<p>There are a bunch of "ask a Harvard student" threads scattered around, but I figured that following your acceptances some of you might have questions about life at Harvard, academics, or really anything else to help you make your matriculation decisions going forward. I'd love to field any questions or concerns you might have :)</p>
<p>As you probably gathered from the title of the thread, I'm a freshman, and while Harvard isn't perfect my time here so far has been incredibly wonderful. I encourage you all to look at your options really carefully and choose the school that's ultimately best for you, but do hope that many of you pick Harvard (and can't wait to see you at Visitas and hopefully next year)!</p>
<p>Congratulations to each of you! Please feel free to reply to this post or PM me; either is fine.</p>
<p>I just visited Harvard and loved it! They talked about residential colleges, and one thing I was wondering has to do with selecting your groups to live with. Apparently, during the end of your freshmen year you have to make a group with 7 other freshmen to live together in your residential college? Is that correct? That seems like it might be a little stressful…what are your experiences going through that now (I assume you are at least)?</p>
<p>We just went through that process a couple of weeks ago (before break), actually - it’s called blocking, and it happens in late February/early March. You’re almost correct: the way it works is that freshmen either block in groups of 2-8, or “float” (register for the housing lottery on their own). Within a given blocking group every member is guaranteed to be in the same house. Additionally, two blocking groups can “link” to one another, which means they’ll be in the same neighborhood (there are four neighborhoods of three houses each).</p>
<p>Blocking experiences vary a lot; I was really lucky and didn’t have to go through any drama at all, but I heard several stories from people who did. Ultimately, though, it all works out - and housing day (when you actually get your specific house assignment) is really, really fun!</p>
<p>1)Which other colleges were you accepted but turned down to attend Harvard?
2)Why did you choose Harvard?
3)As a freshman. what were the challenges you had to overcome or yet to overcome?</p>
<p>What were your scores on SAT’s and what were your EC’s, GPA??? Also, do you think I would have a better chance of getting into Harvard coming from Scotland???</p>
I only applied to Harvard SCEA, but the schools I was going to apply to include Yale, Princeton, Stanford, Brown, MIT, UChicago, Penn, and Harvey Mudd (among others; I had a list that was far too long).</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Harvard was my top choice for a number of reasons. Their financial aid package was extremely generous (granted, I didn’t actually receive others to compare it with, but I really don’t think I would’ve gotten a better one anywhere else). I went into college unsure what I wanted to study, and I felt that Harvard has very strong programs in a much broader array of academic disciplines than most of the other schools to which I was planning to apply. Cambridge/Boston is also a wonderful location, and I love the campus/city interaction (as opposed to Yale, which is a bit of an island within New Haven, or Columbia, which kind of gets absorbed into New York City from what I’ve heard from friends there). Harvard strikes a nice balance. (And of course, though this shouldn’t be a primary reason, the Harvard brand does carry weight that many of the other schools don’t).</p></li>
<li><p>Figuring out how you study is really, really important. College gives you a ton of flexibility with your time, and if you don’t learn how to use it quickly it’s easy to get overwhelmed. That said, there’s a TON of advising here and other resources to help with the adjustment process/overcoming the typical challenges of freshman year.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>@IvyLeague2011:
I posted on the 2016 SCEA results thread - PM me if you’d like more details, but one person’s scores/grades/etc. aren’t really a good indicator of “what it takes to get in” (since the process is so subjective). If you really want quantitative admissions data, there are definitely online resources for that.</p>
<p>As with any school, there are a variety of personalities, interests, and strengths represented within the Harvard student body. What I’ve found, though, is that the stereotype of the pretentious Harvard student is pretty uncommon. People here tend to be driven and passionate, but some are more shy while some are more social.</p>
<p>I happen to be taking an unusually heavy courseload this semester which puts me in class (not including section/office hours) for ~17 hours/week. That said, the norm is closer to 10-15, and it depends upon the classes/number of classes you choose to take, as does the workload. We have something called the Q guide which students use to rate and then look up classes based on overall quality, difficulty, instructor quality, and workload, which is a really useful tool when it comes to course selection.</p>
