your name. They stay in frequent communication with the professor, and the professor will sometimes drop by section to listen in, so participating in section is really important. I can say for sure that all of my professors know that I am a student in their class, and 3 of 4 know my name. (The last not knowing my name is really my fault -- i haven't bothered going to office hours or introduced myself). Overall, I would say the professors are very willing to talk with students and get to know them, and potentially develop great friendships with them as well.</p>
<p>Hope this helped. I'm obviously biased, as I love Harvard. If you want me to be more critical, or answer more questions, let me know and I'll do my best :)</p>
<p>As another freshman at Harvard, I agree with everything m_c said.</p>
<p>I'm taking almost all math/science courses, unlike m_c, and I can confirm that there is no emphasis on competition in those classes either. People help each other on the problem sets and congratulate each other on tests. It would be easy to imagine that a school full of people that got into Harvard would be full of people who were cutthroat competitors, but that's just as far from the truth as it gets- unlike in high school, there isn't pressure to be the best at everything, and that really shows.</p>
<p>What's more, to tell you the truth, it's usually not the cutthroat competitors who get into Harvard from most schools, at least in my experience. Most people are just really interesting and intelligent. A few never leave their room and spend all their time studying, but they are by far in the minority, and- by their nature- you don't end up interacting with them too often.</p>
<p>Depression and stress? I don't think more than any other college. You definitely have to be into an intense academic curriculum to survive here (you know who are), but in no way is it by nature a depressing environment. There are loads of ways to relax after a hard week of classes- go to parties, or to the movie theater (which is right next to the yard, helpfully), or hang out with friends and, like you said, play scrabble. I myself go bowling.</p>
<p>Actually, the one thing I can find that might be naturally depressing is the weather- it has an irritating tendency to suck. Let's face it- it's a New England city on the ocean, meaning that in the winter it's often foggy, damp and cold. If you're from southern California, you might prefer Stanford, Pomona, Caltech, Berkeley etc. (I'm from New York City, so I don't have much of a problem with the weather.) Still, I don't find depression or stress to be a major issue on the campus.</p>
<p>As for professor-student relationships- the professors I've dealt with have in general been very friendly and very willing to build relationships with students. They encourage students to drop by during their office hours and ask questions. Most of their time is, of course, devoted to research (at least this is true in the sciences), but they take office hours seriously. I've also noticed that even in my physics class, which has well over 100 students, the professor can still hand back papers individually at the end of a lecture- he managed to learn nearly everyone's name even though there is clearly no need for him to do so.</p>
<p>In short, I agree with m_c- Harvard's pretty great.</p>
<p>m_c, did any of your classes involve creative writing, and, if so, what was your experience with writing for the class and getting a response from the professor or tf?</p>
<p>Umm...freshman usually don't take creative writing classes. Those are usually reserved for English concentrators. I know several people who write poetry--and they have taken workshop classes in the English department that a reportedly some of the best training you can get in this country. </p>
<p>With that said, there's other opportunities to write-- there are several very good publications---from Newspapers to literary journals outside of class. </p>
<p>Freshman take Expos...and trust me, there's not much creative writing there.</p>
<p>What is the training in the writing workshops like?
I read part of an interview of W. H. Auden where he says, “If I had to “teach” poetry, which, thank God, I don’t, I would concentrate on prosody, rhetoric, philology, and learning poems by heart. I may be quite wrong, but I don’t see what can be learned besides purely technical things.” So I wonder what kind of response people get from professors.</p>
<p>Is Expos all formulaic writing? Do students interact with professors about creative writing they may do in situations other than the senior workshops?</p>
<p>Expos is formulaic. You learn to write an academic paper with a thesis, support and conclusion. Like it or not, this is one of the most important skills needed to succeed at Harvard.</p>
<p>I really can't help you with creative writing. I know my house has a writer in residence though I have never spoken to this person.</p>
<p>Yes, the ability to write an academic paper is important. However, not every expos class is equal. There are bad classes and good classes--I've heard students who get As in Expos getting not-so-perfect grades in later papers for other classes. So there.</p>
<p>As with creative writing, it's completely different.</p>
<p>Thanks for answering. "not every expos class is equal" -- how do you choose? Also, who likes Expos and what are pleasant things about it, aside from learning to write an academic paper?</p>
<p>m_c and Admiral, thank you very much for the detailed and prompt responses!</p>
<p>Now that the myths have been dispelled, I am assured of my decision to apply. :) Hope to see you at Harvard next year!</p>
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<p>Though I'm not in any creative writing courses, I will try to answer your question a little bit. First, as someone else said, though the creative writing courses are reserved for upperclassmen, once you get there, your training will be beyond-amazing. Jamaica Kincaid. Nuff said. Also, do you really think that Harvard would allow any part of its English Department (one of the biggest in the College) to be less than stellar? Yeah. I thought so. :)</p>
<p>Second, though I have no classes that primarily involve creative writing, I am in a Freshman Seminar (an insanely intimate pass/fail course that explores a certain area of interest - mine consists of 3 freshman, an extremely well-respected professor, and 3 hours a week) that encourages creative writing every week. I don't want to give away the name of the seminar for privacy purposes, but my point is that you can take a Freshman Seminar that involves creative writing if you hope to do so.</p>
<p>The last thing I want to say is that my little sister is applying to Harvard this year, and she is a poet. She is a beautiful, amazing poet who wants nothing more than to write, write, write her entire life. She would never apply to Harvard if she didn't think it would give her the best creative writing training she could get.</p>
<p>crazyformints, I'm glad we helped convince you! :) Let me know how things turn out for you, and hope to see you next year~</p>
<p>"No Access to SAT or ACT Test Centers</p>
<p>Students who do not have access to a testing center in their country are the ONLY exceptions to the policy outline above. If you do not have access to a testing center, we will consider other internationally recognized credentials, such as the results of the Graduate Record Examination. Applicants must send the results of the GRE to the Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, code 3451."
1-Is that true?
-If yes, I am only freshman and how am i going to take Graduate Record Examination?
2-Isn't this exam only for graduating students?</p>
<p>Please Someone Help Me?
:(</p>
<p>I'm sorry, I can't help you with this. You should call the admissions office and ask them directly. I found this on the website:</p>
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<p>How's the food at Harvard? [So important] :)</p>
<p>OK, fencingking, here's my position on this complex and controversial issue:</p>
<p>I don't like healthy food. In fact, I despise healthy food. If food is rich in fiber and low on fat and sugar, chances are I can't go near it. And from my position, the food in Annenberg (the freshman dining hall) is some mix of all kinds of healthy foods mixed together into some strange assortment of green stuff. In short, I'm not a big fan of warm cafeteria food at all, so I'm the wrong person to judge that (though I do hear that most people like Annenberg's food).</p>
<p>HOWEVER- for people like me who aren't a big fan of mass produced reheated chicken, the dining available around Harvard is EXCELLENT (if you're willing to pay for it instead of going to the cafeteria). Harvard Square offers all kinds of restaurants to eat at casually- some of my favorites are Uno's, Au Bon Pain, Hong Kong, Pinnochio's (a very popular pizza place), Boston Chowder Co., Ben and Jerry's, Finale (an incredible, very expensive restaurant that serves only finely prepared desserts), this crepe place whose name I can't remember, and many other places that I haven't been able to try. Not that many colleges offer this many restaurants in such close proximity.</p>
<p>So if you're willing to pay for it, the immediate area around Harvard offers lots of fantastic places to eat (as well as an incredible amount of shopping), but as for the quality of the cafeteria food? You'll have to ask someone else.</p>