<p>This may not be the sort of queston you had in mind, but: why do applicants to other Ivies so often characterize H student as boring, bookish nerds with no interests beyond narrow academics? Every H kid I know is well-rounded- even the most ardent STEM kids have an amazing string of interests and involvemets, some personal, some voluntary, some professional. Seems to me they get up off their you-know-whats and engage. Or, is there really some “bookworm” thing going on that I just don’t see?</p>
<p>What did you do in High School, like your extracurriculars, and volunteer, or Sports?</p>
<p>How easy is it for Harvard students to work with their professors (or other professors they don’t know) on independent research projects in the sciences? </p>
<p>Edit: (as a freshman)</p>
<p>A few questions:</p>
<p>Unlike most schools I’ve applied to, I’ve heard that Harvard allows freshmen to have vehicles on campus. Would a student without a vehicle be in a bind? I had generally planned to use public transit. Is public transportation in the Boston area safe and efficient? Mainly, I just want to know if most freshmen do actually bring vehicles. </p>
<p>You said you were on full financial aid, so I’m interested to know, what exactly does full aid cover? I know it covers room and board, but does it cover textbooks? I’ve heard that it may cover some travel expenses for students who live far away. Is that true?</p>
<p>I know that a full financial aid package includes a work study contribution. What is the general reputation of the work study program at Harvard? Like, are students who have to take work study jobs looked down upon as obviously “poor” or something? I know that’s a silly question, just curious.</p>
<p>Just read the screenplay for The Social Network. 
I know they took their creative liberties to make it an exciting film… but if you saw the movie, how much of the Harvard social scene resembles what was portrayed?</p>
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<p>Exactly like DwightEisenhower said, I’ve met people at both ends of the spectrum so far. I know a person or two who really just thought of their classes are a means to an end, but I also came to know a lot more people who truly love their courses that they talk about the material all the time even outside of class. And here’s another thing to consider: there’re only so many hours in a day, and Harvard kids tend to pack their schedules with activities. Even if you want to spend forever on one problem, you really can’t become so immersed in it that you ran out of time to complete your gazillion other essays/readings/problem sets/non-academic obligations. It’s the tragedy of college life:P</p>
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<p>Depends on your level of confidence and initiative. There won’t be any professor reaching out to you to ask you to be in their lab, and the opening positions won’t be well advertised. But besides that, working in a lab as a freshman is not difficult at all, especially if you’re actively on the lookout for the opportunity. As a freshman I’ve had offers from three labs, even one that pays $10/hr… I honestly can’t think of any other school with better research opportunities than Harvard, which is a huge part of the reason why I chose this college over other schools in the first place.</p>
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<p>I don’t know any freshman who brought a car to campus, and I sincerely advice you not to either and use the public transit instead: the subway and bus system is so incredibly efficient that it’ll get you to virtually anywhere in Boston/Cambridge within minutes (well, maybe longer if you’re going farther).</p>
<p>But for driving though, that would give you the real Boston experience for sure…</p>
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<p>I can’t give a good explanation for this just like I can’t understand why anyone would want to bring a car to campus.</p>
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<p>The financial aid system works like this: you’re given a certain amount of grant each semester as a part of your financial aid package, usually termed the Harvard Faculty Scholarship unless it comes from other source. Each semester, you will be billed for:
Tuition
HUSHP health insurance basic
HUSHP Supplemental
Student Service Fee – College
Room Rent
Board (full meals and more)
However much goes over your financial aid grant you pay out of pocket, either with a check or through an online system that you can sign up to streamline the process. So, it’s not that the financial aid covers certain fees and not others, but rather that the school allots you with a certain amount of fund and you’ll be responsible for however much that goes over that amount. If you have “full financial aid” of zero parental contribution, then the grant will generally be large enough to cover everything.
You pay for textbooks out of your own work study money.</p>
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<p>There is no formal requirement for work study, and you don’t have to work if you find yourself too busy. However, the general trend is that college students everywhere tend to want to have some kind of job if circumstances permit, and it’s pretty cool, in my opinion, to be able to manage your own bank account, support yourself and be more financially independent from your parents (which is totally possible btw if you’re on full financial aid).</p>
<p>I personally have no problem telling someone that I’m “obviously poor”, but if you’re uncomfortable with that, rest assured that you won’t be looked down upon as “poor” because you have a job, just like most of the people I know that have jobs are in no way poor. Around 65% of Harvard students have held jobs on campus over the course of their college career.</p>
<p>I’ve heard some criticism about Harvard with regards to its undergrad education. Is it true that Harvard doesn’t place as much emphasis on the undergraduate education as some of its peers (Yale, Dartmouth, etc.) ? Or do you feel like there’s really no difference and you’re pretty well taken care of?</p>
<p>Adding onto adtv1234,</p>
<p>What/how big is the gap between undergraduate life at H and Y?</p>
<p>Even though this is Dwight’s thread, I’m more than happy to answer any questions as well! :)</p>
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<p>To be frank, that social scene is completely alien to me. At Harvard, you find a wide variety of gatherings; they range from dark, sweaty suite parties with dreadful alcohol to fairly bland affairs where the lights are on too bright. If getting smashed is your thing, there’s plenty of that available, and if you prefer to hang out with people in a more relaxed setting, then that’s available too. People have such a wide range of preferences when it comes to social events that you’re bound to find a place where you feel comfortable.</p>
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<p>In all honesty, I have absolutely no idea. I know very few people who actually spend all their time inside studying. Actually, I’ve found that it’s the most diligent students who are the most hardcore partiers.</p>
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<p>If you have as much work as the average Harvard student, then you won’t have time to work on challenging math problems because you think they’re fun. You’ll move on to the next assignment you have in the pile of work on your desk. 
