<p>Yes, ilovecollege95. That was my point. Chill. I know it’s a stressful season for you and others applying. Just trying to help the OP escape the wild-eyed “how do I get into Harvard!!!” crowd.</p>
<p>Haha i signed up for cs50x as well. Didnt manage to find the time to work on it, so i got stuck on the first problem set…</p>
<p>@exultationsy @sallyfahrae thank you so much for taking the time to answer! I actually am a really passionate person (sometimes obsessive or even radical lol). Is there anything you want to add about the dorm life?</p>
<p>Dorm life is pretty good, especially as freshman as your entryway( vertical cluster of suites around a staircase) is (usually) a big part of your experience. This is supplemented by your proctor and PAFS (peer advising fellows) who are tasked with building a community. From weekly study breaks to the occasional weekend outing, the entryway truly becomes you family, if you want it to be. I personally would grab meals with my entryway mates all the time, and just hang out. Rooms laid out in suites also fosters a good community within your room as you all can chill out in the common room.</p>
<p>I will say that once you move into your upperclassman house, you entryway becomes a far less significant part of your life as you will by now hove gained traction in your different activities/departments friendship groups such that you spend more time with these people than your entryway. This is also exacerbated by the fact that upperclassman entryways are not organized by class and thus you have sophomores, seniors and juniors all in one entryway. That being said we still have bi weekly study breaks with our tutor so there still is some semblance of entryway community. House life/spirit on the other hand is very active.</p>
<p>Hows does a gap year work? Can anyone take one? Would you recommend it? Why did you/didn’t do it?</p>
<p>Wow I like the suite option :)</p>
<p>How is the engineering program? Is it a competitor with schools like MIT or Stanford? Is it a major curriculum, or just a minor division of the school?</p>
<p>b3jh24,</p>
<p>The engineering program is very good, if not world-beating. However, folks getting ready to start Harvard will be fortunate to be on the receiving end of quite a bit of attention. Harvard upgraded their engineering from a department to a separate school some years back, and is now beginning a major expansion of the school.</p>
<p>This year (I’m working from memory, so my apologies if I’m a little off), they added degree programs in Mechanical and Electrical (previously, these were tracks in the Engineering Sciences program), and I’m pretty sure there will be more to come.</p>
<p>The program is relatively small, and doesn’t offer, as others have mentioned elsewhere, every engineering option. No aerospace. No civil, among others.</p>
<p>But it’s a program on the upswing at Harvard. It has the attention of the administration, and they are putting resources into it at a rate exceeding the rest of the school gnerally.</p>
<p>And when you have a $32 billion endowment, that can mean a great deal.</p>
<p>The other advantage to Harvard for engineering students is on the off-chance the student decides to switch concentrations. My son is on the verge of switching from their very good Mech E program to their world-class biophysics program.</p>
<p>It’s nice to be somewhere where they’re great to world class in so many things, that a change in plans doesn’t make one an academic orphan, so to speak.</p>
<p>notjoe,</p>
<p>Thanks for the help. I thought a school like Harvard would have a good engineering program, but from what I have read, I was a little apprehensive. I am considering Harvard, but my top school would be MIT.</p>
<p>Hi I have a few Harvard related questions:
Did you have a choice in selecting your dorm or was it assigned to you?
