<p>"DocT, what is even more irksome is that the same paper graded by a different TF
would have garnered a different grade. This is particularly true in LS1A that has a
huge number of sections (550-600 students?). In fall of our freshman year we are
not yet Harvard savvy enough to protest. "</p>
<p>Yeah my kid is premed and took that course. Also there were several times, she complained to professors about TF’s whose English was pathetic and transferred to other TFs.</p>
<p>Wow, it sounds grim for science concentrators!</p>
<p>Synth, why do you say to avoid course especially with sophomores? </p>
<p>And is it common I wonder for students to switch TAs?</p>
<p>Synth is overhyping the quality of the science concentrators at Harvard. The national/international award winners from high school are NOT the group of students who necessarily destroy the competition (in fact that is the exception rather than the norm). Said “jokers” usually are smart enough to do everyone a favor and take the appropriate grad class for their level, where issues such as “curves” don’t exist. But even still…most intro classes give a B- or better to the top 80% of the class. 80%! And even in the “brutal” science classes (try cross-registering at an MIT science class and see how long that lasts), the median is curved to a B+.</p>
<p>Regarding TFs … Yes, the professors teach the courses. Here’s one example … Greg Mankiw teaches Ec 10 and lectures at about 5 of the classes. The rest is taught in section by TFs.</p>
<p>Mankiw is a joke of a professor and everyone knows it. I doubt many kids go into that class thinking it will be a meaningful experience or that they’ll learn anything from Mankiw. People take it because it is the pre-req for all other upper-level econ courses. There are a fair number of courses with huge numbers of kids and one Professor, but ec 10 isn’t a helpful example. It’s just a bad course all around. Justice would be an interesting example of a HUGE course with only one Professor (Sandel), but that also receives general praise from students. I think the key is finding small courses to take if that is your thing. Or if you’re in science, get involved in research.</p>
<p>White_Rabbit - Is there a site that reviews the classes/professors? At Tufts, my memory is that there had been two (admittedly not well maintained). One that was sanctioned the administration and one that was not (and no I do not remember their links at this time).</p>
<p>“Mankiw is a joke of a professor and everyone knows it. I doubt many kids go into that class thinking it will be a meaningful experience or that they’ll learn anything from Mankiw.”</p>
<p>Interesting point. My D at one point thought of perhaps looking into economics as a concentration. She took his EC 10 course and hated it with a passion. She claims he basically read out of his book while the Econ concentrators sat in the front row fawning over him. Also as was pointed out he only “taught” 5 classes. That course cemented neurobiology as her concentration.</p>
<p>Same here. Turned my kid off to economics too.</p>
<p>ecneics, it is relatively grim only during the first year. Upperclassmen get quality
support (more importantly they know when and where they can get the
best help). Also once you get to the level of courses where your personal
contribution is valued more than the relative positioning you will be able to focus
and get to a level of depth that is probably available only at very small schools
like Caltech or Princeton.These courses are usually lab-only/hands-on courses
(scrb 165, ls 100r, cs 171, stat 115, BP 101 etc. or the grad level courses that
are usually focused on reading current papers and then doing a final report
versus a final exam).</p>
<p>Sophomores in particular have a point to make when they are taking introductory
courses (since they are about to state their concentration or just have done so).
