<p>Do I call the admissions office, the registrar? Has anyone done this before?</p>
<p>Avalon,</p>
<p>do you know how to get an online version? i'm interested in that as well.</p>
<p>As I said at the Columbia board, you should visit the schools you're interested in anyway. You can get the books there.</p>
<p>The print version weighs several lbs. Here is the link to the online version:
<a href="http://www.registrar.fas.harvard.edu/Courses/%5B/url%5D">http://www.registrar.fas.harvard.edu/Courses/</a></p>
<p>Jono--</p>
<p>I live in the Bay Area, and I doubt I'll be in New England any time soon, so it isn't exactly practical for me to just run over to Harvard or Columbia and pick up a couple course catalogs ;)</p>
<p>Anyone know if I can just call up the admissions office and request one?</p>
<p>You don't really need these course catalogs before you get in, do you? After you get in, you can visit and pick up the books.</p>
<p>But my decision to apply or not may be impacted by the course information found in the catalogs.</p>
<p>And. . . . you think you're gonna get the course catalogs by request by application time? And do you really think there will be a difference between Columbia, Harvard, or any other good school? Because there won't be. There will be good courses at any good school. You have to visit and decide which ones you like best based on that. Deciding whether or not to apply (isn't it a little late for that?) should be determined by a visit, not by course catalogs, which are massive, will take forever to get to the bay area, will take forever for you to read, will take even longer for you to compare, and which are almost identical anyway.</p>
<p>Do you know your major? Have you had a glimpse online?</p>
<p>Yes, I've had a chance to look at course catalogs online for Harvard, Columbia, and Yale, but it's a bit more convenient to be able to write in them and carry them around. Of course there are differences between these three schools -- not that one is necessarily better than the other two -- so course catalogs give just one more way for a student to make an educated decision as to which school to attend (or at least which one(s) to apply to) based on the, umm, academic priorities of each school. At any rate, seeing the classes actually offered to undergrads makes each school much more tangible to a prospective applicant. I could never CHOOSE a college based solely on course catalogs and other related literature, and I agree with your point that visiting proves to be a more convincing case when it comes to deciding to apply, but visiting from my part of the country doesn't look like a sure bet unless I'm accepted into one or more of the Ivies and it/they look(s) like a viable possibility. I'm planning on majoring in biology or biochemistry with a possible minor in Slavic studies, and I've had the chance to view course offerings and research opportunities for all three of the Ivies I'm considering. And BTW, I'm a junior, so I have quite some time until I need to decide where I'm applying.</p>
<p>Oh you're a junior. Alright then. Yeah, visit if you get in. I believe Columbia has a good reputation in slavic studies. Harvard and Columbia both have awesome reps in the sciences. I'm biased, but I really do think Columbia is the best fit with your major/minor combo.</p>
<p>Thank you, Jono. What's your major?</p>
<p>I'm gonna do the premed requirements and major or concentrate in music, english, or biology. I'm gonna audition for Juilliard in March, and that was one of the big reasons for applying to Columbia ED. Now you see why I'm biased. But anyway, there's great music at Columbia, Juilliard, and NYC. Even if i don't get into Juilliard, I'll still be more than happy with the music going on all around me at Columbia.</p>
<p>I am a junior (in hs, not harvard, lol, not yet ;) ..but I heard that they send some by mail for a charge...or u can pick em up for free at pre-frosh...=)</p>
<p>if you get in they send you a catalogue i think, so the easiest way is just to get into harvard i guess</p>
<p>When I visited Harvard (a few times), they told me that they don't distribute print catalogues anymore. They gave me a link to the online catalogue instead.</p>
<p>In fact, Columbia was the only school I visited that actually gave me a course catalogue. Every other school told me to go online.</p>
<p>Maybe they just wanted to save the catalogues for people who already got in? Save some money or something? Hmmm...</p>
<p>Well, I hope I get one in print eventually. I like the books better than the online versions.</p>
<p>"so the easiest way is just to get into harvard" - haha! :)</p>
<p>DJ_Mack-Yale + University of Chicago gave me course catalogs when I visited.</p>
<p>I believe the easiest way to get a print version of the course catalog is to go to <a href="http://www.registrar.fas.harvard.edu/Courses/%5B/url%5D">http://www.registrar.fas.harvard.edu/Courses/</a>, click a link, go to File - Print, hit Back in your browser, and then repeat.</p>
<p>Gee, thanks. I'll try calling them.</p>