Discontent at Harvard (and JHU?)

Colleges and Universities A-Z Harvard University
1

<p>Does anyone know whether or not JHU was above or below Harvard in this infamous ranking of the unsatisfied? As I understand it, Harvard was the fourth from the bottom on the unhappiness scale, was JHU higher or lower?
Does anyone know which schools had the happiest grads?</p>

<p>“Students complain that Harvard lacks places where students can socialize and has so many rules that it is difficult to hold a party on campus, where almost all undergraduates live. In the classroom, students can go through four years with limited contact with professors. Large lecture classes are divided into sections headed by graduate students. Small classes are frequently taught by temporary instructors. In many cases, advisers are graduate students, administrators or full-time advisers.” </p>

<p><a href="http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tm...appy_at_harvard%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tm...appy_at_harvard&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>I don’t recall things being this bad at JHU.</p>

2

<p>Link isn't detailed enough. </p>

<p>I'm interested in this, too. Are there any current students at Harvard who believe otherwise?</p>

3

<p>Well, many of the complaints are valid, especially the ones about lack of social space, but some of them would apply to any large university (large lecture classes are divided into sections...) and don't seem to be things to complain about. And advisers? Who cares? Everyone complains about the awful advising system (especially for freshmen), but no-one really knows what they would want out of an adviser. Mostly people want someone to tell them stuff they would have known already if they'd taken the trouble to read the student handbook. I think the concept of having an adviser is ridiculous in the first place, unless you're planning to go to academic graduate school. Like some random administrator knows which of the thousands of courses I should take? (Moreover, what's wrong with having your adviser be a full-time adviser? Wouldn't that be a good thing? At least you could expect them to have a comprehensive and impartial view on courses.)</p>

4

<p>I find that article hard to believe, especially when current undergrads at Harvard tell me how they go out multiple nights a week.</p>

5

<p>OP, Your link was faulty. The article appears below:</p>

<p>Poll: Harvard Students Mostly Unhappy </p>

<p>Tue Mar 29,11:42 AM ET U.S. National - AP </p>

<p>CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - A long-held stereotype that Harvard undergraduates feel neglected by their professors and don't have as much fun as students at other colleges now has some data to back it up. </p>

<p>Student satisfaction at Harvard College ranks near the bottom of a group of 31 elite private schools, according to survey results outlined in a confidential memo obtained by The Boston Globe and reported in Tuesday's editions. </p>

<p>The group of 31 colleges, known as the Consortium on Financing Higher Education, or COFHE, includes all eight Ivy League schools, other top research universities like the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Stanford, and liberal arts colleges like Amherst and Wellesley. </p>

<p>The 21-page memo, from staff researchers at Harvard to academic deans, documents student dissatisfaction with faculty availability, quality of instruction, quality of advising, as well as the sense of community and social life on campus. </p>

<p>"Harvard students are less satisfied with their undergraduate educations than the students at almost all of the other COFHE schools," according to the memo, dated October 2004. </p>

<p>On a five-point scale, Harvard's overall student satisfaction comes out to 3.95, compared to an average of 4.16 for the other 30 schools. Only four schools scored lower than Harvard, but the schools were not named in the memo. </p>

<p>The difference appears small, but some Harvard officials say they take it very seriously. </p>

<p>"I think we have to concede that we are letting our students down," said Lawrence Buell, an English professor and former dean of undergraduate education. "Our standard is that Harvard shoots to be the very best. If it shoots to be the very best in terms of research productivity and the stature of its faculty, why should it not shoot to be the very best in terms of the quality of the education that it delivers?" </p>

<p>The data in the memo comes from graduating seniors in 2002, but is the most recent available. </p>

<p>Harvard administrators declined comment on the survey, though they told the Globe that their internal numbers have improved since 2002. </p>

<p>Students complain that Harvard lacks places where students can socialize and has so many rules that it is difficult to hold a party on campus, where almost all undergraduates live. </p>

<p>In the classroom, students can go through four years with limited contact with professors. Large lecture classes are divided into sections headed by graduate students. Small classes are frequently taught by temporary instructors. In many cases, advisers are graduate students, administrators or full-time advisers. </p>

<p>"I've definitely had great professors," said Kathy Lee, a junior majoring in psychology, "but most of the time you have to chase them down and show initiative if you want to get to know them."</p>

6

<p>stop bad-mouthing harvard... every school has problems.</p>

7

<p>I agree with Princetonwannabe. If you dont like the fact that Harvard is a large research university than dont go. Every school has its problems, but Harvard's, because its the best university in the world (in my opinion), are always exaggerated.</p>

8

<p>Who do you think is bad-mouthing Harvard? I certainly wasn't. JHU is continuously recognized for not being a hands-on friendly school and yet I don't see JHU alum being so defensive about such a critique. </p>

<p>I suppose the article cited does not praise Harvard, but how is that bad-mouthing? Certainly you do not believe that Harvard is above criticism; Harvard is not a divinely ordained and inspired church, mosque or synagogue -it's a school. </p>

<p>The article refers directly to the comments of the “former dean of undergraduate education” who is currently “an English professor” at Harvard. This hardly seems like biased Harvard bashing.</p>

<p>You seem very prickly to me, lighten up; we're not talking about your parents, it's a school for god's sake.</p>

9

<p>JHUway, although i do not know for certain, I would almost guarantee that JHU was above harvard on that list. JHU is not a fun place, def not a good college eperience in my opinion and I would know. The school has a lot of negatives and not many positives. And if you want examples id be more than happy to speak more specifically.</p>

10

<p>if JHU = Johns Hopkins, then yes. I've certainly heard about the cutthroat competition there.</p>

11

<p>Please give some examples. I've been accepted by JHU BME with a Bloomberg scholarship, and I am seriously considering going there. My dad was okay there as a grad student, but I assume the grad experiences and the undergrad experiences are very different.</p>