<p>I have been reading many complaints about Harvard's teachers. Specifically, how TAs teach most of the classes and that the focus is primarily on graduate students. But at Harvard's site they have been claiming the exact opposite. Could someone provide some information on the issue? Thanks! :)</p>
<p>My son’s experience has been an unbelievable level of exposure to senior faculty members, across many departments. For the most part, class sizes have been on the small side of medium.</p>
<p>TFs do not head courses. Most classes are at the very least taught by someone who has a doctorate in their respective field. In courses with about 30+ students–a professor always does the lecture. TFs do lead weekly sessions in small groups, but this is usually in addition to the 2 to 3 weekly lectures and cover material not touched upon in lecture, or delves into a topic in more detail than can be accomplished in a 180 minutes of lecture a week. Many professors also teach seminar classes with 5-15 or so students and here, all contact is with the course head–most of the time, tenured or at least tenured-track profs.</p>
<p>Have the complaints you’ve been reading come from (verified) current or recent H undergrads? Don’t take anyone’s word for it but theirs.</p>
<p>I don’t mean to sound like a jaded fifth-year graduate student (ahem), but Harvard’s focus is not on graduate students. Nobody cares about graduate students. </p>
<p><—winner of Certificate of Distinction in Teaching this past semester :)</p>
<p>My Ds have known a lot of their H profs personally, been to their homes, or - in the case of House Masters, had them live in THEIR home - hung out with them at social events, etc. This goes for some fairly famous ones, too. Only TAs have been in a few large classes that break into sections, but those have been few and far between. Frankly, they’ve had a lot more attention from faculty than I had at a college renowned for its intimate size.</p>
<p>This was one of my chief concerns when my D was considering H. In fact, her freshman year has completely been the opposite of what I worried about. Her professors have been wonderful and the TF in her calculus class is top notch. She has had lunch with Howard Gardner and been to the Dean’s home for a month of weekly evening sessions. If you are the type to take advantage of the amazing opportunities at H it is an experience not to be missed.</p>
<p>Great! To be honest, I have never heart anything from current harvard students. So, this is enlightening!</p>
<p>I know, Confused. Five years ago when my D1 was compiling a list of colleges, Yale was on it but I never considered recommending Harvard because of all the stereotypes I had about it. Then she sent e-mails with inquiries to faculty in her department of interest at H,Y and P - she got a response from a secretary at Y who said that their profs have a policy of not responding directly to requests from non-students, and got no response from P. The H faculty member responded at length, enthusiastically, and invited her to come meet with him. She made a campus visit and met with the department chair as well, bringing along her sister who was then a HS sophomore. Later in the year, the department chair e-mailed back to see how things had progressed, and remembered the younger sister by name. </p>
<p>Both girls wound up at H. They’ve found it very personal, very engaging, and remarkably egalitarian. Any sense of elitism that they’ve perceived has been based on the extraordinary individual accomplishments of the individual - not their socio-economic level. The diversity on campus has been a highlight of their experiences.</p>
<p>I’m not trying to be a Harvard booster - they certainly don’t need me to polish their brand name. But I keep posting our family’s observations about H on CC because I came very close to persuading our Ds to steer clear of an option that has turned out to be the most rewarding experience of their lives.</p>
<p>gadad. Thanks! You definitely helped me destroy some stereotypes I had, and probably many other students do! Btw, could you provide any info about Harvard’s undergraduate community? How do things work in the first days on campus? Is everyone pursuing too many ECs? How do fraternities work? Do they exert peer pressure?
Thanks!</p>
<p>WindCloudUltra would be a good resource for your questions. He just graduated a year and a half ago. You might also send a personal message to “Dwight Eisenhower,” a current student who frequents the Harvard CC board.</p>
<p>I visited last week and sat in on three classes (one lecture and two sections). I actually think there’s a lot to be said for the TF’s and their teaching abilities. And everyone I talked to said that professors are willing to chat for 30 minutes-an hour if you take the time to come to them and schedule a meeting/lunch date.</p>
<p>Glasses! This is the first time I’ve ever realized that your name is “Glasses are chic” - not “Glasses archaic!” :p</p>