<p>The only requirement for freshmen is Expos, which is the writing class all freshmen have to take. Most only take one semester (Expos 20), but for non-native English speakers there’s a full year of Expos (first 10, then 20). Aside from that, though, requirements can be fulfilled at any point during your four years here.</p>
<p>OK, thanks for that. The link was really helpful. How is the living at Harvard? Do you get to select how many roommates you want. Also, are the roommates the college select for you normally a good fit? Do you choose which house or dorm for freshman year you are in? Any descriptions of living at Harvard or what the different dorms are like would be great! Thanks</p>
<p>Living at Harvard is great! Early in the summer you fill out a housing form in which you include how many roommates you want, answer a few questions about your lifestyle (music taste, sleep schedule, neatness, etc.) and write a short personal statement of sorts. The resident deans personally go through every form and try their best to match roommates that they think will be a good fit - in my case, it worked perfectly; my roommates are also my best friends (though of course that is definitely a best-case scenario).</p>
<p>You don’t ever get to choose what dorm you’re in, but the number of roommates you put down as your preference on the form can give you some idea as to where you might end up (since certain dorms have only doubles and triples or only suites, for example). Most freshmen live in the Yard, and there are four other dorms (the three Union dorms and Apley) which are slightly further away, though still closer than the upperclassmen houses. In March of your freshman year, you’ll be randomly placed into one of the twelve upperclassmen houses (nine along the river and three in the Quad); the day freshmen receive their housing assignments is, appropriately, called Housing Day and is one of the best days of the year by far.</p>
<p>What’s your least favorite part of Harvard (in terms of life/academics)?</p>
<p>What’s your favorite part with the same parameters? </p>
<p>Is there a place for STEM/ quantitative finance people?</p>
<p>I’m mostly interested in the culture at Harvard since when I visited the tour was quite short and I don’t think the guide was representative of the whole campus (didn’t seem very smart).</p>
<p>This may sound a bit like a cop out, but the worst part about Harvard is that it’s impossible to take advantage of all the resources it has to offer. (I know that’s a bit analogous to answering “What’s your biggest flaw” with “Perfectionism,” but it’s very true.) That said, that realization becomes really stressful, and the sheer amount of resources present here get super overwhelming very quickly. Also, the general atmosphere is really competitive, although in my experience it’s been - mostly - a healthy competition rathe than a cutthroat one.</p>
<p>My favorite part is definitely the people! All of Harvard’s resources are incredible, but the students and faculty are absolutely amazing beyond words. </p>
<p>I’m looking at concentrating in STEM, so yes, there is - Harvard is launching a huge initiative to expand SEAS (its engineering school), and its math and pure science departments are already among the best in the world. What I love about the Harvard STEM experience is that it’s balanced and integrated really nicely with the humanities/other fields.</p>
<p>If you’re an accepted student, you should definitely come to Visitas! Campus culture is really tricky to gauge, particularly if one tour is your only sample - and it’s something you have to experience for yourself (I happen to love the culture here, but it’s not a fit for everyone).</p>
<p>Do most students travel between Boston Logan and campus by taking the train or the taxi? Is it easy to figure out the public transportation to and from the airport? My son is excited about VISITAS coming up.</p>
<p>Harvard is around Boston right? So do a lot of student visit the many other schools in Boston, like MIT? Or do most Harvard kids just stay with themselves?</p>
<p>@ohmmho, getting from Logan to Harvard and back again is super easy. When you arrive at Logan, look for the signs for public transportation. You want something called The Silver Line. It is actually a bus (the accordion kind) which enjoys a mostly continuous dedicated lane to South Station. At South Station, take the Red Line (which really is a subway) in the direction of Alewife. The 6th station is Harvard Square (Downtown Crossing, Park Street, Charles/MGH, Kendall Square, Central Square, Harvard Square). I believe that the Silver Line is free right now, and since it feeds right into the Red Line, the whole trip is free. You will have to pay on the way back. Here is an attachment for a map of the MBTA.</p>
<p>@starju13, your contact with people at other universities depends solely on you and your friends. My son mostly hung out with Harvard friends, but one girl in his blocking group was going out with a guy from BC, so they all spent time together. Also, since you can cross-register at MIT (it’s about 3 miles away and easy to get to by foot, bus, or Red Line), it’s your decision if you want to spend time there or not (Harvard is much prettier).</p>