<p>is harvard's summer school worth it?</p>
<p>There are numerous other threads about this.
I don't know whether the education level you could not recieve anywhere else. The experience though was truly amazing and honestly most of the kids I know who were there with me thought it was definitely worth it.</p>
<p>I took a class there; I wasn't really part of the summer school but Harvard gives summer school classes as incentives to students doing certain kinds of University work over the summer (like proctoring). It was an intro linguistics class, very easy--the easiest class I've had at Harvard, by far, and I was also the only college student in it--and the three-hour lecture duration was sort of a killer. It was fun, though, and beat the math class I took at one of my hometown's many fourth-tier private colleges. And you get to enjoy Cambridge when the weather isn't quite so miserable as it is now.</p>
<p>I'm not sure I'd recommend it it if you're in one of the younger age groups where they lock you up in Canaday with some curfew (and pity the poor proctors who have to lurk outside the building to catch curfew-breakers...they actually did this). It's kind of sucky, but honestly it is better than what some other summer schools do to high school students (I hear Yale expells you if you leave the immediate area around campus or remove the huge ID you're supposed to hang around your neck at all times).</p>
<p>there are many threads that are exactly like this. read some other people's opinions in the other threads.</p>
<p>-- i'm gonna sound like an old record player now..--</p>
<p>pricey.. very pricey. with spending money and such, i spent 11k the summer before my junior year.. took psych and calculus I (god knows why, cuz my school ended up making me retake it pass fail.. how stupid) ... i loved my math class tho.. and TSENO, my student-teacher was brilliant and hilarious.. i ended up skipping a few psych lectures ^_^ haha.. distractions.. but anyways.. definitely a lot of fun.. meet a lot of different and unique people.. </p>
<p>i was in canaday cuz i was an incoming junior.. so curfew and everything too.. (ha, we got around that tho.. silly proctors..) but if you're in incoming senior.. no curfew!! ^_^ </p>
<p>cambridge has a lot of entertainment too.. the random people dancing and singing in the square are hilarious.. and if you're into clubbing, boston's not so far away.. even tho the clubs close at 2...</p>
<p>oh my goodness, definitely worth it!! it gives you a great taste of college (at harvard!!!) , you meet amazing people, cambridge and boston are sooo entertaining, you learn to become independent, and the list goes on. personally, it was the best summer of my life-- I still keep in touch with my friends (we're visiting each other this summer), the skills I learned at Harvard (academic-wise) has helped me tremendously for my classes now, and not to sound cheesy-- but I learned a lot about myself too. Another great perk is that you know what to look for in colleges-- the size, the location, etc. Taking the classes gives you a taste of the college rigor.... </p>
<p>bad sides of it- you end up spending a lot of money.. so if you go, try to manage your budget wisely.. also, you'll dread going back to HS. HS stinks compared to college... but senior year is fun nonetheless... </p>
<p>I was a rising senior, stayed in Matthews (best dorm-- window seats and huge rooms!) and the freedom was just great. My proctor was awwesoommee-- he encouraged us to really take advantage of all the activities offered at Harvard, so we all passed the swim test and went rowing! Rowing = lots of fun =) </p>
<p>err... I think I babbled enough. If you still have any questions, feel free to ask me... but yes, definitely go!!!</p>
<p>I'm going to Harvard this summer, and course registration starts on Monday. I want to take Multivariable calc. How hard of a course is that? Otherwise, I am planning on taking intro. to health psych. and behavorial medicine (the two meet at the same time). I am unsure about what my other couse will be...if I take calc. it will either be intro. to psych, the seminar on behaviorism, or biomedical ethics...if i take health psych. i don't know what else i will take. What sounds like a good combination/manageable amount of work? Thanks!</p>
<p>Harvard was amazing. One of the best summers of my life. </p>
