Ask about Harvard life here

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What is the drug scene like?</p>

<p>Not big. No one really talks about it at all. However, if you want to do drugs, you can. Obviously, you'd be in big trouble if you get caught.

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<p>There's definitely marijuana around. There's a final club or two known for cocaine use. Harvard is actually relatively lenient regarding penalties for drug use (worst case scenario, you're forced to take a year off).</p>

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do you hang out with people from other schools in the area?

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<p>This happens less than I expected. I have friends at BU + Brandeis, but we rarely see each other, because I'm really involved here, and they're really involved at their schools. It's nice to have the safety net there–should the Harvard social scene disappoint in some way, there's always BU/BC/Wellesley to go party at.</p>

<p>It's very easy to go weeks without leaving Cambridge. There's so much going on here that even though I want to go see my friends at BU and BC, it doesn't happen that often. Freshman year I'd have my friends over here since Harvard tended to be much less strict than their schools concerning alcohol.</p>

<p>Are there any nightclubs around and does anyone ever got to them? The nightlife all seems rather tame compared to the British unis. which I hope is not completely true.</p>

<p>Does anyone know anything about the linguistics department? I've been looking on their website and it's pretty informative. But I was wondering what kind of work you do? I mean is there a lot of research? Say, looking in old books, trying to find common patterns? Or do you research in an area that hasn't been covered yet?</p>

<p>dunc, there are many night clubs and places in the city of boston, which is not that far away.</p>

<p>Harvard is notorious for supposedly providing a poor undergraduate experience. Is this (un)conventional wisdom true to any substantial extent? How are the teaching fellows, and how many of your classes are actually taught by professors? How much interaction can a student expect to have with his/her professor? Are there any other possible reasons that surveys seem to find undergraduates rate their experience at Harvard lower than students at other colleges? (Sorry for all the questions, I'm just rather curious.)</p>

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How are the teaching fellows, and how many of your classes are actually taught by professors?

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<p>Professors teach 100% of the classes, except:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Language classes - These are taught by native speakers, many of whom hold PhDs already. </p></li>
<li><p>Introductory mathematics classes - Our mathematics department does not believe in the lecture format, so all classes are taught in small sections of 25 students, though the course enrollment may be 200. Therefore, there are graduate students who teach the sections, but the course head is still a preceptor (Harvard's lowest rank for professor), and he/she teaches one section too. For example, last year, I had the course-head for both semesters.</p></li>
<li><p>Expository Writing - These are taught by preceptors as well who may not hold a PhD but have extensive experience of writing professionally. My preceptor, for instance, has a Master's in Fine Arts and has published her poetry in different anthologies.</p></li>
<li><p>Teaching Fellows - I loved all the teaching fellows I've had up to this point. The graduate schools at Harvard are hard to get into as well; many of the TFs are really intelligent in what they know and they really put a lot of effort into their teaching. It's really admirable and I'm now friends with my TFs. One moved to California and I still keep in touch with her whereas another I meet up for lunch for time to time. It's really great.</p></li>
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How much interaction can a student expect to have with his/her professor?

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<p>It's up to you. There are faculty dinners held by the Freshman Dean's Office as well as each individual upperclass house. Professors are also required to hold office hours every week. They are also open to individual appointments as well. A professor won't knock on your door, but you can definitely knock on theirs.</p>

<p>
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Harvard is notorious for supposedly providing a poor undergraduate experience. Is this (un)conventional wisdom true to any substantial extent?

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<p>I don't know how that got started. No, I believe the education I am receiving here is one of the best in the world. In addition, people hold Harvard up as the beacon of higher education and expect it to be perfect. But the people who run Harvard are people just like everyone else. Furthermore, my friends at state schools bear the grunt of what people say Harvard is like - 1) no professor interaction, 2) classes not taught by professors (many are adjuncts hired for teaching rather than a traditional university), 3) bad social life (Harvard actually has party grants that you can apply for - which other university has that?), 4) no advising (At Harvard, there is a ton of advising available, and the Office of Career Services counselors savvy can't be beat), etc.</p>

<p>johnleemk: From other threads, it sounds like you applied Harvard SCEA. If you did, I don't understand how you applied if you had so many reservations about Harvard. I certainly did my research when I decided where to apply early admission.</p>

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From other threads, it sounds like you applied Harvard SCEA. If you did, I don't understand how you applied if you had so many reservations about Harvard. I certainly did my research when I decided where to apply early admission.

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Even if I did have strong reservations about Harvard, I would hold my nose and apply, because I know the education will still beat the pants off anything I can get in Malaysia, and if I did get in, the financial aid would ease the financial burden on my parents - that's one child's education taken care of.</p>

<p>I've read many conflicting descriptions of all the major universities, but Harvard stood out because there are Harvard students who think it's great, and there are Harvard students who think it's crap, whereas with most other colleges, there isn't such a stark difference in opinion (ignoring the outliers, of course). After I applied, I stumbled on this</a> book. This was the first credible book (as opposed to websites or self-published books by students) that dealt with the rumours I've heard about Harvard not necessarily providing a great undergraduate experience. Lewis's take isn't very heartening - IIRC he cited a survey indicating more dissatisfaction at Harvard than many other prominent colleges.</p>

