Ask *actual* students and alums questions HERE

<p>Can't make it to the concert, co11ege -- I'll be in town the following month for my 10th reunion. I hope that some '99 and '04 Kuumbabes get together for some singing. The six '99 Veritones definitely plan to meet up with our founders, who were class of '89.</p>

<p>The alumni network at work!</p>

<p>Ah, I'll be here during graduation and reunions. Maybe I'll see ya around. :)</p>

<p>So Kuumba and Veritones, huh? Were you ever in Sisters by any chance?</p>

<p>College confidential meetups - what a blast.</p>

<p>I remember freshman year when "sunglasses" and I met "byerly" at Au Bon Pain. I wonder what became of him.</p>

<p>What's a Kuumba concert? Sounds interesting :).</p>

<p>And I haven't actually got into Harvard yet :P (I'm homeschooled, but I'm applying at the end of this year).</p>

<p>Yes, I was in Sisters when I was a 3L.</p>

<p>I was in Sisters, too! (For my first three semesters.)</p>

<p>Sorry for hijacking the thread...anyone have more questions?</p>

<p>the kuumba sample on the harvard music cd was amazing :)</p>

<p>the kuumba sample on the cd harvard sent admits was amazing :)</p>

<p>So does Harvard have any sororities or fraternities? I heard they dont</p>

<p>1) Was there a moment(s) when you felt regret for coming to Harvard? If so, what caused it?</p>

<p>2) What kind of person do you think would not fit at Harvard?</p>

<p>@college_bound91
Search around a bit - this is a commonly asked question.
There are three frats: Sigma Chi, SAE, AEPi. The first two have small houses (I believe 1-2 of the members live in the houses). There are three sororities: DG, Kappa, Theta, but no sorority houses.</p>

<p>There are 8 all-male final clubs, all with houses. There are (depending on who you count) between 2 and 5 female final clubs, two of which have some sort of social space.</p>

<p>You can get really into the various scenes if you want (greek or final club), or ignore them entirely. It's up to you.</p>

<p>@Midaji
1. No - I've never regretted coming to Harvard. I do have a few friends who have realized (usually around late sophomore year) that they probably would have been happier at another school. The vast majority of the people I know really love it here, and wouldn't trade their experience for anything (I don't know anyone who's transferred out, for example).
2. <a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/harvard-university/683916-dont-go-harvard.html#post1062232346%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/harvard-university/683916-dont-go-harvard.html#post1062232346&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>wow this thread is slowly turning me from black and orange to crimson
thanks guys :)</p>

<p>a silly question: harvard being full as it is of such high-performing people in their fields, is it hard to get involved in extracurricular activities as a novice? if one wanted to try one's hand at journalism, or singing, etc, for the first time?</p>

<p>is it hard to get involved in extracurricular activities as a novice?
I can speak to The Crimson -- there are definitely no prerequisites to join*. If you have less journalism experience, you may end up taking a full year to fulfill your "comp" requirements (rather than one semester). This is really common and widely accepted.</p>

<p>The one caveat I will mention is that while almost all activities are friendly to novices (some exceptions: The Lampoon, some elite orchestral/vocal performance groups), many groups require intense commitment to get on the "Exec Board", become president, etc.</p>

<p>*(One small exception - the IT Board requires some programming experience, but concurrent enrollment in CS50 (the intro class) counts).</p>

<p>@ajbwells - Definitely stop by the Preview weekend if you can! Crimson > Black</p>

<p>I sing in the Glee Club, and I came to the college with a fair amount of singing experience. I made callbacks for three a capella groups, but only stuck around for one of them, and didn't make it beyond the second round. Most singing groups on campus have competitive auditions processes; the Dins and Tonics and the Krokodiloes are especially difficult to receive callbacks from. Just to give you an example: this year the Dins had 30 men called back for the second audition round, and accepted I think 3 new members. Some of the other a capella groups have a less stringent process, but again it helps to have a background in singing.</p>

<p>[url="<a href="http://www.kuumbasingers.org%22%5DKuumba%5B/url"&gt;www.kuumbasingers.org"]Kuumba[/url&lt;/a&gt;] has no auditions! ...and yet, still sounds amazing. (I am so shameless...) So if you like to sing, I recommend checking it out. There are also two a cappella subsets of Kuumba (Brothers and Sisters) that do extra gigs and hold auditions at least once a year. And there are lots of opportunities to get more involved. I should mention that Kuumba has a pretty specific cultural purpose although it's completely open and welcoming to everybody (more info on the website), so it's important to keep that in mind.</p>

<p>For most a cappella groups, the audition process can be competitive, but many people who don't make it through on their first try do make it through the second or third time. If you don't get in right away, it doesn't mean you're not talented enough. The groups need a certain size and balance of voices, and as older members graduate, more spots open up. I think it also helps to be open to a few different groups rather than set on one in particular.</p>

<p>There are also various choirs/choral groups, but I don't know much about the audition process for those.</p>

<p>Regarding journalism, there are a ton of different publications here, and you're bound to find something you like. Most of them are very open to newbies. The Crimson comp process is pretty well-done, I think.</p>

<p>What does it mean to "comp"?</p>

<p>"wow this thread is slowly turning me from black and orange to crimson
thanks guys"</p>

<p>Heh heh...My brother went to Princeton. What's making you change your mind? (just curious)</p>

<p>
[quote]
What does it mean to "comp"?

[/quote]

Some extracurriculars have a comp process which trains new members for a semester before they officially join the club as full members. The Crimson probably has the most well-known comp. Comp used to be short for competition I think, but now people pretend it's short for competency... however most comps are not actually very competitive, and as long as you finish the requirements of the comp you will pass it.</p>