<p>i have a rather blunt question, which im only asking after reading several articles (some straight from the crimson) that say that harvard students are consumed by their studies: that being said, are you (o anonymous internet user) happy at harvard?
that is to say, what sort of social life does everyone have?
obviously, no one person can answer for the entire student group, but im just trying to get a feel for the campus.<br>
please answer quickly, because right now im scea-ing yale...but i'm having some major second thoughts and id really like some feedback.</p>
<p>.....Clap your hands!! "CLAP,CLAP"</p>
<p>I am very happy here. I do not agree at all with articles saying students are consumed with studies. Then again, I have no basis to compare since this is the only place I go to school; I don't know what other colleges are like.</p>
<p>There are so many dimensions to life here at Harvard. Yes, everybody is into their studies -- that's how they got here. But, that said, the most incredible aspect of life on this campus is that the academics of it are implied. You know that the girl walking by you on the yard is brilliant, that there's a good chance she's on her way to the bio lab to research the impact of Schizophrenia on the human nervous system, etc. Classes are the general baseline, but they really aren't a part of your identity unless you choose to make them so.</p>
<p>If you want to go out on a Friday night, there are always places to go and people who'll want to go with you. The upperclass houses have parties every weekend, and the intensity of those parties really varies. If you want drinking, you'll find it. If you want a dance party, there are plenty. If you kind of just want to sit in the dorm on a rainy night and watch the White Sox dominate the League, then there'll be plenty of people to cheer (/jeer) with you. People aren't so magnetically attached to their textbooks that they lose sight of the fact that they're in college. You can be a white guy singing African folk music and nobody will think twice about it. You can sit with your laptop on the steps of Widener and write a paper or you can go see Yo-Yo Ma in Sanders. </p>
<p>I guess what I'm trying to get at is that Harvard is whatever you want it to be. If you're into studying 24/7, all the more power to you; you'll find plenty of compatriots. Or if messing around on a slip-n-slide with 30 of your friends at 3am on a Thursday night floats your boat, that's all good too. You can't really fit the Harvard student body neatly into a box -- there's too much diversity and too many unbelievably talented people. </p>
<p>That's what makes it Harvard, and that's the reason I feel so lucky to be here.</p>
<p>I was extremely happy at Harvard, and as a member of the Transfer Links program (mentoring new transfers), I had the opportunity to get to know a couple of hundred kids who DID go to other colleges and CAN make comparisons between Harvard and elsewhere. The transfers, as a group, are some of the happiest and most enthusiastic people at Harvard, which I think says a lot.</p>
<p>I'd say don't apply SCEA unless you're SURE that the school you're applying to is "the one." You may change a great deal between now & when you start your freshman year as well, plus you may change substantially between now & May when your final decisions are due.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
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<p>I'd say don't apply SCEA unless you're SURE that the school you're applying to is "the one."</p>
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<p>Why not? If you change substantially between now and May, then you choose one of your RD schools.</p>
<p>Whoops--you're right, just don't apply ED if you aren't POSTIVE. Didn't mean SCEA--too many acronyms!</p>