<p>I seem to be on a one-man campaign against the common CC myth that Harvard doesn't pay much attention to undergrads, so I often cite my D1's House Master in Pfoho (Pforzheimer House), Dr. Jim McCarthy - a great guy who, incidentally, shared a Nobel Prize with Al Gore and the other members of the U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. He's stepping down after 13 years as House Master, and the new Pfoho Master was announced a couple months ago - Dr. Nicholas Christakis, a sociologist who the students all find incredibly cool.</p>
<p>Christakis was named today to the "Time 100" - Time Magazine's list of the world's 100 most influential people of 2009. To celebrate, he plans to move into a dorm with my daughter and 400 of her friends!</p>
<p>So you’re Cabot-bound White_Rabbit? Some frosh are bummed when they find they’re headed to the Quad - my D1 was two years ago, and now wouldn’t be anywhere else. After visiting her sister for a couple years, D2 was begging for the Quad and was really stoked when she got Currier.</p>
<p>Yes I am, I was actually very excited. The dorms seem really nice, the athletic facilities seem great, and I like the idea of having a somewhat separate home. Besides, I hate when people complain about the walk. I timed it the other day, it’s literally ten minutes.</p>
<p>:) about that 10 minute walk :
It could be like being in a Super Mario bros game … all you have to do is
avoid the ipod-snatcher on Garden Street and the Pipe-wielding
nutcase haunting the Science building overpass</p>
<p>Be Safe, take the shuttle; but wear a mask to avoid the flu ;)</p>
<p>I noticed there seemed to be more prefrosh activties at the Quad
this year compared to a year before.</p>
<p>I am in Hollis, a great place to live. There are really only two yards that make any difference, most of the dorms are in the old yard, the other three are the Union dorms. Then one more dorm is on a nearby street on its own. But it is the nicest dorm in terms of room quality. I know they break it up into more yard, but most are in the Old Yard. I absolutely love living in the Old Yard.</p>
<p>Concerning the original topic, let’s just say we are hoping that sophomore year in the houses is a lot better than freshman year. I agree with the poster who said there is lots of “superficial” advising and support, but the sort of “survival of the fittest” culture of Harvard runs much deeper than a few warm and fuzzy proctor field trips and study breaks can address adequately.</p>
<p>Just opened this thread with a completely different expectation of its contents. I was going to add: Some students at H dressed up in a camel suit and creeped up on unsuspecting students studying for finals in the library the other night. Only at Harvard! Lol</p>
<p>The camel made its appearance at Adams Formal as well.</p>
<p>I had an amazing “only at Harvard” experience yesterday. Jeff Zucker (the CEO of NBC/Universal) came by The Crimson for an hour or so and just chatted about pulling pranks on the Lampoon, whether Chuck was getting canceled, and duking it out with Steve Jobs over iTunes pricing. One of the coolest experiences I’ve had here.</p>
<p>Following up on the original post – and realizing that everyone’s experience is different – the anecdotal evidence that I can offer concerning the extraordinary opportunities that are available to Harvard undergraduates, based on my son’s experiences this semester, includes the following: </p>
<p>–Of his four professors, two are MacArthur “genius” grant winners.</p>
<p>–The classes that he’s taking with these professors are both very small (one is about 12 students, the other about 20).</p>
<p>–Both of these professors have regular office hours during which they’re readily available to students (my son has met with both of them individually, one on several occasions).</p>
<p>–Both of these professors have structured assignments in ways that required more of their own time and effort, while providing richer educational experiences for their students. (In one case, for instance, a large writing project was broken down into several discrete steps, with the professor [not a TF] offering feedback and suggestions each step of the way.)</p>
<p>–In addition to his classes, my son has had the chance to write frequently (basically as often as he wants) for a terrific daily newspaper and, in connection with that, has had lots of opportunities to meet with and interview many celebrated members of the faculty.</p>