Welcome to Harvard! (and useful hints)

Colleges and Universities A-Z Harvard University
1

<p>Hey guys,</p>

<p>I am a rising sophomore this year. I went through the exact same experiences as you went through last year, and I absolutely loved it. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me at <a href="mailto:char6_0@hotmail.com">char6_0@hotmail.com</a>.</p>

<p>First of all, Freshman week is an amazing time. It is just SO MUCH FUN!!! There is lots of free ice cream, parties, and the entire experience of being in a world-class city and neighborhood is entirely new and unique. You will meet tons of amazing people, most of which you will have no idea are amazing until you find out about their credentials later on by accident. I encourage you to explore both campus and Boston during Freshman week. You will have less time to do so during the year (but still enough time, if you know how to manage your time wisely).</p>

<p>After Freshman week, you will be shopping for classes (also an exciting time, until homework starts piling up). I recommend that you not only select classes based upon what other tell you about them, but also how useful the classes will be to your future aspirations, expanding your horizons, and piquing your interests. Unfortunately, some large lecture classes are necessary (and fun...sometimes...), but also take advantage of more individual classes. Contrary to popular belief, Expos can be fun. You just have to make the best of what you study.</p>

<p>During my freshmen year, I took the Ec 1010 series, math 21, expos, Chinese, stat 104, and the Hebrew Bible (a core class, highly recommended). I also got involved in Harvard Student Agencies, and Harvard College Consulting Group. I also continued my ballet studies.</p>

<p>I cannot say too much about the Consulting Group. However, I did get a chance to help start a business out of my connections from working there. Meanwhile, I love my experience as an Assistant Manager at HSA. I help run a half a million dollar per year business. We work on a variety of projects, from our standard laundry services to programs such as the Freshman Linens Program that you should be hearing about in the mail very soon. This was very exciting to work on from the backend. We called all sorts of manufacturers from China, Turkey, etc. to find the best linens that we could. We then got the chance to pick out the highest quality products that we could for your year. You should consider Harvard Student Agencies if you are interested in business. It was a wonderful experience.</p>

<p>Harvard is what you make of it. There are great opportunities here, if you only reach out for them. I recommend that you keep your eyes peeled, and stay open to new ideas.</p>

<p>Charlene</p>

2

<p>Just as a quick note, I moved this discussion to the Harvard discussion forum (i.e. the non-2012 forum). If you have any questions about Harvard in general, feel free to post there.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

3

<p>Okay, just FYI, I also changed my screenname to this current one. In the future, please contact me through this screenname.</p>

4

<p>Hi Charlene,
As a person who is diversified with a slight propensity for mathy/science and also interested in business/economics, would you recommend the same classes? Also, how does one go about entering the HSA and the Consulting Group? I'm very interested by the prospect, but if I have never done any business/economics type activities in high school am I underqualified to do so?
-Michael</p>

5

<p>Hey Michael,</p>

<p>I would recommend my classes, depending upon which major you so choose. It also depends upon your prereqs. If you haven't taken Macro/Micro, then the 1010 series is not for you. I do recommend that you at least apply for Harvard Student Agencies (for more information, you can look at their website at <a href="http://www.hsa.net)%5B/url%5D"&gt;www.hsa.net)&lt;/a>. I personally was not crazy about the Consulting Group. Yes, it is a selective group, but, no, you don't learn too much. I would personally recommend that you try out other student groups. There is the Veritas Financial Group, there are also a variety of other groups. Even The Crimson offers business activities.</p>

<p>As far as experience goes, I was very experienced by the time that I got to college. However, not everyone is. If you are interested in HSA, you can even email me about it. Furthermore, if you want some practical business experience, you can email me about other opportunities. We can always use interns for Sahara Fire, the company that I am launching (actually at the end of this week). </p>

<p>For future inquiries, please note that I moved this forum to the Harvard forum (not the 2012 forum anymore). In the other forum, I have already answered many questions and attached lots of links, etc. </p>

<p>Feel free to email me any personal questions that do not apply to the rest of the freshmen class! I think that college confidential lets you do that.</p>

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<p>Btw, please try to contact me through the email registered on collegeconfidential. Don't use the one that I originally posted above.</p>

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<p>Hey Charlene iam now in Sophomore year in High School and i wanted to know what is the requirement to be admitted to Harvard? And can you please give me some advice. Iam also interested in PRE-MED.</p>

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<p>Please note that I already mentioned on this forum that I have moved the discussion to the main Harvard site.</p>

<p>I will say that I am not the best person to answer your questions. I started this forum to give advice to incoming freshmen with questions about Harvard. I am not the best person to give advice about getting in, especially for people interested in Pre-Med.</p>

<p>All that I can say about college is to follow your passions. I did what I loved most in high school, and Harvard recognized that. If you love what you do, you will do well in what you do. It's a simple concept that people sometimes don't get.</p>

<p>If you want a breakdown of numbers and information about my personal resume I can give you that. I was probably admitted for my extracurricular involvement in Business, Politics, and Law. I started a variety of clubs and projects in my high school: Political Action Group founder - spearheaded student initiative against budget reform, Vice-Chair Teenage Republicans. I also worked at a large amount of very interesting internships throughout high school - legal assistant, business internship, Congressional Page, a bunch of other political campaigns (some paid internships), and earned some political recognition in my local community. I also have a pretty typical set of Harvard testing and GPA credentials (4.0 UW GPA, 4.3? 4.4? W GPA, 2300? SAT I - taken once pretty early, PSAT 238 - National Merit Scholar, 3180?/3200 SAT II, 5's on a few APs, a few other minor awards in speech and debate). I also dance ballet.</p>

<p>If you are interested in Harvard, don't be daunted by the numbers. Everyone at Harvard has suffered many failures, etc. in their lives. My parents always wanted me to be very good at Piano and math. As it turned out, piano and math were never as much an interest for me as ballet and politics. I followed what I felt more drawn to (with the tacit support of my parents) and earned far more what one could qualify as achievements than if I were to force myself to work on something that I just felt no passion for.</p>

<p>Finally, ask yourself, why do you want to go to Harvard? Is it the experience? It is the academics? Or, is it Harvard's world-renowned name? If you want to go for the wrong reasons, realize that you might not find what you seek. I personally love Harvard because it offers culture, people, diversity, and the self-defined education that an autodidact like me seeks. If you do not feel a fit for Harvard, Harvard might not be best for you. Also, it is the student who defines the college, not the college that defines the student. If you have intelligence, if you have ambition, the name on your degree will not stop you from succeeding.</p>

9

<p>Oops, as for concrete requirements:</p>

<p>SAT I or ACT w/writing
3 SAT II's (and one cannot be in your native language)
Transcript
Counselor Recommendation
2 or 3 Teacher Recommendations (forgot how many)
A few essays</p>

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<p>Here's the link for the admissions office. They should have all your concrete requirements:</p>

<p>Harvard</a> College Admissions Office</p>

<p>I hope that that was helpful.</p>

11

<p>I'm a senior in high school, and really like reallllly want to go to Harvard! I just passed all those dates and since I am abroad at the moment, the system of education is different, so basically I don't have all the requirements listed above, nor can I get them done on time :(
So, since I am getting into premed, I suggest if not now, get good grades in premed at least and then apply to Harvard for med!</p>