So I’ve recently been admitted, and I’ve heard a lot of things–both good and bad–about the school. I’m looking for people to set the record straight so I can get the REAL scoop on Harvard. I probably won’t make my final decision until after Visitas, but honestly, I’m tired of people around me saying that Harvard is elitist and full of snobs. There’s no way that EVERYONE is like that. So here’s what I want to know:
What are the students really like? Are people open to helping each other and collaborating? Are they really self-absorbed?
Are the professors accessible? Do they hear you out when you come to their offices, or tell you to piss off?
Is it easy to get lost in the crowd? I know that a school like this doesn’t hold your hand, but will they let you crash and burn?
How’s the workload? I’m thinking about majoring in English, and I’ve heard that you have to read about 1,000 pages a week (yikes!) I know it’s rigorous, but HOW rigorous is it?
Is there a good sense of community there? Do the students know how to have fun? Does the House system promote unity?
LAST QUESTION: Is Harvard a place that really makes you happy? Why or why not?
I’m very curious to see the answers to this too. Like you I’ve heard both good and bad things about Harvard (sometimes things that completely contradict one another!) and I’d really like to know the real deal. I very much want to like Harvard and I’m hoping it will be a place that I can enjoy but all of the different things I’ve heard have me wary.
Let me try to answer your questions in backwards order, at least from the perspective of my daughter.
If you’re looking for happiness (whatever that means) YOU will have to supply the happiness, as “Mother Harvard does not coddle her young.” She does not supply happiness, or facilitate events as other schools do, that might make a student happy – i.e. weekly campus wide dance parties, ski trips, picnics, boat trips etc. Unlike other colleges, Harvard doesn’t even have a student center (though that will change in the next four years). Harry Lewis, who is the Dean of Harvard’s Computer Science Department and was Dean of Harvard College about 15 years ago, famously said (and I’m paraphrasing) “Students are at Harvard to work, not have fun. It’s our job to supply the academics, not the entertainment.” If you are looking for fun in the traditional college sense, maybe Harvard is not for you. There’s plenty of fun to be had, but student’s need to supply their own fun.
The workload is going to depend on the classes you take – some classes have tougher workloads than others. For example, last semester my daughter took LS2, which is one of the courses Harvard students thinking of going to medical school take (http://www.registrar.fas.harvard.edu/courses-exams/course-catalog/life-sciences-2-evolutionary-human-physiology-and-anatomy). However, as the professors assume they are teaching the gifted and talented, the course was jammed packed with things you wouldn’t be asked to do at another college, such as identifying every bone in the human body by week two in the course – something my wife didn’t have to do until medical school! (FWIW: My daughter who graduated in December PBK Magna Cum Laude got an A- in the course and was ecstatic, as rarely do students receive A’s in LS2). So, sometimes when a student’s goal is graduate school, or medial school, they might be better off attending another college where they could be tops in their class, rather than being in the middle of their class at Harvard.
Harvard professors do not reach out to students. Student’s must take the initiative and reach out to professors and other students. If you do, people are receptive. If you don’t, you will be lonely, lost and left in the dust.
Yes, but see #3
Just like any college, you’re going to find people you love and people you find obnoxious. About 60% of Harvard students are on financial aid, so the majority of student’s are not from monied backgrounds. However, 40% of them are from wealthy families. They go to Europe over Spring Break, or go to their home in the alps for Christmas. If you make friends with them, they might even take you with them and pick up the tab. FWIW: Collaboration really depends on the class and the polices of the professor: http://isites.harvard.edu/icb/icb.do?keyword=k70847&pageid=icb.page355322
I would say that because @gibby is perhaps the most prolific poster in the Harvard forum, his daughter’s views take on the appearance of being the pervasive opinions of Harvard students. From what I have seen, they are not. My daughter and all of her friends LOVE being at Harvard and are grateful every day that they get to wake up at one of the most amazing schools in the world. All of my daughter’s professors to date have been extremely accessible and one that she met when she was in high school has been a very kind mentor to her. Also, Harvard’s alumni network is unparalleled and the opportunities being afforded to my daughter are truly remarkable.
At any school, you will always find kids who are unhappy for whatever reasons (I went to a top Ivy and there were certainly kids who wished they were somewhere else but they were most definitely in the minority). I would say that you should go to Visitas and speak to as many current undergrads as you can to see if Harvard is right for you.
