Hi all,
Very simple question here: is Harvard fun? Many people talk about how stressful and competitive it is and how the mindset is all focused on academics, but I want to know how students at Harvard grow, mature, and improve as people, not just students.
Do people enjoy their time at Harvard or do they look back and realized they missed out? Is the climate too intense or do students genuinely care about learning and not just outperforming their peers in the classroom?
TIA for any answers!
Define fun!
I’m serious. It’s impossible to answer your question without knowing your definition of fun. For example, if you love academics, and thrive on challenging classes that will test your scholastic potential, well then Harvard will indeed be fun! However, if your idea of fun is studying hard Monday-to-Thursday and having a three day keg-party weekend, then Harvard will not meet your expectation of fun.
Specifically, in answer to your questions
Yes, many students enjoy their time at Harvard.
What did they miss out on by attending Harvard? That three-day keg party weekend? If that’s the case, my guess is that few Harvard students – even if they are unhappy – would opt for that kind of college atmosphere. Keep in mind, Harvard has a very small transfer rate (about 12 transfer students are admitted every year). That means that few students are so unhappy they leave. So, even if a student is unhappy at Harvard, then tend to slog through their 4 years because the ends (a degree) outweigh the thought of transferring somewhere else.
The experience at Harvard is intense because student’s are competing with themselves (not other students). Each student is trying to be the best-of-the best for their own personal satisfaction. That means in a class of 15 or 30 or 300, the vast majority of students are there to learn and grow and you will find very few slackers.
My definition of fun would be almost a combination of the 2 descriptions you provided. I’m looking to enjoy a college experience where I grow as a person through a diverse social life while surrounded by people who share my interests and passions. I feel like the student body of Harvard would mesh well with my personality and profile as a student, but news headlines and friends of mine who attended Harvard have recently mentioned that the social aspect of Harvard is being destroyed by the administration (and its view on social groups, but that’s an argument for another time).
My older brother, while certainly biased due to his status as a Yalie, said he hears all the time of students saying that Yale is more fun, or how Harvard is much more stressful. While part of him is obviously trying to sway me towards Yale, is there any truth to this? Or are all the Ivy’s comparable socially?
You seem to be very knowledgeable about Harvard, thanks for taking the time to help me out!
My daughter (Harvard Class of 2014) and son (Yale Class of 2015) overlapped in school by three years, so I got to compare the schools directly to each other. And yes, Yale had the same intensity of academics but seemed like it was more fun – even my Harvard educated daughter would agree, as she visited her brother often on Yale’s campus. IMHO, the difference in “social tone” is partially due to Yale being in New Haven, and over the years Yale’s Administration has learned that for students to be happy amongst the girt of the city, the university had to provide the fun through on-campus parties, events and day trips. On the other hand, Harvard’s Administration doesn’t believe that 'fun" is in their job description. I’ve always thought Harvard would be a much happier place if it were run by Yale’s Administration! FWIW: New Haven – at least around the university – has become so much better over the past 30 years, as the university owns most of the surrounding commercial properties and very carefully selects what stores will go in their properties. And up north in Cambridge, once students reach the legal drinking age of 21, they are free to go to any bar in the city – and no longer are dependent on the final club scene for fun.
Bottom Line: Harvard and Yale reject 94%-95% of applicants. So, apply to the one you like best in the SCEA round and apply to the other in the RD cycle. If you are admitted to both, then you can revisit the H vs Y comparison at a later date.
Full Disclosure: My daughter applied to Yale SCEA, was deferred and then rejected in the RD round. My son applied to Yale SCEA and was accepted. He then applied to Harvard in the RD round as he thought it would be fun to attend college with his sister. However, he was rejected from Harvard. So, each of my kids played the hand they were dealt and did not have a choice in the matter. You may not either.
My DS has only been at Harvard for a couple months, and, of course, didn’t go to Yale, so I can’t compare them the way Gibby does. However, I CAN speak to the competitive/ intensity question. He has absolutely found students to be supportive, rather than competitive. He says everyone works hard, and everyone takes their studies seriously (and sets high expectations for themselves), but there’s not much competition between one another. Indeed, he’s been very happy to find so many people so interested and talented in their various areas—he says it makes everyone really interesting. He’s found a good group of friends and they’ve done lots of different things for fun— some parties, but some going into Boston to explore, concerts, meals out, apple picking,playing music. He says there aren’t a ton of parties for freshmen (there seem to be more in the upper class houses and, of course, final clubs), but you can walk around and find one if that’s what you want. One weekend, they went to BU for one of those big keg blow-out kind of parties. For him, once seems like enough for a while. So, while it’s not a giant party school, he’s found close friends, has some fun, but also is working hard. And he says both the stress level and competition level is SIGNIFICANTLY less than at his high school, which was an elite boarding school (though he was a day student),
@FutureCollegeAthlete trust your older brother and @gibby Would just add a comment related to what many students regard as the most important fun related comparison: The Game. When Harvard kids first come down to New Haven and room with their Yale friends, the almost universal reaction to the dorms and life at Yale is “wow.” When the game is at Harvard, the reaction of the visiting Yalies is quite different. Also, win or lose, the Yale kids get to happily chant “school Monday” to taunt the poor H kids who have to go back to classes while Yale gets the entire Thanksgiving week off.
Disclosure: Son accepted at Harvard SCEA, Yale RD. Attending Yale.
While I agree with the general response others have given – yeah, Yale is more fun – honesty compels me to report that one of the best parties I ever attended was a party at Harvard the night before the Harvard-Yale game my freshman year. While I didn’t react,“Wow! I wish I had gone to Harvard!,” I did think “This is great! It’s not really true that no one has fun at Harvard.”
At the time, we had classes on Monday, too. What a stupid point of distinction that is! But we definitely appreciated being done with exams and papers before Christmas.
LOL. Agreed.
Fortunately, it’s been many, many years since Harvard’s Fall Semester extended into the New Year.
It seems that this is a frequent question about Harvard, based in part on some outdated issues. Of course Harvard ban be fun. There are plenty of chill people there too. Parties can be get togethers in houses. The whole city is minutes away. The issue of finals clubs is pending but they are hardly the only source of “fun.” Students help each other via study groups and it does not seem competitive in the sense that popular opinion seems to hold.
Harvard dorms are being renovated (I liked the old ones but that’s me), The Smith Center for community-building is partially finished, right in the square. Attention to undergrads has been a focus for a few years, despite persistent rumors to the contrary.
Once in a house as an upperclassman, there is built in community, including parties and events, and students hang out in the dining halls, not just for meals but for study breaks and so on. Yale has houses too of course.
I would not base your opinion on what anyone here says, honestly. It depends on who your friends are, what you like to do, and so on.
This question gets asked so often. I don’t see how anyone could be at Harvard or at Yale and not have fun if they want to. I would advise you to base your decision on some other factors.
ps as I remember fall exams were pushed back in 2009
Harvard is a ton of fun… and Cambridge along with Boston is awesome…as far as academics Harvard is on the semester system and frankly it is cush compared to Stanford’s quarter system. It’s probably a surprise for you to hear this but Harvard is frankly laid back… .at least I though so comparing my bro’s experience there compared to Stanford where there was a midterm every week.