<p>It didn't really affect my decision to apply (not that it mattered - everything was in the mail by then), but it did make me curious about what a student currently at Harvard (as opposed to one who graduated from Harvard some years back, or one who transferred to another school) would have to say.</p>

<p>Even if Harvard is worser than all the other elite schools, it's still an elite school, and it still educates some of the best people in the world, with some of the most talented faculty around. It wouldn't hurt to apply, especially SCEA (since it's non-binding).</p>

<p>Harvard isn't my real first choice (to be honest, I have no first choice, although I'm sort of leaning towards Princeton since I have an aunt in NJ). But there's no harm done in applying SCEA, and depending on how things pan out, I may still end up at Harvard.</p>

<p>Anyway, I know I've droned on long enough. Thanks for going to the trouble of answering my pesky questions. :)</p>

<p>An observation from the parent of a freshman (who went there with reservations and is having the time of her life) - the concern about undergraduate life probably has its basis in two things. First, I'd have to assume that johnleemk's sentiments above are typical of some undergrads - they weren't really in love with the place, but decided to come because hey, they got into Harvard. But a larger reason for the stereotype may be that Harvard is the only school in the world with no aspirational peer. When I was a student at Wake Forest, if you asked me how things were I always painted the rosiest image because I wanted my school affiliation to draw from you the same respect that I thought you might give Duke or Chapel Hill. Even Yale students will have their responses about Yale influenced by their desire to convince others that their experiences are at least as good as those of Harvard students'. Harvard students won't have any insecurities about your opinion of their alma mater. If you ask how things are, you'll probably get a truly honest response, warts and all. Plus, I'd imagine that they all got into Harvard, in part, by having high standards and being demanding in their assessments.</p>

<p>I agree with gadad. I also feel as though people love hearing the negative stuff about Harvard. When I go home, friends and extended family ask how I like it here. I definitely get the sense with some that they want to hear the negative stuff, as though they love hearing how some great things aren't all what they're cracked out to be. </p>

<p>"But aren't all the people there crazy?" is a popular question. "Don't they only study all the time and not know how to have fun?" is another with it's cousin, "Isn't everyone rich and snobby?" </p>

<p>On CollegeConfidential, people love throwing around the idea that professors don't care about their students and are bad teachers, or that the education we receive is not as good as at Yale and Princeton because they focus on undergrads and Harvard does not, or that with grade inflation it's very easy and everyone gets As. </p>

<p>I can promise you that these statements do not reflect how undergrads here truly feel about their Harvard experience. </p>

<p>Trust me, if you come to Harvard, and you take your work seriously, your education will be top notch. If you come to Harvard, and you're open to meeting new and interesting people of all backgrounds, and you don't get caught up with the 'who's who' attitude that exists here, as it does on any ivy league campus, then your social experience can be amazing.</p>

<p>I've never seen my Harvard freshman so happy. Harvard is not perfect, but then again, no school is. Cambridge is amazing, as is the proximity to the T and all that Boston has to offer. However, I'd say that if you ask just about any Harvard student what the best thing about Harvard is, you'll get a resounding, "the people."</p>

<p>Potential Student-
How is dating at Harvard? Are there are a good number of students at Harvard that have a boyfriend, or girlfriend? And, how do you feel it is to balance having a relationship, and keeping up with academics? </p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

<p>This isn't a very important question, but I've been wondering if Harvard has wireless internet all around the campus?
Would I be able to access wirelessly from my dorm, the library, or a random site on campus?
Thanks :)</p>

<p>Runawaywithme: There is plenty of dating for students that want to date- a number of students I know have serious boyfriends/girlfriends, and most of the students I know who aren't in a relationship aren't interested in one.</p>

<p>One of the greatest advantages of going to school in Boston is the choice offered by the many, MANY other colleges nearby. For example, my girlfriend goes to BU, and other students date students at MIT, BC, Simmons, Wellesley, Babson, Northeastern... I think it's a great environment compared to schools that are one of very few in their city (like Dartmouth, or Cornell, or almost any liberal arts school).</p>

<p>Iamnervous, great news. There is excellent wireless internet almost everywhere on campus- certainly in every one of the dorm rooms and every library, though there are a very, very few classrooms that still don't have wireless (and if you're sitting in the very center of Harvard Yard, you might be able to find a blind spot.) Some people sit out in the yard on nice days and work on their computer while streched out under a tree.</p>

<p>So the answer is that there is internet access pretty much everywhere you could possibly want it.</p>

<p>Okay, i've heard that professors and undergrads dont eally interact. Is it true that the faculty is distanced, or is it just an anti-Harvard propaganda?</p>

<p>Your question is answered very well on the second page of this thread, by xjayz, gadad, and GOMBD12. If you still have specific questions after reading those posts, let me know.</p>

<p>Potential Student-</p>

<p>Is philosophy a popular major at Harvard? If you had to generalize, is the grading hard, medium, or easy for the whole department? How are the professor/student interactions for philosophy concentrators? </p>

<p>Same questions to economics as well since I am very interested in both those fields.</p>

<p>kyzan-Economics is very popular (largest concentration). Grading depends on the class. Professor/student interactions are limited compared to other departments (although, I'm going to dinner with Prof Mankiw this week!).</p>

<p>I don't know much about Philosophy, other than it's relatively hard, and known to be difficult.</p>