<p>I'm curious about what Harvard and the Boston area is really like, and I would appreciate some insight.</p>
<p>Last summer, I was in Boston for a day when traveling to Providence, RI and decided to check out the city in case I will apply to schools in the greater Boston area. Now, I only had one day (went to mall, Cheers, and walked a bit), but Boston did not seem as great as most people make it out to be. </p>
<p>What is this area really like, in terms of a feeling of "strong community" at Harvard and if you truly enjoy the area. What do students/alumni do for fun; my uncle went to Harvard Med School and loved the intruction. One thing: he hated Boston; what are current students' perspectives?</p>
<p>Also, do you guys feel like Harvard undergrad is truly worth it if I plan to go to law school? I'm interested in biomedical engineering with emphasis on innovation/design (also looking at Hopkins, UPenn, Duke, MIT, etc) and I was wondering if it's worth it here. I read that it was a top 15 (maybe unreliable info?) program with incredible research available. Does anybody know someone/firsthand if this program is worth it, granted I start to feel like Harvard would be a good fit for me? </p>
<p>PS: I've never hated on the big H, just wondering now if I would truly enjoy it; have checked out classes for BME and found others at Hopkins, even Brown's more exciting (is it exciting at Harvard?). Do BME students actually feel like the program is top-notch or has Harvard not done enough to make it a great program?</p>
<p>Thanks for reading this, and I appreciate your help! :)</p>
<p>You could pick out courses to help with Tissue Eng/BioMEMs but for
traditional BME Harvard would not be as comfortable a place compared to
JHU/Duke as it stands today. I suspect though there are a lot of hot research
opps going unfilled specific to BME at affiliated research groups.</p>
<p>As the only people other than athletes who are forced to get up before 8 AM
I wonder which BME concentrator who may happen to be on CC will say they
are in heaven The ABET requirements particularly make the pursuit of
BME at Harvard an exercise in denial -like having your lips sealed and being
taken to Berryline (the froyo place that makes up for the rest of Boston and
Cambridge combined)</p>
<p>Okay I am rambling gottago but one final word here about community…
I can plainly see the tourists who get off the bus at Wiggs enjoy a strong
sense of community ;)</p>
<p>I’m a 2013, so I can justly comment on the Harvard campus community; however, I’ve lived in Boston/just outside it my whole life. I love like Boston. Some of my favorite places are:
-The Public Garden: a really pretty park that’s home to the Romeo and Juliet swans (and the swan boats)
-Copley Square: awesome old neo-classical library and indoor mall (Copley Square Mall which connects to Prudential Place)
-Newberry street: has a lot of cool restaurants and shops–some shops are pretty expensive though
-The Museum of Fine Arts
-Boston Common area: the boston common itself isn’t that great, but biggest movie theater in the area is there
-Downtown Crossing: lots of good shopping
-Beacon Hill: old colonial historical distric, home to the Freedom Trail and state house
-The North End: great Italian food!
-And Harvard Square of course! (not officially in Boston, but…): has really interesting and cool shops and restaurants</p>
<p>Where did you walk around? The Longwood Medical area (where Harvard Med is) isn’t that great (maybe that’s why your uncle didn’t like Boston)</p>
<p>What are you looking for? I know some people think New York is the end all be all, it does nothing for me and I will do everything to avoid a city that size. For my likes, Portland Maine is my favorite.</p>
<p>I think Boston is a great opportunity for college students. While I would probably not want to have my school directly in the city, being in Cambridge gives you the best of both. Son went to Tufts which is only one (or two) more T stops than Harvard. It was great that he had access to the city when he wanted it.</p>
<p>Harvard Square:
Out of town News - periodicals from all over
Ms Beasley’s Burgers - across from the Harvard’s Widmer library on Mass Ave - a dive with common table, great burger and lime aid. (no restroom)</p>
<p>When I was in Boston last summer, my hotel was “connected” to the mall, along with a few other hotels. I don’t remembr the name of the mall, but this was where I spent most of my time. I was amazed at how nice the mall was, but it was devoid of people. So quiet it almost seemed strange…anyway nice mall (my mall is absolutely terrible). </p>
<p>I wish I could ahve actually gone to see the campus, but the only other place I went to was where Cheers was located (great food btw lol), and I walked the surrounding area. Most people weren’t friendly, but I wasn’t expecting to be treate like a king.</p>
<p>Here’s a quick question: How many Greek people live in Boston, as in are the Churches nice? Anyone know if there’s a ice population of Greeks at Harvard?</p>
<p>Thanks for giving good suggestions to visit when I hopefully can go back to Boston/Cambridge area in the future! :)</p>
<p>PS: Maybe that’s why my uncle didn’t like Boson too much, but he went to Columbia for undergrad (loved it) & works at the NYU hospital now. Also, he grew up in Washington, D.C., so I don’t know why he loves New York so much. I presonally wouldn’t want to live there…</p>
<p>You’ve got to do the Boston Common and Public Gardens and adjacent areas to get a sense of Boston and then have dinner in the Italian North End neighborhood. I’m ambivalent about New York and adore Boston, but for a long time I couldn’t explain why. Then a friend who had moved from NY to Boston told me “If you go into a bar in New York, someone comes up to you and asks ‘What’s your sign?’ If you go into a bar in Boston they ask ‘What’s your Alma Mater?’” “Yeah,” I said, “that’s the reason I love Boston!” I’m always a little nervous riding the subway in NY. But late-night weekends on the T, most of the riders are college students and the subway cars are a rolling college mixer. If I had it to do over, I’d want to go to college in metro Boston.</p>
<p>Cheers is essentially a tourist trap and definitely not a good representation of boston. Also there are some nice paths right along the charles which are pretty nice. North End is definitely a must for boston, make sure you go to Mike’s and get some canolli.</p>
<p>big dreamer, you must have been connected to the Prudential Place/Copley Square Mall. it’s pretty empty during the week but it can get really crowded on the weekends (it’s a hassle to get there during the week).</p>
<p>Sorry, to get back so late, but I went to the beach yah! :)</p>
<p>^That’s the name of the mall, and it was a very nice area. I’m pretty sure that I was there on Saturday night/Sunday morning. Who knows, but I did like that area.</p>
<p>I’ll keep the North End info in mind for when I can hopefully go to Boston sometime in the next few months. We went to Cheers because it was a tourist trap, and (food was good :P) I wasn’t that fond of that particular area.</p>
<p>I agree about NYC subways at night, never a welcoming idea, and good to know that most college kids are on the T at night (they’re all in the same situatoin at least).</p>
<p>Thanks for the tips on Greeks, as I would like to have a Church to go to (if I’m one of the lucky ones that get into Harvard).</p>
<p>Thanks so much for the help guys, it’s reaaaaaaaally helpful! :)</p>
The ABET requirements particularly make the pursuit of