<p>People say:
- H is overly competitive
- H has little social life
- H's faculty are inaccessible and, often, only teach in large lecture situations (with fellows/grad students taking smaller classes)</p>
<p>Anyone got experience that affirms/contradicts this? Ta.</p>
<p>I've talked to a recent Harvard graduate about the whole social life/lack-thereof deal, and she really pressed the fact that Harvard is an absolute blast, with great emphasis on the idea that it's socially fun only if you choose to make it that way. Basically, she said that college life, no matter where you go, is what you choose to make it, which also obviously applies to Harvard. </p>
<p>The gist: You want to have a social life? Pursue one, and you'll get it. Harvard has people from all walks of life, and believe it or not, many of them are there to have a good time.</p>
<p>She said similar things about the faculty...all profs have office hours, and if a student wants to get to know their teacher (or ask them questions), they're more than able to. It's all a question of whether or not you, as the student, seek them out. Being proactive is a lot of what all of this is about. </p>
<p>It is true that larger classes are broken down into what they call "sections" of about 12 students, and that teacher's assistants/grad students, etc. oversee them. But from what I've heard, these are complimentary to the larger lectures, and serve the purpose of allowing the students to get more personalized time to ask questions and clarify things, as well as expound on things with another instructor well-versed in the subject.</p>