<p>it’s interesting how everyone has different opinions about Harvard. We’re from S. Calif. (the OC) and we are very laid back and like big roomy streets, but when we visited H last year after my son’s acceptance, he absolutely fell in love with the area. He said he couldn’t see himself any place else. He was accepted at many schools in Calif with beautiful campuses, but he loved the Boston area and felt this is what he’s always wanted for his college experience. I belive that there’s a place for everyone. Not every place is for everyone and wherever you choose to go to college has to be “your” decision.</p>
<p>northstarmom last year they gave out t-shirts to the parents. I ended up buying one at the coop for $10 on move in day because my son didn’t go to prefrosh weekend.</p>
<p>I’ll be honest about the t-shirts. The ones you buy for $10 are better looking (not to dis a free shirt). :)</p>
<p>We did go to the coop before heading home and purchase a really nice looking/fitting T and hooded sweatshirt for my daughter.</p>
<p>either way, my son is VERY VERY happy about his first year at Harvard. He has made such wonderful friends and the classes are fabulous. We are all very happy about his choice to accept Harvards acceptance. :)</p>
<p>NSM- My kid did not realize he should have been given a T-shirt. He thought the ones he saw had been purchased by the other profros. I learned of the T-shirts from these boards. He really doesn’t care about it. But I am disappointed with the admitted student program becasue I had hoped it would win him over, so I am viewing the T-shirt incident as symbolic of a weak sales pitch. It just seems not to have jelled for him from the start. But I don’t know how much weight he should give the visitation program in the decision-making process. He was there for only 30 hours and he did actually sleep. His other schools were not visited during admitted student programs since the remaining ones under consideration he had already visited and knows students who attend (one is his brother’s college). Thus he is more familiar with life at the 2 other colleges. So, as for the OP’s original question, my son has second thoughts and his mother is unsure also.</p>
<p>The prefrosh I hosted last year said that Harvard’s prefrosh weekend wasn’t as well run as some other schools’ (Bulldog Days @ Yale is supposedly particularly good).</p>
<p>While it’s certainly hard to separate logistical annoyances (i.e. t-shirts, less than enthusiastic welcomes) from the actual school - I encourage you + your son to try. The admissions office runs prefrosh weekend, and (unless you become a tour guide) you won’t interact with them at all during your four years here!</p>
<p>just-forget: I have enjoyed reading your insightful posts on these boards and once again you make a very good point. I hope you are representative of the type of student that attends Harvard. My son’s host said he had hated pre-frosh but was happy attending. And my son liked his host very much, so I hope that his experience will put my son’s in perspective.</p>
<p>I went to the prefrosh weekend and I thought everyone was very friendly. To be fair I am a New Englander, which, as northstarmom and others have pointed out, may be a source of the “confusion.” Honestly I didn’t expect to meet people, trade life stories and expect them to treat me like friends immediately. However, I met many students and prefrosh and we talked about interests, other schools, and a few of them I spent a lot of time with and I kept in touch with via phone, facebook, etc.</p>
<p>My parents weren’t there so I was pretty much on my own. This was the case with a few other people I met as well. I actually enjoyed this, not that I don’t like my parents or anything, but I wanted to spend time away from the familiar.</p>
<p>"so I am viewing the T-shirt incident as symbolic of a weak sales pitch. "</p>
<p>I don’t think that Harvard puts the effort and thought into things like admitted student days (which I’ve never been to, so this is speculation) that many other colleges do because Harvard doesn’t have to sell itself like virtually all other schools do. It doesn’t have to put on some special show because Harvard is the show. Virtually any activity or intellectual passion that one is interested in is there. Probably lots of the accepted students who end up feeling that Harvard is for them get a kick out of exploring Harvard on their own. </p>