<p>I made tons of great friends all over the world that I still keep in touch with today thorugh e-mails, IM's, phone calls, and visits. I took Calculus and Writing about Social and Ethical Issues. (swtvtgyrl- I had Tseno as a TF too!!...well I was mainly suppose to have Christina but they kept on switching off...he's the best!) Calculus was lot's of fun. I made a lot of my friends through my calc class. My writing class was TONS of work, reading especially. But it wasn't that bad because the reading was really interesting for me. I lived in Pennypacker which isn't in Harvard Yard..it was one of the farther dorms..which was a bit of a pain but we still had an awesome dorm. It was suite style so I just shared a bathroom with my four roommates so it was pretty comfortable living. Spending the summer there made me fall in love with Harvard. All the building are so nice. Widener library is absolutely gorgeous inside...and the only way to get in is if you have a Harvard ID...I know that I felt plenty special each time I passed all those tourists who were peering in through the windows of the library while I just swiped my card and walked on by them. Cambridge and Boston are amazing. Being there during the DNC had huge perks. One night a friend and I went to the Charles Hotel (which was about a five-ten min. walk from the campus) because we had heard that numerous celebrities were staying there. We stayed until 3 am and we saw Leonardo DiCaprio and got our picture taken with Ben Affleck. Harvard gave me a really good sense as to what I wanted in a college and I strongly recommend the program.</p>
<p>ichi02 Who are you? I lived in Straus but was always in Matthews and rowed literally everyday. Were you on the 1st floor b/c I know that one of the proctors there took lots of his kids rowing.</p>
<p>hey laurenemma-- yep, good ole' thaddeus! i lived on the 2nd floor but he was proctor of the first and half of second floors. you rowed every day?? hmMmMm.... did sarah teach you how to row? and did that guy with the megaphone ever yell at you?</p>
<p>swtvtgyrl .. which canaday were you in? i was in canaday b</p>
<p>Harvard Summer School was one of the best experiences of my life. If you are able to go, I strongly encourage you to do so. I took American Foreign Policy and Writing and Literature. My Professors were wonderful, and my class size for the writing class was small, which was nice. </p>
<p>I lived in Pennypacker, and even though it was further away, it had its advantages. For one, we had suites with our own showers. I'm not sure how many other dorms had that. My proctor was great, and was always willing to meet with us for advice, college help, etc. </p>
<p>Coming home was hard... but I still keep in touch with many friends, and we visit each other on occasion. I went to Harvard for the academics; however, the experience was like one big classroom.</p>
<p>I totally agree with elysse that coming home was soooooooo incredibly hard!!!</p>
<p>Still keep in touch with roommate (ichi02 to be exact) and others and even proctor the "Thadster" in Mathews!</p>
<p>I took Women's Studies (absolutely amazing class and prof!) and Intro to Phil (cool prof as well)</p>
<p>i want to say it was canaday f?? lol. i don't really remember, it was all the way in the back right..</p>
<p>canaday has suites with its own showers as well. the different wings are divided into like 5 floors, and each floor has two singles and a suite.. two showers and two bathrooms, so it was kinda nice.. i kinda prefer that... i live at a residential high school.. everyone has a roommate and each room has their own bathroom.. which is nice but u gotta clean it (unless you like it dirty) .. whereas canaday had people clean it for you everyday..</p>
<p>ichi02- I didn't have to "learn" to row. I actually am a rower back at home and have been rowing for 3 years and will continue in college. I do know Sarah and she helped me take my boat out every day. I know the guy with the megaphone and he mistakenly yelled at me a couple times and then I would come back to the dock tell him what I was doing and we was like "Ohhhhh".</p>
<p>Straus was all Suites with their own bathroom.</p>
<p>I learned how to row...Sarah was in one of my classes...the guy asked me where I was from (S. Cali), turned out he was too and wouldn't stop yelling at me for being a disgrace to my fellow Cali's (what can I say I'm from the desert!!!).</p>
<p>I had a suite at Mathew's (shared with two others), we had a common room (huge with window seat!!), and two smallish bedrooms. There were 3 other suites on our floor with a bathroom (two stalls, 3 showers). I only really knew the people who lived across the hall...so i didn't really even notice other people in the bathrooms so it wasn't that bad</p>
<p>laurenemma- cool!! I wish we had rowing facilities here... but that's awesome that you've been rowing for three years. that guy yelled at me a lot... haha oh well.</p>
<p>matthews- huge common room with two additional bedrooms- one with a bunk, the other with a single. window seats!! (best part of matthews) about four-six ish rooms share one bathroom that has 3 sinks, 3 showers, and 2 stalls. sharing wasn't a pain though-- rarely were there ever more than three people in at the same time,.. plus, they're cleaned every day!</p>
<p>what can I say? ichi02 and I were roommates!!!</p>
<p>Why did most of you guys take writting classes? It should be better to take something else instead.:)</p>
<p>I took molecular biology and Introduction to Logic.</p>
<p>I mentioned this before: I took Women's Studies and Intro to Philosophy</p>