<p>Have you seen this site?</p>
<p>^ I love that map and the students' descriptions of the dorms...</p>
<p>Question....
I've read that there is a yard sale hosted by Habitat for Humanity. Is this held during opening weekend? How are the goods/prices at the event...and how likely is it that one could purchase a quality couch/futon discounted?</p>
<p>Also, I received the HSA catalog...the linen packages seem really reasonable, but can anyone offer comment on the quality of the comforter and other items?</p>
<p>Yeah, there's like a week long yard sale right outside the science center during like the end of freshman week and the beginning of when upperclassmen start to get on campus if I remember correctly. Get there as soon as you have a spare minute (and girls, bring some boys to carry any heavy furniture for you if at all possible haha, it's what I did with my roomies---unless you happen to be a guy...). Stuff goes fast because a lot of it is actually really good (I think most of it is stuff the past year's graduates donated), so if you go like the last day, it's slim pickings. The prices are great--we got a couch for I think $35 that was in pretty good condition, all we did was recover it with a sheet and it was great for the whole year. So definitely head over as soon as you can with your roommates!</p>
<p>Don't get anything from HSA!!! It's a ripoff. Seriously, go to Bed Bath & Beyond or something like that, and get all of your linens and blankets and whatnot (get twin XL size).</p>
<p>I agree, HSA is a rip off. And, it's not any more convenient than ordering online from somewhere. I bought a lot of my bedding before I came to school and then had to pay to ship it. It is a lot easier to just shop online and have everything delivered. Also, I would wait on the big stuff anyway because you'll want to see your room and everything before you decide exactly what you want.</p>
<p>I am just really curious about the social life at harvard. How are the parties, are they widely available and is there a large amount of alcohol consumption? What is the primary way people socialize, is it by going out at night, doing extracurriculars ect? I hear from student at different schools that Harvard students are not the happiest with their social life so I am very curious if any of you guys can shed some light on your experience.</p>
<p>Generally speaking, people go out during the weekends (Fri, Sat). There are exceptions to that, like people going out Thursday nights, but it's more rare, so people usually stick to weekends when they party. Partywise, it's pretty dead weeknights because people have work to do. Some of my friends at other schools go out like every night and love it--but for me, I would never want to go out every night, and I'd feel like I'd be missing out if I didn't, so Harvard has the perfect mix of partying and being serious about your classes. That's just how I feel though, so anyone coming here should think about how often they want to go out--some people wish there was more partying during the week, and many like me are very happy with the balance.</p>
<p>Parties range from get togethers in freshman dorms to upperclass rooms to house dances in their dining halls to final clubs to parties held by extracurriculars or clubs. Alcohol is what you make of it--it's definitely more than available if you want it, but if not, no pressure. Freshmen often have alcohol in their rooms, despite the policy about the Yard being dry. You just have to be careful with your proctor catching you (my room was never caught, but I've seen others get in trouble). I'd say many go the route of dorm parties, but a lot (mostly females and upperclass males) go to final clubs--I'm not going to get into the long explanation here (just google it and you'll find tons of info!) but they're essentially single-sex social clubs unaffiliated with the college that throw private parties...sort of like a mix between secret societies and fraternities (we have a few frats and sororities but they're also unofficial and barely any have houses; not a big Greek scene here at all). Final clubs are always surrounded by controversy it seems, and you either love them or hate them, depending on who you are--personally, I go a few times a month and always have a lot of fun when I do.</p>
<p>There's no "primary" way to socialize--all depends on who you are. Lots of people go out at night, lots of people do extracurriculars, so it's probably a combination. I feel like people love to complain and beat down on Harvard's social life just because it's Harvard, but at least in my opinion, as long as you don't have these expectations or desires to have crazy state school-esque parties, you'll be happy.</p>
<p>Oh, and just to add...one of my friends at a non-Ivy university said that the hardest he's ever partied was when he came to visit me at Harvard...so yeah, there are definitely parties if you want them. (And other ways to have fun if you don't, so don't worry if you're not into the big party scene--I've also spent nights in watching movies or whatever!)</p>
<p>I definitely agree. The party scene is what you make of it. I would say that the main difference between Harvard and any other school is the fact that there aren't usually parties during the week. Also, it seems like, from my experience, Harvard is pretty lax about enforcing drinking policy. Like, I think if some of my friends at other schools got caught with alcohol in a freshmen dorm, there would be serious consequences. But, at Harvard (depending on the proctor), it usually just gets poured down the sink and that's it...</p>
<p>Hey guys,</p>
<p>Sorry for not having posted anything in a while. I've been crazy busy.</p>
<p>I read over the forum, and everything else seems to be taken care of. I will say that it makes me very sad to see that people think that HSA is a ripoff. </p>
<p>I will say this, as of this year, we redid the entire linens and furniture collection at HSA. It makes me very sad to see you guys think that it is of bad quality, because everything is redone. I worked very hard to import everything and make sure that the quality was good.</p>
<p>Think what you will of the linens. However, please disregard any comments about HSA linens from the past. It has been completely redone this year.</p>
<p>3 questions =)</p>
<p>1) Do you think it is neccesary for each student to have a personal printer? How much does it cost to print in Harvards facilities? </p>
<p>2) Also, is there somewhere one could find the average number of students in a given course? I am trying to develop a possible schedule of classes, and hope to mix larger courses with some smaller ones (in terms of # of students). I know the cores would probably be a larger group...and seminars/expos are smaller. How many students are usually in math, language courses? How many are in a science class (life sciences, or maybe something more advanced, such as MCB)?</p>
<p>3) If I were to rank a freshman seminar as my 2nd, 3rd, 4th... preference, is it unlikely that the professor will accept me into his/her class? Will proffessors always select those who rank them first before those who rank them lower? I see that there is a freshman seminar open house. Would it be wise to not submit any applications until after attending the event?</p>
<p>As always, thank u!</p>
<p>1) Personal printers - useful or not, it depends on your preferences. I personally find the printers in the Science Center enough to survive the fairly infrequent printing that I have had to do. That being said, it can be a pain to walk out to the science center during the winter. It really depends on what you are willing to pay for staying in your comfy dorm during the winter. It only costs 10 cents to print in the science center, but it's free (up to 20 pages per day) to print from the women's center</p>
<p>2) For questions about classes, the CUE is extremely useful.
