<p>thanks guys! I will probably buy a fan once I get there. Also, I am not registered in dorm crew, so no free fans for me. Anyways, another one. What kind of jobs can freshmen get? Could I be a TF for a language course in my native language? (which is not one of english/french/german/spanish)</p>
<p>As far as I know, teaching fellows have to be grad students. You can check out the Jobs Database on the [Harvard</a> Student Employment](<a href=“http://www.seo.harvard.edu/icb/icb.do]Harvard”>http://www.seo.harvard.edu/icb/icb.do) Office website to see what kind of jobs are available. </p>
<p>(Welcome to campus :))</p>
<p>How hard is it to be allowed to take 5 classes after your first semester? Is it just a matter of sitting down with a counselor/advisor and saying you’re aware of the risks involved?</p>
<p>In your opinion, is this a manageable fall semester schedule?</p>
<p>Math 21a
Expository Writing 20
Economics 10
Life Science 1a</p>
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<p>I doubt it. I mean come on, just being a native speaker doesn’t qualify you to teach it at on of the top schools in the world. </p>
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<p>I’ve never heard of anyone being told “no you can’t,” but it could perhaps be a problem if your first semester grades weren’t good.</p>
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<p>Manageable sure but your workload will be far higher than the average…though if you’re pre-med as I’m assuming you are, and you definitely want to take Ec10, you won’t exactly have a better time to take it until junior/senior year. So go for it. I’d advise taking a freshman seminar next semester if you’re planning on doing 1b and 21b so you can at least have a happier Spring.</p>
<p>You can TF a language class if the professor wants you. Engineering/CS/Statistics commonly have undergraduate TFs as well as language classes. I have a friend who was a freshman TFing a swahili course just because there is noone else to do it.</p>
<p>After first semester, you can do whatever you want. 6 classes usually requires approval, but 5 is always ok. you dont have to tell anyone or go to any special meeting or anything. Dont plan on doing that though, especially before you even take a class. Too many people come in with the intention of taking 5 classes a lot of times but end up realizing quickly that 4 classes is already absolutely demanding enough.</p>
<p>21a, Ec10,ls1a, and expos is a manageable first semester, although its probable you wont have much time to do clubs and stuff. Most people i know take 2 of 21a, ec10, and ls1a, just because having too many pset classes is never a really good idea. in addition, expos classes do vary wildly in time commitment, and some can make even a 2pset schedule a painful life. Its not necessarily that the classes are that hard, because they arent supposed to be, but really just that 3 classes with psets taht can take 5-10 hours each can be difficult to manage.</p>
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<p>Okay I stand corrected.</p>
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<p>Well, everyone has to get their study card signed by someone; that constitutes requiring approval.</p>
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<p>I’m hesistant to take such a demanding schedule right off the bat! Would you suggest that I postpone ls1a to sophomore fall then? I am actually hoping to do the extraordinarily by pursuing an Engineering Science SB primary and an Economics Secondary. (I love both disciplines and I really do not want to sacrifice any.) If I do postpone ls1a to sophomore year, my freshman and sophomore schedules will look something like this:</p>
<p>Freshman Fall
Math21a
Expos 20
Econ 10
Science of the Physical Universe 27: Science and Cooking: From Haute Cuisine to Soft Matter Science</p>
<p>Freshman Spring
Math 21b
Freshman Seminar
Physical Science 1
Econ 10</p>
<p>Sophomore Fall
CS 50
Physics 11a/Physics 15a
Econ 1011a
Life Sci a</p>
<p>Sophomore Spring
Gov 10
Economics 1011b
Comp Sci 51
Physics 11b/15b</p>
<p>I know I have taken pre-term planning to the extreme, but such is my personality! 
