<p>If a Harvard student enrolls in three classes at the Harvard University and takes the fourth class at MIT. This class is not offered in Harvard. The class grade does not count towards the Harvard GPA. Would the student still be considered a full time student as the fourth class at MIT does not count towards the GPA in Harvard? I am trying to make sure that the student do not lose the full time status.</p>
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<li><p>Three courses is usually enough for full-time student status for things like insurance.</p></li>
<li><p>This person is obviously a full-time student. Why does he or she need to be a “full-time HARVARD student”?</p></li>
<li><p>I bet that the MIT course is going to count towards the student’s Harvard graduation requirements, and will show up on the student’s transcript, whether or not it counts towards Harvard GPA (something of extremely limited interest). Of course this is a full-time Harvard student.</p></li>
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<li><p>What I know that Harvard only counts four courses or more as full time student (I could be wrong). If Harvard counts three courses as full time then this topic is irrelevant.</p></li>
<li><p>The full time status is important due to health insurance purposes, as Insurance will drop off if student is not a full time student. This issue is important due to insurance purposes, as I do not care about GPA but insurance will drop the student if she is not a full time student. The insurance coverage is the only reason I am asking this question. </p></li>
<li><p>Yes, the MIT course is going to be on the transcripts but it will not count towards GPA - it does not matter, as GPA is not a big factor. However, the course is much more desirable and very important for the student to study from knowledge point of view.</p></li>
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<p>Do you think I need to call the registrar office to confirm? Could anybody cite the full time student definition at Harvard? Thanks</p>
<p>It is not uncommon for students to take three courses, especially seniors who are writing an honors thesis. However, I would definitely call the registrar to confirm. Please let us know what you find out.</p>
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<li><p>The full-time student definition that matters should be in your insurance policy, not Harvard’s anything (unless the insurance policy relies on Harvard’s definitions, but that seems unlikely and unusual).</p></li>
<li><p>The student is going to be getting Harvard credit for the MIT course. GPA is completely irrelevant to anything. Lots of Harvard students take classes at MIT without losing their Harvard-student status. I don’t think there is any question here at all, but there’s no harm in calling the registrar. They will probably have answered it before.</p></li>
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<p>I actually think that many insurance companies go by the school’s definition. In the past, I’ve had to send a verification letter to Harvard which simply asks if the student is full time.</p>
<p>That’s interesting. We haven’t had to do that, and the definitions I have seen say things like “9 credit hours” or “12 credit hours”, “degree candidate”, etc.</p>
<p>Notwithstanding, I think there is no chance that the OP’s child is not a full-time Harvard student.</p>
<p>Writing an Honors thesis counts a course. I think all departments have courses specifically designated for writing theses.</p>
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<li><p>I would think that a course taken at MIT would count toward the Harvard GPA unless there’s specific language in the handbook. I believe a student needs to get permission from the DUS to do so. </p></li>
<li><p>A student could take quite a few courses at MIT (with permission) and still graduate as a Harvard student.<br>
I once knew an MIT student who started out as a bio major, discovered a love of history through HASS, and ended up mostly taking Medieval history classes at Harvard. He still graduated with an MIT degree.</p></li>
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<p>Yes. In regard to my post #4, many students take 3 courses senior year, one being the honors thesis credit and then 2 “conventional” courses.</p>
<p>I would think that in order to take only 3 courses (including the honors thesis course), a student would have to have taken 5 courses per semester in another year. As far as I know, a student needs 32 semester courses to graduate: 4 per semester. These courses include Expos, freshman seminars, tutorials and independent study courses; all these are real courses. I don’t know anyone who took only 3 courses per term in senior year.</p>
<p>I took a grand total of 6 semester courses my entire senior year :-P.</p>
<p>It’s rather common for students to take 5 courses in a semester during sophomore/junior year. I did it twice and built up a “surplus” of courses that I tapped during my senior year. Taking anywhere from 3-5 courses is considered normal, and requires no special approval or change in student status.</p>
<p>(Taking 2 or 6 courses in a semester are both also possible, but require more administrative hoop-jumping).</p>
<p>^^:
But one still has to take a total of 32 courses in order to graduate, right?</p>
<p>Marite:</p>
<p>That is correct.</p>
<p>Marite: Several of my daughter’s blockmates are doing so. They either took summer courses or took 5 courses in a given semester.</p>
<p>I too know many, many students who are taking three courses at least one semester of their senior year.</p>
<p>Interesting. I learn new things all the time!</p>
<p>Our daughter took 3 courses as a “reduced courseload” due to health problems. She had to petition to do so, and was told this was allowed only in special cases. </p>
<p>So I am puzzled by the responses here. Perhaps, if a person has an excess of classes already under his or her belt, then the reduced course load is fine. In other words, Harvard would not want you to get behind and not be able to graduate in 4 years, unless you filed a successful petition stating legitimate reasons.</p>
<p>In the case described in the original post, it is not clear if the student has taken extra courses or summer courses that would allow a reduction in courseload. It seems as if this student is taking 8 courses/year, and that the MIT course is one of the 4 semester courses. Technically, this might not be officially regarded as a reduction in course load if Harvard is accepting the MIT course, and it has been officially okayed.</p>
<p>For insurance, I would cross all my t’s and dot all my i’s, so to speak. Call the registrar’s office and ask them how the MIT course affects your status. Do any petitions that might be required. Ask them directly about the insurance question.</p>
<p>Most importantly, call your insurance company and ask them about their policy. I would imagine that insurance can make a note on your record that you are taking 3 courses at Harvard and 1 at MIT, that Harvard accepts the latter course, and so you are full-time.</p>
<p>Finally, for reassurance, our daughter’s health insurance still covered her just fine with a courseload of 3. But policies may vary.</p>
<p>If you’ve never taken 5 courses in a semester, it seems that taking three courses (as in your daughter’s case) requires a formal petition. If you have taken 5, then there’s no petition needed. In any case, going back to the OP, taking a course at MIT would not change your status – you receive full credit.</p>
<p>If you want to look into all of this stuff, the relevant publication is: <a href=“http://webdocs.registrar.fas.harvard.edu/ugrad_handbook/current/ugrad_handbook_single.pdf[/url]”>http://webdocs.registrar.fas.harvard.edu/ugrad_handbook/current/ugrad_handbook_single.pdf</a></p>
<p>Registrar office at harvard stated that the student has full time status. Thank you all.</p>
<p>^ Well I graduated a million years ago, but most of us were still taking 4 or 5 courses as seniors. I didn’t know anyone taking only three.</p>