Students are definitely interested in understanding the underlying concepts behind the work they’re doing, but they’re also realistic about their priorities, in which difficult math problems do not rank at the top.</p>
<p>What is your take on second interviews?
Not sure if you would know, but it would be great if you knew anything about them
Thank you!</p>
<p>How is the “religious scene” at Harvard? Do you regularly go to church (from your other posts, I know that you are Christian)? How is the church you go to and how do you engage in your chosen religious community–both inside and outside of Harvard? What kinds of resources do you use at Harvard to expand on your spirituality?</p>
<p>I feel like I should PM you this question, but maybe you’ll be willing to answer here on this thread.</p>
<p>Hello, i am currently a High School freshman and i was in Advanced biology. I didnt do to well so i droped the class. I was doing bad for two marking periods. I now in my academic class am obvioulsy getting an A. If i continue to do well until the end of the year will the other two bad grades count on my overall Gpa</p>
<p>^ Something only a Harvard student could answer.</p>
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<p>I wouldn’t expect Harvard to be too much different from Yale in this regard. </p>
<p>There’s a difference between a university not placing the entirety of its resources into undergraduates and not “placing an emphasis on undergraduate education.” Obviously, the entirety of Harvard’s resources doesn’t go toward undergrads. It has grad students, law students, med students, divinity students etc. to take care of. Princeton doesn’t have that issue. But does that mean that Harvard cares less about supporting its undergrads? No. 1600 undergrads don’t get duped into matriculating at Harvard each year and then realize that the shuttle buses have flats and the ceilings are falling apart. A majority of students study abroad at least once (sometimes up to three times!) at Harvard with a majority (if not all) of their funding paid for by Harvard grants. Harvard dishes out money to top-caliber professors in FAS. Harvard provides money to Houses for the purpose of holding social events. There are tons of these examples.</p>
<p>Of course, there are benefits to sharing a university with non-undergrads. The Kennedy School regularly attracts US politicians, foreign leaders, and other top-class speakers for sessions and study groups that all Harvard students can attend. Some of your classes might have graduate students in them who are graded and submit work with different expectations, but still can contribute to discussions with an experience you may not easily get from other undergrads. Due to a scheduling conflict I had to take one of my history sections with grad students. While this may be intimidating for some, it offers a unique chance for deep discussion that has immeasurably contributed to my interest in the class and its subject matter. Plus, selfishly, it doesn’t harm my grade in any way since they’re graded differently and separately.</p>
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<p>I’ve never met anyone who keeps a vehicle here, at least as far as I know. There’s really no need for it at all. If you’re like most students, you’ll rarely go into Boston anyway and taking the T is cheap, easy, and safe. </p>
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<p>I don’t think work study has any kind of reputation at all; I don’t know why anyone would ever talk about it to their friends or whatever. Jobs that are exclusively for work-study students are only recognizable as work-study when the employers are soliciting applicants. After that, there’s no way to distinguish a work-study job from another unless you’ve memorized them from the student employment website or something. </p>
<p>As for your question about the extent to which people are wealth/class conscious, they’re not. I’m not even fully aware of what my roommates’ financial situations are, and I’ve lived with them for almost two years. It’s just not something people talk about.</p>
<p>I know there are multiple students responding to questions on this thread, so I hope one of you can respond.
As far as admissions goes, I am a student who works pretty hard in every other area of study. However, I will not be taking honors pre-calc until my sr year. How bad is that going to hurt my chances at Harvard. I am not planning to study any math related fields (I will most likely go into political science). Also, I was very good at a particular extra curricular, except the team was filled with drama and I quickly realized the atmosphere was distracting, not to mention annoying. So I regretfully had to quit. How bad will that hurt me?</p>
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<p>Dwight is correct. There’s an old stereotype about the differences between how the well-off display their wealth on the two coasts. Perhaps it’s the nice weather, and the influence of Hollywood; on the West Coast–it’s the name-brand cars, handbags, scarfs, plastic surgery etc. That stuff is hardly visible on the East Coast. Personally, I think people are a bit more reserved; some people will dress very nicely, elegantly, and neatly, but rarely ostentatiously so. Everything is rather understated.</p>
<p>Are there exceptions? I’m sure there are…but I’ve never really encountered any. My friends who come from wealthy backgrounds are REALLY low-key about it. I didn’t really knew that about one of my roomies until I figured out where I’ve encountered his last name before…</p>
<p>Jaysha–</p>
<p>Rationalize all you want, but it’s detrimental for you to not take the most rigorous math courses available and for you to quit an extracurricular you were dedicated to because of “drama”. How dedicated were you, then, if something so stupid compels you to quit? Harvard doesn’t want quitters or weaklings, sorry – and Harvard is known to scrutinize personal characteristics in applicants.</p>
<p>I’m going to butt in here. My exp is with admissions at a competitor. Missing calc is routinely noticed, even for non-STEM applicants. To show right with only pre-calc…you’d better be superior otherwise. Apologies for the butt-in.</p>
<p>Dwight, you previously stated that almost no one activates Advanced Standing. Why do you think this is? After preliminary research it seems like a great opportunity to me.</p>