Would this schedule (especially Freshman and Sophomore Fall) be suicidal. I want to be pretty active in a few (2-3) time consuming Ec’s as well. For an average Harvard student, would this schedule be considered somewhat manageable?</p>
<p>@dwight, is there any adviser who cares very much? mine has never even cared to ask if my classes would be too hard or whatever, from my perspective its just a stupid formality.</p>
<p>yeah your sophomore fall would be death. id say ec10, math21a, and ls1a and expos are nothing compared to that (do remember that you are assigned a semester in expos, and it is very very very difficult to change from spring to fall although fall to spring is so easy cuz noone does that, i tried 5 times to change to fall but i was forced to take it spring in the end). </p>
<p>if you are more ambitious than average in that case, you probably want to balance your freshman and sophomore year classes. freshman year, i took some concentration classes most people take sophomore/junior year so taht my sophomore year wouldnt be killer, which is a bit risky, but it made my sophomore year easier.</p>
<p>generally, for more ec/finance minded people, the general rule of thumb is that out of stat110, cs50, and ec1011a, two is very difficult and three is almost impossible unless you already know everything about one of the classes or something. but to add physics and lifesci on just two of those honestly makes for one of the hardest schedules i would have heard of.</p>
<p>definitely try not to plan too much in advance, i know its really tempting, but its important to go through a few months to get a better sense of how classes here are. you would not be wrong to believe youd do well in any of the classes you mentioned; i know freshman who did well in every single one of the 16 classes you listed, but to stack too many classes on top of one another would be very risky.</p>
<p>or, you might just be really smart (which is certainly possible) and work very very efficiently and then it wouldnt be that bad. but just from the perspective of myself and most people i know itd be a really tough life.</p>
<p>Hi my CC friend,</p>
<p>Could you please read my predicted resume below and see if there is anything you have question about my extra-curricular activities, or you think there are improvements for my extra-curricular activities?</p>
<p>Harvard is my dream!</p>
<p>Thank you from the bottom of my heart!</p>
<p>An eager student</p>
<p>Predicted Resume (including grade 12)</p>
<p>Awards (the competitions below are hosted by University of Waterloo, and contestants are not only confined to students in Canada) </p>
<p>Canadian grade 11 Hypatita Math Competition<br>
School 1st place
Gold Standard
31st place in Canada<br>
grade 11</p>
<p>Canadian Grade 12 Euclid Math Competition<br>
School 1st place, top 2% in Canada<br>
grade 11</p>
<p>Canadian Grade 11 Fermat Math Competition<br>
School 1st place, top 2% in Canada<br>
grade 11</p>
<p>A sad truth is that I do not receive any departmental awards from the school.</p>
<p>Extra-curricular activities
Cultural exchange related activities
Martial arts Club Founder/President grade 11-12</p>
<p>Multicultural Club Member grade 11
President grade 12</p>
<p>Student Council Class Representative grade 10
Vice President of external affairs grade 11</p>
<p>Toronto District School Board
SuperCouncil Representative of Jarvis Collegiate Institute grade 11-12
(SuperCouncil is the union of all TDSB student councils)</p>
<p>Model United Nations President grade 11-12</p>
<p>Math related Activities</p>
<p>Math Club President grade 10-12</p>
<p>Toronto Math Circle Member grade 11-12</p>
<p>Peer tutoring Math Tutor grade 10-12</p>
<p>Toronto Public Library
Editorial Youth Advisory Group Math Tutor grade 10-12</p>
<p>Other activities
Recycling team member grade 10-12</p>
<p>Ping Pong team member grade 10-11</p>
<p>Below are positions I can get, but I am not sure if I should get, because I think they will just make me overstuffed. Plus, I think have more positions do not mean I will have a greater admission chance; instead, they may confuse admission officers when they are trying to see who I am. But I list them anyway. </p>
<p>Could you please give me some valuable suggestions as to possessing these positions or not? Thank you!</p>
<p>(Calculus Club founder/president grade 12
Science club president OR VP grade 12
Mandarin club president grade 12
Physics club founder/president grade 12
Chemistry club founder/president grade 12)</p>
<p>Thank you for reading my resume! </p>
<p>Before you read the following paragraphs, could you please envision about who I am, for a few seconds?