Harvard has “fun” orientation activities and some freshman houses host study breaks with snacks and so on. The house system provides a sense of close community and belonging and also holds events, Secret Santa, dances and so on. Throughout the 4 years there are small parties in dorms and of course the Finals Clubs. Students hang out in the house dining halls a lot.
We did not find the student body elitist, though there certainly are some wealthy students there, many are on financial aid, some there for free.
The work is challenging, yes: the English majors we knew were very happy with their courses, and many also did theater as an extracurricular.
I think the smaller departments involve a lot of interaction with professors; of course large lecture classes don’t, and then often the main relationship is with TF’s, as is the case in many universities.
Students often have study groups on their own before exams, so collaboration in that sense can be high.
I would say there is a good deal of cross-pollination as students with one talent share what they know and do with others with different talents.
Finally, as to hand-holding, there is an advising system, but the deans of each house are very involved in student welfare. I happen to know that Harvard remains committed to students with medical or psychological challenges in ways that would surprise those who say it is a harsh environment.
These questions come up a lot, especially this time of year. Before my D enrolled I had some of the same concerns. It seems everyone “knew” Harvard was cutthroat competitive, full of elitist rich kids and staffed by a faculty that was more interested in publishing and advancing their own careers than teaching. But we found most of the people offering these opinions had never actually set foot on the Harvard campus
D has since graduated and I can say that, in her case at least, the negative stereotypes were either greatly overblown or nonexistent. She thoroughly enjoyed her time at Harvard and graduation day was bittersweet.
A few classes, esp intro classes, were large. They were taught by the professor and then later broke down into smaller sections taught by TAs. There was never an issue getting in to see a professor during office hours - even the big name ‘superstar’ professors. But you have to make the effort, of course. Steven Pinker isn’t going to stop by and check-in with you just to make sure you’re staying on task.
As for ‘will they let you crash and burn’? There’s always that option. But with a graduation rate around 97%, it happens pretty rarely. As a freshman you’ll have a team of advisers to help you navigate your first year at Harvard. A Freshman Adviser/Proctor, a Resident Dean of Freshmen and a Peer Advising Fellow (PAF). D was a PAF as an upperclassman. They go through training and are assigned a group of freshman students. They get together over the course of the year one-on-one over coffee or whatever and discuss class recommendations, extracurricular choices or any other problems or concerns the student may have.
Workload? Yeah, it’s probably going to be pretty high. But hey, you got into Harvard - you can handle it.
I have a feeling that if Harvard’s yield falls from it’s near record 82%, it will be because of the record harsh winter Boston has just experienced and the number of kids who have read the negative opinion(s) expressed on this forum that does not reflect the majority of Harvard students’ experiences. I mean if the school is good enough for the “Tiger Mom’s” two daughters…
So far, all of your answers have been pretty helpful! I’ll clarify a few points of confusion:
By “Happiness”, I meant “not miserable”. I’ve read an article that stated how Harvard students were significantly less happy overall than other Ivy league kids, which really concerned me.
As for collaboration, I basically wanted to know if kids were willing to study together and help each other out if someone got a little confused. I heard the “cut-throat” rumor and was led to believe that Harvard kids were so competitive that they weren’t willing to study with classmates (which probably isn’t true, but it’s still not the kind of thing a pre-frosh wants to hear, lol).
I know that Harvard isn’t a walk in the park, but then again, neither are my other top choices (Georgetown and Swarthmore). I’m ready for a challenge, but I want to be around supportive, open people (not uncaring kids who are only looking out for their own interests). So that was my biggest concern. I guess I won’t know for sure until after Visitas, huh?
Our daughter is loving her experience there and there has been a very strong support system academically and socially with a clear concern for the students well being. The kids that she has met and continues to meet are amazing. She has developed remarkable friendships with the nicest and most engaging kids. She is so happy.
I cannot say enough good things about the student community there. We are fortunate in that we are slightly over three hours away, as a result of that we visit quite often. We just arrived home a couple of hours ago after having spent the night in Cambridge last night. We routinely take our daughter and a friend or two to meals, attend performances such as plays, musical performances, comedy improv etc…
I couldn’t imagine being around a finer group of young people. These kids are awesome!
I am sure Harvard is not completely unique in these regards, but we have been so impressed, I really believe it to be a very special place.
There are almost 1700 kids in a freshman class. Of course, you will find kids that are self-interested but you will find them on any campus. The bulk of the kids are friendly, caring, extremely smart, very accomplished kids who are working very hard to get by. Collaboration is a necessity in some classes. CS50, the famous intro computer science class had some 800 kids enrolled in it this year. Every year, they hold an all-night Hackathon with tons of pizzas and snacks and drinks brought in. They have a 12 hour webcam tape that you can watch and you can see the kids having a ton of fun collaborating on their final projects (robotics, iPhone apps,etc.).