<p>I remember hearing a friend whose son is at Boston College talk about how each freshman class gets a special class T-shirt, and they wear them to BC games and like to sit together. She said that’s a reason why her son chose to go there: He loved that kind of school spirit. My silent reaction was, “yuck.” I’d hate to be in a school with that kind of blatant school spirit, and my viewpoint is very representative of Harvard students and alum.</p>
<p>Anyway, Harvard isn’t a place in which people will glad hand you, but for people who love to follow their own muse, there’s plenty of interesting things there.</p>
<p>For those who think that Harvard and the Boston area are unfriendly, spend some time in CT. It makes Boston seem like the friendliest place on the planet.</p>
<p>My d and I attended pre-frosh weekend. We arrived on Saturday AM (both of us got t-shirts); I dropped her off with her host at 9:30 AM and never saw her again until Sunday at 4PM when we had to leave. </p>
<p>My d’s take: The kids currently attending H were very open and friendly. However, many of the pre-frosh were uptight and constantly talking about and comparing Yale, Stanford, Brown, UPenn etc to H. As my daughter had already made up her mind to attend H, she couldn’t stand all the uncommitted small talk – so much so, that she attended a campus hip-hop concert with her host rather than attend the penthouse party for pre-frosh. She’s looking forward to September when the uncommitted’s have gone elsewhere.</p>
<p>My take: I went to all of the info sessions and really was impressed by the level of support the kids seem to get through the FDO. I walked away from the weekend feeling very good about H being my d’s home for the next 4 years. Unfortunately, we couldn’t stay for the Monday session.</p>
<p>Gibby, Glad you had a great time! Congratulations to your daughter! My D is a freshman and I have been so impressed with the support and communication from H throughout the year. Glad you got the same impression, I have been hearing a lot of negative comments lately on this site so its good to hear something positive. Son will be joining his sister and your D in the fall!</p>
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<p>I went to the admit weekend, too, and I have to agree with your son that the campus, taken as a whole, lacks warmth, but I never once got the feeling of “cutthroatedness.” </p>
<p>Sure, I met some overly eager pre-med/pre-law/Wall Street types who wouldn’t talk about anything but academics and their career ambitions, but there were many people – including me and the 7 or so people I hung around on a regular basis – who I know would find it quite foolish to compete over GPAs and extracurricular leadership positions.</p>
<p>Plus, with so much grade inflation, I wouldn’t have thought there’d be that much to compete for.</p>
<p>Oh, and if your son’s other choice is UVA, I’d encourage him not to rule out Harvard based on a 3-day visit, since it takes much longer than that to find one’s niche (and at Harvard, it’s very likely that he’ll find his).</p>
<p>Relevant story: the president of a significant student group on campus was talking to me and my fellow pre-frosh buddies about his own pre-frosh experience, and he said that even though he was miserable during the admit weekend, he decided to enroll at Harvard anyway and has not regretted it since. He also said he was anti-social and somewhat unhappy during his freshman year, but now he’s clearly having a blast as the head of one of Harvard’s largest student groups.</p>
<p>^ lol are you talking about the pres of the chinese thing… xP if so i met him too.</p>
<p>i agree with other people that harvard wasn’t as warm/friendly…</p>
<p>haha, yes. I was trying to keep his identity on the DL in case he didn’t intend his story to go public, but by the looks of it he’s a very open person.</p>
<p>@ all undecided pre-frosh: don’t go to H - help my friends get off the waitlist.</p>
<p>S chose Harvard, swayed by $ (parents) and opportunities in his desired field (son). I wish OP and son the best in making this decision.</p>
<p>I didn’t go to pre-frosh last year so I’ll be of no help, but I will say that Harvard isn’t competitive. I find that to be the biggest misrepresentation about the school. It really isn’t. The other bad misrepresentation is guidance, there is plenty. At times, too much…</p>
<p>Why is talking about career ambitions so bad? I know a supergroup of 7 - 10 kids who are just too talented to choose one set path in life and are instead concerning themselves with how they can solve real problems…plus they’re mad funny. How yall gonna hate?</p>