Thank you. </p>
<p>Now please read my image to see if my image matches your thoughts.</p>
<p>The image I want to show to the admission people: </p>
<ol>
<li><p>I want to make myself a communication person. I am involved in many cultural exchange related activities, and I am the liaison between different countries (through Model UN). As a Vice President of external affairs, I have a big role of communication. I serve as the liaison not only between student council and student body, but also serve as the liaison between our school student council and the Toronto District School Board SuperCouncil(a union of all student councils in the TDSB), and a cultural exchange person. I am an international student who has received education in both China and Canada. I am an active cultural exchange person in the local community as well.
Also, I am a Kung fu fighter, who is not only confined to Kung fu’s physical and visual beauty, but also act as the liaison between different cultures, that is why I name my club Martial arts rather than Kung fu to unite other martial arts, such as, Taekwondo, and hence unite other cultures. That is, in fact, what Bruce Lee did to unite Kung fu with other martial arts to create a better form of Kung fu, Jeet Kune Do. Moreover, I have been performing Kung fu in school assemblies, majority of the students love me because of it. People recognize me as a Kung fu master. That’s why I create the martial arts club.</p></li>
<li><p>A math person who is not only good at math, but also spread the pleasure of math to other people by tutoring and math club. And I join the biggest local math society for students, Toronto Math Circle, as well.
I might found a Calculus Club, since I one of the few students who take grade 12 Calculus before grade 12, and I find Calculus fascinating.
I receive some national recognition in terms of pre-calculus math contests as I listed above.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>That is my “image”. Did you thoughts match my “images”? Any comments you want to make about my “images”?</p>
<p>If possible, could you tell me what you think about my extra-curricular activities and my “images”?
And what do you think I should do for my summer and for next school year to improve my extra-curricular activities?</p>
<p>Thank you for your patience of reading my resume and giving your feedback!
Have a good summer!</p>
<p>An eager student</p>
<p>kimathi- Have you studied the engineering requirements in the course catalog yet? They have a specific and lengthy list of required classes, and you will also have to meet the Gen Ed requirements as well.</p>
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<p>Yes I have and I have been able to craft a 4 year schedule that allows me to fulfill all my Gen Ed requirements, Primary Concentration(Engineering SB) requirements and Secondary concentration (economics) requirements while taking only 4 classes a semester with classes that atm genuinely interest me (though is likely to change and I will update the schedule accordingly. I might even look into the possibility of having some 5 class semesters). In fact the only reason I want to take ls1a is that it is a required class 
The only hurdle I am finding is not that it is impossible to fit all the requirements in the four years but rather that some semesters end up being relatively suicidal! </p>
<p><a href=“do%20remember%20that%20you%20are%20assigned%20a%20semester%20in%20expos,%20and%20it%20is%20very%20very%20very%20difficult%20to%20change%20from%20spring%20to%20fall%20although%20fall%20to%20spring%20is%20so%20easy%20cuz%20noone%20does%20that,%20i%20tried%205%20times%20to%20change%20to%20fall%20but%20i%20was%20forced%20to%20take%20it%20spring%20in%20the%20end”>quote</a>.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I am aware of this. And accordingly, the freshman seminar and expos 20 are interchangeable depending on which semester of expos I place into! I have changed my schedule as per your advice. How does this look?</p>
<p>Freshman Fall
Math21a
Expos 20
Econ 10
Life Sci a</p>
<p>Freshman Spring
Math 21b
Freshman Seminar
Physical Science 1
Econ 10</p>
<p>Sophomore Fall
CS 50
Physics 11a/Physics 15a
Gov 1100
Science of the Physical Universe 27: Science and Cooking: From Haute Cuisine to Soft Matter Science</p>
<p>Sophomore Spring
Gov 10
Applied Math 101
Comp Sci 51
Physics 11b/15b</p>
<p>I decided that, at least for now, the relatively challenging freshman fall semester is a necessary evil if I am going to be able to fulfill my requirements in time! Some of those classes are prerequisites for others and others need to have been completed by the end of sophomore year in order to concentrate in engineering! I however will continue to talk to other upperclassmen (such as you helpful lot) and find out ways in which they managed. </p>
