<p>^^Post 97 - Domna was even referred to the Latin oratory address given at Commencment this past June. She was referred to as the "calx severissima" - (in English: the "most stern line judge...").</p>
<p>Fierce is basically the definition of Domna. Make sure you get on her good side, froshies. Because, the day will come when you forget/lose your swipe...and she will make you wait until eeeeveryone else has swiped through for you to write down your id #. :)</p>
<p>I was sent an email regarding placement exams. I took AP Bio this past year, and received a 5 on the test...and thus would want to take the placement in this subject. </p>
<p>Just wondering, however, how the test affects my course scheduling. Will a good AP grade correlate to good placement grades (are the tests the same caliber, at all)? If one does well on the exam, are we allowed to take higher level bio courses (and surpass Life Science A/B)? </p>
<p>Thanks so much for your answers!! You are all so helpful =)</p>
<p>The placements exams are used to guide you a suggestion of what course you should take. however, I would strongly recommend following harvard's advice. they know what theyre talking about when they give your placement. but, if for some reason you still feel like you want to take a higher level course, your adviser will warn you but not stop you. </p>
<p>Also, I would recommend taking the placement exams even for subjects you are only mildly considering. simply because, if you decide to take that course later, it will help having harvard's suggestion.</p>
<p>How likely are we to get our first choice seminar? Do most people get one of their top three choices?</p>
<p>What is the cap on "higher level course?" For instance, I took the bio placement test yesterday and had no problems...does this mean asking to be placed into something like MCB 54(the whole placement test emphasized this anyway) is easier, or do I get recommended something a little lower in difficulty?</p>
<p>The point of the placement test is to suggest which class you should be placed into. It's not binding in any way. It helps your advisors make recommendations, but if you feel strongly that you should be at a certain level, you can override what your placement test suggested. Specifically w/ bio, I've found that my placement test (which I absolutely bombed) has not mattered at all, because I just shopped bio classes and picked the one I wanted to take.</p>
<p>Hey guys,</p>
<p>Sorry for not having posted in a while. I've been kind of busy with my extracurriculars.</p>
<p>From what I see, it seems that there are a bunch of questions about placement exams. I cannot directly answer all of them, but I can give my experience from my placement exams.</p>
<p>As I stated earlier on this forum (probably a while back by now), I took the Chem, Bio, Chinese, French, Expos, and Math placement exams. I also had some 5's on APs and SAT II's to help place me. My experience taught me a few things:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Take as many placement tests as possible, even if you are not going to take that particular class. (I took the Chem and Bio placements, even though I didn't take anything related to either class. Why not? Placement exams are relatively painless. I also took the French placement, even though I do not intend to take French for two year, until I finish the Chinese program)</p></li>
<li><p>Placement tests are suggestions. Although my math test placed me in the correct level, some of my friends who had taken higher level math were not placed into the correct level because they had forgotten some of their math. However, they chose to take the higher level math anyway, and they did just fine. That being said, placement tests do help to show you your current level. You just have to interpret personally the results. If you know that you could have scored higher and would be just fine in an orgo class rather than the more basic class, go for it. You might just need a quick refresher. </p></li>
<li><p>Sometimes your AP level is more reflective of your actual level. I know that I took Chem a while ago. My AP test and outside testing placed me in a different level than my placement test. It just means that I have forgotten some things and that, so long as I reviewed a bit before class, I would be fine. Keep in mind that the AP and your performance in a particular class reflects your level at the time, and that your placement test reflects your current level. If you did well before the placement test, that means that you are capable of handling the material.</p></li>
<li><p>DO NOT STUDY FOR THE PLACEMENT TEST. I've said this multiple times throughout this forum, but I cannot stress this point enough. For the most part, everyone else is going in blind too. Your placement test result is confidential and just tells you about another level of your abilities. It gives you a different set of data than your APs or SAT IIs. Just see how you do. If your result if lower than what you would expect, just keep it in mind and review everything quickly before class.</p></li>
<li><p>The placement tests are by no means comprehensive (unless you're taking the Chinese one, lol). I took the Ec 1010 series without a placement test (b/c one is not offer, and b/c I got 5's on Macro/Micro). I did just fine. The placement test are helpful for placement, but you also need to have an idea of what level you are at. In some ways, you can place yourself, so long as you research the classes and shop well.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>I hope that helps. But here, again, I need to stress that freshmen week is for you to focus on more than just academics. From what I see, there seems to be a large amount of focus on academics. Academics are very self-explanatory and can be read about in the course syllabus. What could help you more is getting advice about intangible aspects of college life from outside sources.</p>
<p>Good luck to all of you. :-)</p>
<p>Here is the FDO's official recommendations on placement exams:</p>
<p>Harvard</a> College Freshman Dean's Office</p>
<p>Do take the advice to heart. Needless to say, the FDO knows what they are talking about.</p>
<p>Btw, I actually do know grammar. I'm typing rather quickly and have made may typos. I apologize.</p>
<p>I personally didn't take a freshman seminar but according to my friends, most are fairly easy to get into. If you just spend some time on the application and have a geniune interest in the topic, you should be fine.
However, seminars that are popular might be tougher to get into... It all depends on the circumstances but, in general, I think you will get into one of your top picks.</p>
<p>I'm not char6_0 but if you ever want to visit any major cities on the Atlantic coast (or just want to visit home for a while), you can take a megabus from Boston to your destination. A trip from Boston to NYC booked 2 months in advance costs 1 dollar, with a capped out price (i.e., same-day reservation) of 17 washingtons. Plus there's air-conditioning, free wi-fi, and IIRC power outlets for laptops. </p>
<p>A sample trip would look like:</p>
<p>-leave dorm for T train stop at Harvard Square
-take T to South Station
-board megabus from South Station to Penn Station (NYC)
^^all this takes about 15 minutes.</p>
<p>Then at penn station you can (if lucky) get a non-reservation ticket to another stop, or just book a new reservation while you're still on the first busride.</p>
<p>To piccolojunior/others:</p>
<p>This is not my exclusive forum. I consider it a type of creative community service. The more people posting, the better. If there is a question that I did not answer, it is better if people (esp. people with more experience than me) post an answer.</p>
<p>:-)</p>
<p>How long is the bus ride from Boston to NYC? How much would the same trip cost Amtrack?</p>
<p>Bus ride to NYC via Chinatown bus:</p>
<p>$30 roundtrip, 4.5 hours
~$70 (?) Amtrack, 5 - 6 hours</p>
<p>How thick is the memory foam in the Havard Essentials handbook? (You helped put that together, right?)</p>
<p>Haha!</p>
<p>I'm actually not sure. From the looks of it, I think it's about 1.5 inches (but don't quote me).</p>
<p>For the bus trip/Train trip:</p>
<p>Megabus:
low</a> cost inter city travel</p>
<p>Fung Wah:
<a href="https://www.fungwahbus.com/shoppingcart.aspx%5B/url%5D">https://www.fungwahbus.com/shoppingcart.aspx</a></p>
<p>Amtrak:
[url=<a href="http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=Amtrak/HomePage%5DAmtrak%5B/url">http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=Amtrak/HomePage]Amtrak[/url</a>]</p>
<p>The megabus is actually very cheap. I heard that it was $1 if you book a month in advance. I didn't even know that...</p>
<p>I hear the Fung Wah bus is terrifying. I could be wrong, just what I heard.</p>
<p>^That's true. Megabus is the best....if you reserve far enough in advance your roundtrip will be 2 dollars. Only bolt bus can match that.</p>