<p>What a crazy weekend! I left on Wednesday night for Stanford, flew straight from there to Boston on Friday night, and got home a few hours ago.
I just clicked the commit button for Harvard.
Although the clinching factor was what I saw at the prefrosh weekend, I cannot express how valuable this forum has been - from my junior year days of agonizing about far-off application processes to the technical problems that, of course, arose a few hours before the app deadline to the maddening process of making a final college choice.
So - thank you. All of you! You have answered my questions, shared your thoughts, and have rarely trolled my boards.
(:
I hope to meet some of you fellow 2014ers in the fall - if I didn't do so over the past few days!</p>
<p>Welcome to Harvard bro.</p>
<p>Ohh, wait, we commit online? Awesome. This is so much better.</p>
<p>Millancad, you’re choosing Harvard? Sweet deal. Elanorci, just out of curiosity, what about Harvard drew you more than Stanford?</p>
<p>I was food poisoned by Harvard from Sunday to Monday, so my weekend started out great and then literally turned to crap. Kind of sad I didn’t get to meet many '14ers and some friends at MIT. See you in the fall Elanorc!</p>
<p>Whoa, food poisoning?! From Annenberg? That seriously sucks - I’m sorry. ):
Stanford had a lot of negatives, at least imo. The campus is so huge, which wouldn’t be a problem if, like at Harvard, the freshman dorms were all together - but they aren’t. I felt a lack of community in this respect. Additionally, I was far more drawn to the people at Harvard. Frats/sororities seemed to be a bigger thing at Stanford (almost my entire hall had just joined one), and although I of course met some people in Greek organizations at Harvard, their Greek identity didn’t seem to trump everything else. Finally, Harvard is a lot better in my major - a great philosophy program, and a mind/brain/behavior track. (:
Oh, and I can’t ride a bike. :P</p>
<p>See you in the fall!</p>
<p>Elanorci, I hope you have a great time at Harvard. You’re right that being comfortable biking around campus is a plus at Stanford. However, it’s definitely not true that Greek life is a big thing at Stanford. Only a small fraction of the student body participates (and most of those are mainly inspired to join because of the gorgeous housing that comes with it), and people don’t derive their identities much from Greek affiliations there. Frats and sororities peacefully co-exist with the rest of campus, but that’s about it.</p>
<p>Congrats Elanorci! I’d wondered how it had worked out for you. Admission to Harvard is one of those “be careful what you ask for” scenarios. People who decide to commit to Harvard typically have to turn down some pretty wonderful alternatives. But fortunately, a year later regardless of the final outcome, most of us couldn’t imagine being anywhere other than where we landed.</p>
<p>I enrolled last Thursday. (Can’t wait to meet all of you!!!) Same as Elanorci said, everyone on this website, both in this forum and on the other ones, has been so helpful over the past year as I was trying to find my way in this confusing college admission process.</p>
<p>@Millancad: Yay!!! =D</p>
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<p>Oh, that would introduce a bit of a dilemma if you had selected Stanford.</p>
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<p>I will gladly say “yay” as well if she is indeed matriculating.</p>
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<p>It does sound as though she will be attending Harvard. It appears, however, that she does not want to:</p>
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<p>I hope she can nonetheless come to like Harvard and wish her the best. If CC is any indication, she’ll be surrounded by amazing peers.</p>
<p>I cant wait to say what you just said about a year from now.</p>
<p>Yays for everyone!! I also cannot ride a bike either. :)</p>
<p>How did you two miss out on learning to ride a bike? Bicycling on the paths along the Charles River is lovely- you might ask for a lesson from a classmate. Do you drive cars? (Seems there are a fair number of non-drivers at Harvard.)</p>
<p>Congrats on Harvard CCers!</p>
<p>Thanks for the insight El. I can sympathize. I <em>can</em> ride a bike, but I can’t swim. I knew once, but I forgot. Thank god Harvard doesn’t have a swim test anymore :)…I think. I’m right, right? Please tell me I’m right.</p>
<p>No swim test at Harvard!
There are a lot of bicyclists though - my daughter is never without her bike! (Not all of her suitemates bike though - no worries!)</p>
<p>Woohoo! (echo for character value)</p>
<p>Good planning for all of you non-swimmers! There are swim tests at Columbia and Cornell … or at least there were a few years ago!</p>
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<p>A bit of an odd digression, but I do have the ability to ride a bike and swim with some visible proficiency. However, I have never expressed much of an interest in driving. I atrociously flunked a permit test two years ago when most of my fellow cohorts were first attaining theirs. I will, however, most likely attempt to pass a driving test over the summer for the sake of obtaining the most common form of personal identification.</p>
<p>Seeing as we’re on the verge of digression already, I thought you said diving. I’ve always wanted to learn how to dive!</p>
<p>I’m a wonderful driver (at least I think I am) when I try, but my problem is I honestly just don’t value my life enough to drive with any semblance of sanity. I’m universally known throughout the village for being an atrocious driver with the propensity to kill people who take the risk of driving with me even once (people are afraid to get into a car with me driving, it’s <em>really</em> bad). The only thing that’s kept me from dying a thousand times over already is the fact that I actually am a great driver, and my reflexes are wonderful at saving my ass at the last moment :).</p>
<p>^Haha, in order to dive you may have to learn to swim first :p! But it’s okay, I can hardly swim either but wanted to learn sailing once upon a time. </p>
<p>“I’m universally known throughout the village for being an atrocious driver with the propensity to kill people who take the risk of driving with me even once…”</p>
<p>Once I manage to get my lisence, I’ll make sure to stay far, far away from you on the road.</p>