<p>Would you suggest that I do Expos 20 in the spring and thus take the Freshman Seminar in the fall? (You noted that it should be relatively easier to petition to have it in the spring.) Is Physical Science 1 generally easier than Ls1a? I have a very rigorous Chemistry background but a rather lackluster Bio one so I think I would find PS1 easier. Moreover, assuming I would be more accustomed to college level work due to already having settled in, I theoretically should handle the rigor better. What do you think? </p>
<p>Again I want to thank you all for your opinions as well as for taking your time to help me! I hopefully will lay off the perfectionist pre-term planning soon! :)</p>
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<p>Physical Science 1 is graded on a fairly generous curve, even if the exams are sometimes way out in left field. Ls1a is not a difficult course if you stay on top of your work - I’d say that they are at about the same level of difficulty. If you have a rigorous chemistry background, I think PS1 will go well for you.</p>
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<p>It depends on the seminar you’d like to take - some are offered only in the spring or in the fall. Have you looked at the list yet?</p>
<p>On another note, your sophomore fall looks deadly. Have you found any ways around having to take CS 50 and Physics 15a? Physics 15a is a pretty intense course.</p>
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<p>That depends on the language. In the African Studies department, you probably could get a TF position, but in the Romance Languages Department, probably not. However, there are a wide range of jobs at Harvard for freshmen; some that come to mind are stints in the Lamont Cafe, library jobs, Dorm Crew (it’s horrid! DON’T. DO. IT.), and Crimson Callers. There are plenty of jobs out there - just look at the SEO database regularly.</p>
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<p>I have identified plenty of interesting ones, both in the fall and in the spring, so this shouldn’t be an issue! :)</p>
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<p>Unfortunately, No! I have to have taken both of those classes by the end of my sophomore year in order to qualify as a engineering concentrator. (I will have to have completed Math21a&b (or higher), Physics11a&b(or higher), Ls1a, PS1 and CS50 by the end of sophomore year. I therefore divided them equally in all 4 semesters. Perhaps the department uses this to weed out potential concentrators?) My only reprieve might be taking Physics 11a instead. Considering my physics background, it will be significantly less challenging. Would this help alleviate the unnecessary rigor? Or alternatively I could take physics freshman year. Do you think that LS1a and Cs50 will be more manageable than Physics11a/15a and Cs50?</p>
<p>yeah if youre really gonna push for engr sci SB theres no real choice but to go for the schedule you have. you do have to realize that it may be very very very challenging and potentially impossible. i know going in its easy to have the attitude that because maybe your math/phys/compsci/whatever background may be strong, it can help make your life easier, but a strong background is all relative when you get to harvard. i have lots of friends who thought ls1a,math21a,ec10, and phys 11a would all be cakewalks given their high school preparation who were sorely mistaken and ended up having very very very difficult times their first semester. i knew 2 people who took 2nd semester freshman year off because they planned their schedules poorly and put themselves in very very bad positions. absolutely am not kidding when i say this. </p>
<p>i dont know anything about your background, and you may very well have no problems with the schedule that you propose. i personally feel that phys15+cs50 is much easier than ec1011a+cs50, and your revised schedule a few posts up is not necessarily a bad schedule. just dont come to harvard with a set agenda; it almost changes entirely for most people. i had my first year or two planned out completely when i stepped on campus. i ended up taking only 1 of the 4 classes i was almost certain i would take first semester (math21a) and various experiences i had guided me to where i am now.</p>
<p>How tough are the intensive intro language courses? I mean, clearly they must be demanding, but are they worth it/manageable?</p>
<p>If it makes any difference, I’m considering beginning Latin.</p>
<p>WOOO Latin!!!</p>
<p>I don’t go to Harvard, but I am a latinist and familiar with different types of rigorous instructors. Latin, like any language, requires you to stay on top of things. i fyou have good study habits, it should not be a problem. I believe an intro course should take you through a HS latin 1-2 and maybe a little bit of 3’s material. A book which I believe covers all of the material you’d be likely to find in an introductory latin course would be wheelock’s book (looks deceptively thick). latin is, however, very rewarding to translate once you get to real literature!</p>
<p>how hard do you harvaridians party?</p>
<p>@ksarmand
What makes you hate Dorm Crew so much? Tell us the story.</p>