<pre><code>I know that this is the time when lots of students are making hard decisions about school, and I just wanted to offer myself as a resource on Harvard. I'm a current junior who loves it here, and its been my experience that message boards like this tend to give a somewhat distorted view of Harvard, with lots of negative myths thrown around on one hand and some brand induced blindness to Harvard's faults on the other. This place isn't perfect, but it's pretty great in lots of ways (including most all of the ones that are important to me), and I'd love to elaborate on both the pros and cons as needed by anyone who is looking for advice on these boards (not the first place I would go but then again its amazing how information starved lots of college decisions can end up being in my experience so it can't hurt). Feel free to either reply to this message or PM me at any time, especially if you're considering picking somewhere else over Harvard... there are lots of great reasons to do this, mind you, but also some that deserve a friendly push back. =)
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<p>Do you feel like the professors are approachable? I am planning to go on to medical school so it’s really important to get good recommendations. I am just worry that I might intimidated by the professors or they are really unapproachable. Please tell me about your experience.</p>
<p>Yes! With exceptions. The most important thing to remember about Harvard professors is that they are as diverse as the students. The only thing that unites them all is that they are all experts in their fields. Its actually funny sometimes to see professors interact with other professors for the first time (at faculty dinners and such) because they can be just as awkward as students sometimes and don’t really have anything in common with each other in some cases. Point being, they are not intimidating super-people in the social sense, so in general I never hesitate to talk to a professor for that reason.</p>
<p>But are they approachable on average? Definitely. The master of my house is a stem-cell visionary and he eats dinner with students 3-4 nights/week at least (randomly, as in he will just sit down with you at dinner). Many of my friends have great friendships with professors through research, regular office hours attendance etc. </p>
<p>I do want to make sure I’m clear that I am not pre-med, so I cannot speak significantly to that experience or even the experience of professors in the departments you would most likely take classes in. I can say that many students come in pre-med and aren’t in the end (I would say ~1/4 start out that way (maybe higher), and about 1/10 end up applying to med schools), but that is because they discover other interests. </p>
<p>My experience is not representative of all, but my interactions with professors have been pretty limited compared to what most people probably assume occurs at Harvard. This has been a personal choice, as I’ve focused on extracurriculars and other interests while here. I’ve definitely learned far more from interacting with my peers than from interacting with professors. Again, this is not a trait of Harvard but something I’ve chosen very deliberately. If relationships with professors are a goal for you you will find they come very readily.</p>
<p>I hope that helps! Let me know if you have any other questions or if I missed a bit!</p>
<p>I adore two of the three professors in the departmental biology class I’m taking for my biology gen ed right now, and they are nice to me even though I’m a junior in a social science/humanity. They talk more to biology-ish concentrators and freshmen, because they have more in common or the potential to have more in common than I do. All of my friends who wanted bio research experience were able to find it pretty easily by freshman year or early sophomore year.</p>
<p>But if any student from another discipline is wondering that same question, I’m in a humanities or social science discipline (not economics or government), and it’s often super great. It does vary, but I’ve had some fantastic luck amid the merely OK. My interests wander over continents and centuries, so I take a fairly wide range of courses in a variety of departments. There’ve been professors I don’t like, sure. (Although one of them I get on spectacularly with now that the class is over, which was a little weird.) But there have also been many professors who’ve really gone out of their way to help me, as far back as freshman fall. Right now I’m enrolled in a two-person class with absolutely the world’s expert on his problem; he’s the nicest person, and I’m just so happy this semester. I mean, his specific “problem” doesn’t have that many people working on it in the world, but such is research. He’s certainly really well-respected on the culture he studies in general, but I doubt there is a single “world expert” is his more general field. Two-person classes are probably the exception, and I’m aware I’ve been quite lucky; but with that luck, I’ve had almost as personalized an experience as any small LAC student could ask for.</p>