<p>I can’t ever get this thing to do quotes (I’m old) but I’d agree with DDE that taking the bus to Target is a better idea than what I recommended (BB & B in Kenmore Sq.). I wasn’t aware of the Target in Somerville. I’ve lived next to Cambridge for almost 30 years, and there are so many stores that have come and gone that I can’t keep track of them. </p>
<p>I need to go to bed now!</p>
<p>Thanks for all the help! :)))</p>
<p>Consider springing for a taxi on the way back from the shopping trip. It’s a one-time expenditure that will save you a lot of headaches dragging your stuff home on the bus.</p>
<p>T^T</p>
<p>[Boston’s</a> Cabs Are Most Expensive Anywhere | Radio Boston](<a href=“http://radioboston.wbur.org/2011/02/14/taxi-cost]Boston’s”>http://radioboston.wbur.org/2011/02/14/taxi-cost)</p>
<p>No doubt about it - Boston cabs are ridiculously expensive!! Go with some roommates.</p>
<p>I was just wondering, is there a Walmart of some sort near the school? Or some place that I could buy stationary, notebooks, etc for not exorbitantly expensive prices?</p>
<p>No Walmart near the school but the aforementioned Target is pretty cheap. </p>
<p>Try googling “(Insert name here) near 02138” and select “Get directions to…” and opt for the display public transportation only option. Usually things are accessible by the many buses that run through Harvard Square.</p>
<p>If you’re talking about notebooks you’re going to lose money in the transportation cost unless you’re planning to buy in extreme bulk. If you’re buying in extreme bulk, search for dollar stores, I think there are some in Somerville. Otherwise just go with the Staples right in the Square; the prices aren’t bad.</p>
<p>So what do you guys suggest as the best way to go from the Logan airport to Harvard when I arrive? my parents will be with me and we will probably have 3 big and 3 small suitcases. Are cabs too expensive to use? Using the T is out of the question with all that luggage.</p>
<p>I find it possible to wrangle one big and one small suitcase per person through my local subway system (if I’m not trying to do so at rush hour). I assume the T is the same. If it’s like my subway system, it’s not that it’s impossible, it’s just unpleasant. Cabs are expensive, but not necessarily too expensive to use: people do often use them. (I can’t speak to wrangling thousands of suitcases through the T because I always give up and get/share a cab.) I’d call ahead for a van cab, otherwise you’ll be taking two with all that luggage. Logan to Harvard is usually 35-40$ per cab.</p>
<p>@confused, yer doing it wrong. Ship your stuff in boxes by ups and pick them up when you arrive. There is full support for this.</p>
<p>One big and one small suitcase per person is good and then you take the subway. You don’t have to walk much. When you arrive at the airport, you should take the blue line to STATE STATION,then switch to orange line, then take the orange line to PARK STREET STATION, then you should switch to red line, which you can get to HARVARD SQUARE station. When you get out of HARVARD SQUARE station, Harvard door is just right across the street.
Sounds complicated but not at all. You should get there within 50 minutes. Cost would be $6.</p>
<p>Actually, the quickest way from Logan airport is to take the silverline (which is a bus and part of the T system, from the airport located just outside arrivals, to South Station, where you switch directly to the redline and take that to Harvard Square. Only one change. Total cost around $2.00. (You can buy the ticket on the silverline bus as you board.)</p>
<p>Confused- if you have your parents with you, it is definitely easier to just take the $40.00 cab ride.</p>
<p>^
Absolutely. The Silver Line (really an “accordion bus”) to South Station and then a change to the Red Line to Harvard Square is MUCH better than Blue to Green to Red.</p>
<p>And being a parent myself (we get a bit worn around the edges), I’d really recommend that you spring for the cab from the airport with your mom and dad. Also, where are your parents staying?</p>
<p>I feel lame for posting this, but what’s the bus number(s) that take you from Harvard Square to Davis Square and vice-versa? I have somehow completely forgotten in the last month.</p>
<p>^<a href=“http://maps.google.com/[/url]”>http://maps.google.com/</a></p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Nothing that I can remember anymore, so there must have not been anything too exciting.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Like other people said, silver line to South Station, then switch to Red Line to Harvard Square. Very straightforward and dummy-proof. If you’re going to be traveling with family, especially if they’ll be staying at a hotel, another option is to rent a car in Boston. It’ll be ready for pickup for you at the airport and your parents can return it when they leave.</p>
<p>this is definitely wrong, but the 77 goes along mass ave and kind of gets you within a block or two of davis haha.</p>
<p>also, nothing happens first few days of orientation. try to have a handbook of activities so you know whats randomly out there for you to explore and see, but theres nothing realy mandatory that takes up too much time. its a fun time to just relax.</p>
<p>Thank you all for your posts!!! I think I will probably go with the cab-van idea of exultationsy. However, I feel like I need more details on that how to book such a van from abroad?
EnoughAlready: the silver-line idea seems great for when I will be going back home. My parents will get worn out and I don’t think this is a good idea! 
We are staying somewhere in Harvard square I think…</p>
<p>One more question related to academics this time: Is it a good idea to take classes back to back for example math at 11 and Econ10 at 12? and maybe CS at 13.00?</p>
<p>I just want to say, this thread is awesome!</p>
<p>So, I was told by a Brown student that many freshman at Brown have little experience in Calculus or higher level math courses, since they were stronger in other areas. Is this true at Harvard as well? Are there really kids there who only took Pre-Calc or some other math in high school? And are there popular math classes for introductory level Calculus?</p>
<p>Thanks for this thread! I just got the “linens” mailing and was wondering if that’s the best/ most common option for getting all your sheets, towels, etc.? Thank you</p>
<p>@physics - i have a lot of friends who brought sheets to school, but oftentimes that isnt practical. harvard student agencies sells a wide variety of bedding that you will receive a brochure for sometime in july most likely. you can look through it, and if you decide to order anything pickup be a minute walk from the yard when you get here.</p>
<p>@jaysha - certainly, i have many friends who have had little advanced math experience before coming to harvard. what i love the most is that everyone always has their own things that their good at, perhaps at the expense of other potential skillsets. for people with less advanced math backgrouns, theyll see quickly theres so many students just like them. one caveat is that a lot of these students do tend to concentrate in other subjects (math probably isnt as interesting to them) and so some of the maths before multivariable calculus wont be too big (id say 100-200 combined in like the 4 classes?), but a lot of people just dont take math at all in lieu of other subjects theyre more interested in. </p>
<p>@confused, taking classes back to back isnt really a problem at all. all classes tend to start at 7 minutes past the hour. i personally try to create as few gaps as possible so i dont have ot go to the yard too many times a day. based on what youve noted, i see youre probably looking at am21a (or math 25) at 11 and then cs50 at 1. i dont have too many friends who took math, econ, and cs freshman year, just because that is a pretty tremendous workload, but i do have friends who were fine doing that. in addition, econ 10 is sectioned, meaning that it is taught in small groups of 20-30 or so in various locations, and sometimes people end up with the problem of having an ec10 section that is over at the kennedy school!, which makes getting to class before/after adjacent classes a hassle.</p>