<p>Not before the 2009-2010 school year ...</p>
<p>Wait, so Harvard currently has exams AFTER winter break?</p>
<p>^^Correct. It's the thing I like least about the school. Reform is good but won't come in time for D though.</p>
<p>But not all students dislike it. D is fine with it. Sliding the calendar back a couple of weeks will help other things like summer programs and interships however.</p>
<p>I loved the Harvard calendar. When I went to Columbia and was finishing up projects on December 23 and trying to get ready for the holidays at the same time it was a nightmare.</p>
<p>They changed the UW calendar after my freshman year- hurray. Guiltfree break, no unused calc book I was supposed to be studying... That was 35 or so years ago... get with it Harvard!</p>
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<blockquote> <p>But not all students dislike it. D is fine with it.<<</p> </blockquote>
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<p>I'm not so sure that D dislikes it all that much, but I do. The pall of impending finals always hangs over Christmas, and watching her not study never gives me a warm and fuzzy.</p>
<p>I was talking to some Harvard profs, some of whom have taught elsewhere before teaching at Harvard. They commented that the level of involvement in ECs at Harvard is far higher than at peer institutions which they attended or where they taught. Some said that many Harvard students will live to regret the calendar change unless they change the ways they go about their studies and their ECs.</p>
<p>We're all thrilled about the change in the calendar, though our family will only reap one year of benefit from it. I want to know when the 2010 graduation will now be. Anybody have a clue?</p>
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<blockquote> <p>Some said that many Harvard students will live to regret the calendar change unless they change the ways they go about their studies and their ECs.<<</p> </blockquote>
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<p>And this is not necessarily a bad thing...I sometimes think my D is majoring in ECs, with her studies as an extra-curricular activity.</p>
<p>^^Very true, but Harvard would not be Harvard without those ECs, from the Crimson to the Hasty Pudding, to the community service in places like Dorchester, to the countless singing groups...</p>
<p>I guess I don't understand the concern about the student's EC participation and the calendar changes. Why would it make a difference?
Students at Yale do community service in the district schools and have an active student newspaper as well as countless singing groups. I would think that it may be an adjustment for the current students , but new students will just take it in stride, and I doubt it will affect the level of participation. (for better or worse, ellemenope ;) )</p>
<p>^^I'm sure new students will adjust. But it will make for a very different experience for them than the ones the current students have.</p>
<p>The Harvard Crimson is, in my opinion, a far more interesting paper than the Daily Princetonian or the Yale Daily News. Harvard has over 300 student groups and counting. Below is a profile of a friend of my S:</p>
<p>She sounds fantastic, but why would the calendar change that for her?
How does the current Harvard calendar promote these ECs? Why would the dates of attendance matter? The number of days in attendance (at school, and not away from their campus) are very close to other schools.</p>
<p>I don't get the "very different experience" argument regarding the schedule change. Yale has a longer fall semester, and Harvard has a longer spring semester, but the total days balance out. Do you really think that the quality of the ECs is calendar related? I don't see it.</p>
<p>It's reading period that makes the ECs possible. As long as they keep a long reading period I don't think Harvard will change that much.</p>
<p>The idea is that many students focus on their ECs throughout the semester and cram like mad during reading period, which, to all extents and purposes, goes from 20Dec. or so until mid January for the fall term. During spring term, they have a much shorter reading period, but they do have spring break (Thanksgiving is only Thursday-Sunday). </p>
<p>When considering schools for S, I asked someone who had taught at both a top LAC and at Harvard what she thought the difference between the two sets of students was (she's been a Harvard undergraduate so she drew on quite different experiences). Her take was that LAC students did the readings conscientiously but were unwilling to depart from the arguments in the readings for fear of being wrong. Harvard students, on the other hand, were often unprepared for section, but could b.s their way through. I was reminded of that when listening to the class day speech (on the Commencement Exercize webcast, just before Clinton's speech). The young woman (very very funny) was joking about how seniors learn to read a single foonote from the assigned text and cow the rest of their section, especially the conscientious freshmen, with their seeming erudition and deep knowledge of the text. This, of course, is an exaggeration, but it plays into the stereotype of the Harvard students whose passions are their ECs. David Halberstam said that when he attended Harvard, he "majored" in the Crimson. I believe him. Conan O'Brien spent most of his time at the Harvard Lampoon.
Lots of profs don't actually like the way students focus on their ECs. those I talked to thought that the students who supported calendar reform had not really thought through what it would do to their study habits. At any rate, as you observed, they won't be around.
As a Cambridge resident, I love the many concerts, plays, operas, and other activities mounted by Harvard students. As a Harvard parent, I am glad that my S cannot slack off. He had 3 weekly psets and 1 weekly response paper each due on the dot by 5pm. But I also know that he's made tons of friends through his ECs.</p>
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). Her take was that LAC students did the readings conscientiously but were unwilling to depart from the arguments in the readings for fear of being wrong. Harvard students, on the other hand, were often unprepared for section, but could b.s their way through.
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<p>marite, I highly doubt that this is an accurate description of the students at a certain LAC we both know and love, and it's a pretty broad indictment of LAC students in general.</p>
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The idea is that many students focus on their ECs throughout the semester and cram like mad during reading period, which, to all extents and purposes, goes from 20Dec. or so until mid January for the fall term. During spring term, they have a much shorter reading period, but they do have spring break (Thanksgiving is only Thursday-Sunday).
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<p>I can see why you might be concerned, but I wouldn't be. Yale students do the same thing--focus a lot on their ECs during the term, and cram during their two-week reading period - although my yale daughter used reading period to do *even more *in her ECs, as I'm sure some H students do, as reading period provides a lot more unstructured time. ( I highly doubt that Havard students use the entire winter break to study- although they may feel that they should be. JMO)</p>
<p>If Havard's calendar starts earlier, they will still have a two-week reading period and they will have more total time on campus in the fall. They won't be able to study over winter break, as classes will be out, but they could certainly continue with their non-academic interests and passions, or travel, as many do, without the added pressures of unfinished coursework. It's a nice break- three full weeks. I see no reason why the quality or committment to one's outside interests and opportunities should be negatively impacted by the type of change Harvard is considering. </p>
<p>My daughter will have an opportunity to try out the old schedule first hand next year. I'll be interested in her reaction, but I won't count on seeing much of her over winter vacation. Having to go back to face finals or finish papers,
I don't see her getting much of a true break.</p>
<p>And I agree with garland. This prof's description of LAC vs Harvard students says more about the quality of her teaching (or lack of) and directing class discussion than it does about either LAC or H students.</p>
<p>Garland:</p>
<p>It's not about the LAC we both know. And it's not about LACs generally. If anything, it was a comment about how Harvard students can b.s. their way through sections. This reputation, which may well be undeserved (I know my S did his readings very seriously!) is widespread. As is the idea that H students do not pay attention to their studies throughout the semester and use the reading period to catch up. It's not that they're lazy; it's that they're so busy with their ECs.
Compared to some Harvard students I have known, the young woman featured in the article I linked is nothing remarkable. Earlier in Class Day, a couple of students were recognized for their community service. Pretty impressive. I was left wondering when they had time to devote to their studies.</p>
<p>I have always heard that the one thing that distinguishes Harvard from peer institutions, besides location, is the focus on ECs. Not everybody gets sucked in, of course, but plenty do.</p>