And is this the case for all undergrads or does this apply just to freshmen?</p>
<p>I read your blog (it’s great!) and it seems living on campus is a necessity due to the many activities and obligations to non-curricular activities taking place on campus. So would living in an apartment outside of campus after freshman year (but close to a Red line T station) be considered a bad idea?</p>
<p>Only 10% of the Harvard freshman class are international students. I am an international student as well (but I am a US citizen). Given the large number of international students applying from all over the world, especially from China and India, I imagine the competition among the internationals is quite intense. How can an international student distinguish him/herself among the applicants besides having the high grades, test scores, etc.? </p>
<p>And lastly, since international students have lesser chances of acceptance at some universities should they compensate for that by applying to more universities than a typical US student would? How did you handle your college application?</p>
<p>Thank you to all the current Harvard students!</p>
<p>Sorry for not replying - I was away for Thanksgiving!</p>
<p>@rfav32: I personally didn’t take a gap year because I felt like I would spend the whole year in anxious expectation of starting college - that’s just the kind of person I am. I am planning on taking one between undergrad and grad school, though, as my friends currently on one seem to be having tons of fun travelling the world! It’s definitely a common thing here at Harvard and I have several friends who have done it - they’re quite flexible about it once you’re admitted. In fact, my would have been fifth suitemate decided to take a gap year one week before the start of the school year, leaving us all with singles within the suite :)</p>
<p>Ultimately it’s a personal decision, but that’s definitely something you have time to think about after being accepted to college.</p>
<p>@Aljubail: Your freshman dorm is assigned to you, just like your house is assigned to you second year onwards. However, it’s not completely “random” in that the first year you fill out a form and write out a mini essay on your housing preference, which they seem to take into account (e.g. I requested one other international roommate and a suite, and that’s what I got). Second year you get to pick up to 7 friends you live with by forming a blocking group. The reason they do that is because back when they let people rank housing, the school got really segregated - e.g. one house was the jock house, another the afro-american house, etc.</p>
<p>I don’t know anyone who lives off-campus, so I’m guessing it’s not a very convenient option. If you want a little bit more independence, though, there is an apartment sharing group called the Dudley coop who cook their own meals, get to have pets, etc. The one person I know in it absolutely adores it.</p>
<p>As for being international, I do feel that test scores are even more important for us, but I’m afraid I don’t know much more about how to distinguish yourself 
Everyone here still wonders why they were accepted over others, to be honest. If application fees aren’t a big issue applying to more schools sounds like a good idea, but make sure you only apply to places you would actually want to go to!</p>
<p>Hi!
On the Harvard Admissions website, it says… “Please choose one option only: either apply on-line or send an application through the mail.” By “application” are they referring to just the common application or the entire freshman application (common app, supplement, teacher evaluations, etc.)? My counselor insists on mailing the school report, but I already sent the the common application and supplement online. Will it still be okay to mail the school report? Or should i print the common app + supplement and fill it out by hand also?</p>
<p>What are the freshman dorms like? Which is most popular? What are the stereotypes? Are they organized differently than the average uni?</p>
<p>This may be a little dated, but should give you an idea of the freshman dorms: [Frosh</a> Dorms Project: Graphical Map](<a href=“http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/~trishin/sergey/galleries/2004/froshdorms/]Frosh”>http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/~trishin/sergey/galleries/2004/froshdorms/)</p>
<p>@elh330: The dorms are somewhat randomly assigned, so they don’t really have stereotypes associated to the people living in them. The one I am living in, Canaday, is often called “The Projects” - it was built in the 1970s and designed to be riot-proof, so some students make fun of it as being an ugly building.</p>
<p>It definitely doesn’t have the old Harvard feel of dorms like Stoughton or Grays, with their brick walls and fireplaces, but when the winter started kicking in we really enjoyed our adjustable heating and good location! Harvard housing is usually a compromise between good looking historical building and modern amenities, so it will be very interesting to see how the current housing restoration goes.</p>
<p>Hi. Do you know anything about Harvard libs that S students and family to join them for holiday gatherings</p>
<p>Sent from my HTC One X using CC</p>
<p>I meant to type Harvard Clubs that put together a reception for prospective students and families bore holiday gatherings?</p>
<p>Dear Sally,
It’s very kind and helpful of you to post this thread. I ‘m an international student and I used to be a 2016er and accepted at a college. Now I’m taking a gap year( so 2017er now). I’m considering transferring to Harvard, but I’m really discouraged when I look at other Harvard students’ profile: perfect score, lots of awards and ECs. I only have 2200(680 CR) on SAT and 2 SATII, 4 APs. In my high school, I was once the leaders of many clubs such as student government, but finally they looked dull and ordinary on my resume. However, during the gap year, I read some books, thinking about my life and true passion, and now planning to to a research assistant at a local university. I don’t have amazing awards and ECs, but I want to be dedicated into my interest. Is there any student like me studying in Harvard right now? Do I have to retake SAT and have some more APs? Thank you!</p>
<p>Hi! Thanks for doing this- your blog is great btw.
I’m currently a sophomore in high school. I was just wondering if there is a counselor I can speak with from Harvard who may be able to help me navigate through opportunities available to rural high school students? I live in nowheresville, FL, and I know that people in bigger towns have more of an edge when it comes to getting into an Ivy just because of the amount of opportunities available to them…
Also, I realize that the colleges themselves rate the high schools on a national scale. Do you know how to find out how a specific high school is rated among recruiters? I’d like to see what mine is on that scale.
Thanks! (:</p>