Harvard</a> Q | CUE Guide</p>
<p>3) It doesn't matter when you turn in the seminar application, thus, it might help you to go to the seminar open house. However, the rank does affect whether or not you get into your seminar. Depending upon the popularity of the seminar, it might be difficult to get into your lower choices. However, you can always apply for those seminars if the original people who were accepted decide not to take the seminar (which happens a lot)</p>
<p>I would recommend bringing a printer. If you are taking any problem set classes, it will get annoying to have to go and print them out in the Science Center/Women's Center aaaall the time. (P.S. The Women's Center is open to men also!) But, if you would rather not pay for your own, you''ll definitely have access to a printer.</p>
<p>want2bIvy--Generally, you're right that cores tend to be bigger and something like a seminar or expos is smaller. As char6_0 said, though, check the CUE guide, because I've been in smaller core classes (like 25 people)--it really depends on which one you're taking. Language classes are going to be small because they're taught in section. The more advanced the class, the smaller it will tend to be, so something like life sci or an intro math class will be a big lecture that breaks down into sections once a week. </p>
<p>Also, regarding seminars...you're most likely not going to get one that isn't your first choice. While it's not competitive to the point that seminars are difficult to get into, the process IS still competitive. Odds are, there are going to be 12 other students who rank a seminar you pick as #3 as their #1, so they'll easily get it over you. My friends were only in seminars they picked as first choice (same goes for me). Professors only want students who really want to be in that seminar, so they're more inclined to pick people who rank it as #1. As char suggested, you also have the option of the list of open seminars that didn't fill to capacity once selections are made.</p>
<p>Hey I have one question, sorry if it doesn't pertain to anything in this thread, but does Harvard usually send out letters/booklets about the school, like every other school does? Because my parents think that I have a strong chance of getting in, and while I'm making good grades, I just don't think "Harvard" is that attainable. But yeah, I was just wondering if it's normal to get a letter and booklet(including common app) from Harvard.</p>
<p>^ They sent it out to 70,000 rising high school seniors a few years ago, so it should be even more this year. Getting a mailing does not indicate that you will be accepted, unfortunately - though it does mean you are on the right track (they base it on standardized exams)</p>
<p>How strict are proctors? Mine is on the same floor that I'm on. He's young, I believe two years out of Harvard undergrad, and working on his MBA/JD.</p>
<p>Proctors depend on who they are--for example, my proctor was really young and pretty chill..he was strict like the first week, but then after that you could tell he just didn't want us to get in trouble. For example, he would always warn us ahead of time when we had parties before he came in, to give us time to get rid of anything he didn't particularly want to see and we didn't want him to see. Another one of my friend's proctors continually sent letters to them warning that she smelled "illicit substances" in the hall but that was as far as she went. And yet another busted at least two parties my friend had, continually poured their alcohol down the sink, and even ad-boarded almost a full suite. So yeah, it depends. Test the waters a bit before you try anything, but you'll eventually figure out how lenient your proctor is.</p>
<p>As for the mailing question...most people I know at Harvard didn't get anything from them in the mail (myself included). You can, however, request info.</p>
<p>Harvard1636, I think I remember seeing that you were in Weld... do you know Adam Virgadamo? He's my proctor this year in Weld.</p>
<p>I just wanted to make a quick note about Proctors, you can really get to be friends with your proctor. For instance, my proctor was a 24 year-old grad student. He used to spend many Fridays and Saturdays chilling with us and playing games and such. He also turned a blind eye to many not-so-kosher incidents (so long as they weren't disrespectful to others/too blantantly out of hand). </p>
<p>So, yeah, don't worry about proctors. I have yet to hear a story about a Proctor from hell...</p>