A few freshman also fall in this category. Remember when your grades are evaluated
for grad school there is going to be very little sympathy about your taking a course
in freshman year when you should have waited.</p>
<p>The good news about taking foundational courses at Harvard (i.e dropping down a level
from where you are comfortable) is that you can build superbly on this.</p>
<p>Smoda, the Q guide is supposed to provide a feel for the professor. Take a look at
Sa 10 (Principles of Ec) >
</p>
<p>Reads like an astrological prediction wouldn’t you say? Depending on your leaning one
could arrive at quite different conclusions.</p>
<p>White-rabbit makes a great point with the MR22 Justice course though one could get
better access as a science concentrator by taking the gov 1093 course with Sandel and
Melton.</p>
<p>Mankiw is a strange character. He actually does love interacting with students, yet he makes himself one of the least accessible professors on campus.</p>
<p>His Ec10 lectures are definitely jokes. If you’re interested in interacting with him, read his blog, and send him some comments/criticism/ideas via email. He’s good at responding, and would probably meet up for a dinner/lunch once he “knows” you.</p>
<p>Ya I’m actually not promoting the idea of taking Justice. I think it’s a huge class that students who have an actual interest in philosophy should avoid, but people who take it really seem to love it even though it has 800-1000 students at times. If you are interested in political or moral philosophy, Christine Korsgaard will be teaching two courses next year on ethical theory (Kant’s and modern) and Thomas Scanlon will be teaching a course on Democracy and Inequality. Korsgaard and Scanlon are two of the most important philosophers working today, and those classes are bound to be very small, probably 40 students MAX.</p>
<p>Harvard seems to have the least undergrad focus from all the Ivies. Unfortunately, that’s the truth.</p>
<p>I agree strongly with the sentiment of Synth’s comments. I would probably state the “rule” myself as:</p>
<p>There is very little extrinsic reward for taking extremely hard classes. There are lots of benefits to taking easier classes (grades, free time, improved mental health). Take great caution when enrolling in difficult classes.</p>
<p>This doesn’t mean always taking easy classes, or taking classes below where you should be (for example, I think taking Math 1b after getting a 5 on AP Calc BC is a horrible idea). But it does mean being smart about things - don’t take Chem 20, CS 50, Ec 1011a, and Expos your freshman fall!</p>
<p>Sorry to ask a newbie question - I’ll be a freshman in the fall - how do we access the Q Guide?</p>
<p>You’ll get a hard copy on move-in day. Link for previous versions: <a href=“http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~cueguide/cueguide08-09/[/url]”>http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~cueguide/cueguide08-09/</a></p>
<p>"Harvard seems to have the least undergrad focus from all the Ivies. Unfortunately, that’s the truth. "</p>
<p>It depends on how you frame the question. In terms of class size and how much time a professor spends with students, for a school that has both graduate programs and undergraduate program, more time will be spent with graduate students on a per student basis. This is due in large part to the fact that graduate classes are much smaller in size. I don’t think too many graduate programs have class sizes of 500 students.</p>
<p>Look, the relationship between a professor and his/her graduate students is always going to be deeper. (1) They work together for 3-4 years at a time, sometimes more. (2) A professor basically owns several graduate students. They are at the professor’s beck and call, and their mission in life is to make the professor happy. (3) The graduate students’ future is highly dependent on the professor’s opinion of them. (4) The professor’s future is greatly enhanced by having successful graduate alumni. (5) So everyone expects/hopes that it is a lifelong relationship, and often it is.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, undergraduates (1) rarely take more than one or two classes from a professor in four years, maaaaaybe three, (2) don’t always know what they are talking about, (3) aren’t always willing to do the work to know what they are talking about before they try to talk to the professor, (4) aren’t always willing to do the work, period, (5) often grade-grub, and (6) are generally unlikely to be future colleagues.</p>
<p>It’s really no contest.</p>
<p>You will NOT get a copy of the Q-Guide or course book upon arrival. All material will be solely online starting this year. I believe August is the expected release time. The Q will be different too, they didn’t hire students to work on it this summer, so I imagine that it will be even more data driven.</p>
<p>I’ll watch for info later on this Q guide. Maybe, I’ll have my D come to you all on CC for thoughts on her freshman choices.</p>
<p>From what we know so far, D faces:
LS 1a or LPS A - fall
Math - TBD - fall
LS 1b - spring
PS 1 - spring</p>
<p>freshman seminar - fall or spring
foreign language - two semester freshman year unless tested out - right?
writing - fall or spring</p>
<p>then to keep options open:
Psychology 1 - fall or spring</p>
<p>Comments?</p>
<p>@smoda61</p>
<p>A schedule like you mention is very typical of freshman with an interest in the sciences and/or being premed. At the same time, that type of schedule can be pretty painful - lots of large classes, problem set-based classes, and classes graded on a curve. I think it’s pretty critical to balance it out with something different - a freshman seminar or language class would be great (as you’ve already mentioned).</p>
<p>If your D is coming to Harvard with an advanced level of understanding in some area, taking a small seminar class could be a great change of pace. I took Neurobio 130 (then Psych 1205) my freshman fall on my advisor’s recommendation, and it was a great experience, despite me being a bit over my head: [HERS</a> Output](<a href=“http://webdocs.registrar.fas.harvard.edu/courses/Neurobiology.html]HERS”>http://webdocs.registrar.fas.harvard.edu/courses/Neurobiology.html)</p>