My daughter has a ton of friends. Like @Greatkid, last time we went up there we took a bunch of them out for brunch. All great kids with really interesting stories to tell. We also spent a wonderful afternoon in Harvard’s Fogg Museum which has an amazing collection of art - everything from Van Gogh to Rothko.
Although, one rarely expects sports at an Ivy League school to be all that exciting, this year it was especially thrilling to see the men’s basketball and football teams beat Yale on the last game of the season at the last second to capture the football title and the NCAA March Madness basketball tournament playoff berth.
Go Crimson! (Unless, my alma mater’s team is playing.)
Angelonacloud, I resonate with the above posters about the positives of Harvard. Of course, there are all sorts of kids there, some cutthroat, others collaborative. Yes, they get together, support, and help each other. Find those kids, and you will find support.
Happiness is a term I find difficult to address. Not to sound cliche or evasive, but it really is up to you. Kids at Harvard are not miserable, although I know not everyone thrives there. Harvard will offer you a great education, amazing opportunities, great profs and faculty, and the opportunity to grow as an individual. But it’s not for everyone. Harvard provides the resources, the opportunities, etc…but really, Harvard expects its students to take the initiative for their education and experience. The supports are there as well, but you need to make use of them,they won’t find you. Some people find this cold and unsupportive, while others find it exciting and the chance of a lifetime. It’s for the driven, and those that aren’t afraid to be a small fish in a large pond. These kids work hard, but they expect to. They also have fun. and in this day to day way of life, they forge a community that makes Harvard what it is…what you want to make of it.
Funny that the OP solicited info from “current students” yet it doesn’t appear that a single student has replied; mostly parents. I guess current students are too busy (and have better things to be doing) to be hanging out on CC.
After going back and forth between Harvard,Notre Dame and Northwestern my son choose Harvard.My son is very outgoing, social and sports crazy.After a tough start of not knowing if he made the right decision, he found his niche and a great group of friends.He currently a 2nd year student and this past weekend he said it was the best choice he’s ever made.My observations from hearing about his first 2 years are.(1) Harvard is not a Rah-Rah school although at times (Harvard vs Yale Football, Certain Basketball and Hockey games) the campus is buzzing.(2) The Social scene on campus is ok and a lot depends on if you are an athlete,know upperclassmen in Finals Clubs ,attended certain prep schools or had an older sibling attend before you.(3) There are plenty of things to do around campus if your not into partying.(4) The work load is heavy and time management is key but the learning environment is amazing.(5) The opportunities that Harvard and it’s name offers are priceless. Classes with great professors,internships,clubs and being surrounded by such bright kids. (6) Being around Harvard and all these smart, diverse driven kids has pushed my son both academically and to grow as a person. He definitely made the right choice.
Most students do tend to disappear once they have achieved their reasons for originally visiting College Confidential. Their parents, for some reason, do tend to stick around.
My freshman son loves Harvard. He has joined multiple clubs, forming friendships with both undergraduate and graduate students. Through some of these clubs he meets with students from other universities and has told me more than once that he is very thankful he chose Harvard. He feels very much at home with his fellow Harvard students, whom he describes as extremely intelligent, but down-to-earth, friendly people. In contrast, those he meets from Y and P have a prep-school attitude, which he doesn’t relate to. Granted, Y and P probably have a diversity of students, but the ones involved in the activities my son is interested in tend to be of the prep-school type. Furthermore, my son is amazed by all the opportunities Harvard provides and wants to stay for graduate school; it almost pains to imagine himself anywhere else. He stayed during spring break for club-related stuff, so his father and I visited, and we had a blast watching the H vs UNC basketball game at a local restaurant full of Harvard students. For social life, many of the clubs sponsor parties and events, as do the residential houses. Here is a link that gives a glimpse of House spirit: http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2015/03/day-of-destiny/. My best advice is to attend Visitas, meet as many people as you can and find those who share your interests, those whom you are most likely to spend your time with, to get your own true feel for Harvard.
@snarlatron, your statement about Harvard students being too busy to hang out on CC rings true. Just spoke to my son a little while ago on the phone, and when I commented about how busy he was, he replied, “I’m working hard at a lot of things, but I love what I’m learning.” No way will I interrupt, by suggesting that he place a post on CC. So, I wrote one myself.
