<p>@exulationsy—I’m well aware of the difficulties of dropping an H-bomb, but the bragging right helps among ompeting classmates in a high school class and for future employment, for sure. </p>
<p>Also, there’s the danger—though this also happens for any dream school, whatever it may be—that you become sorely disappointed when something goes wrong in your dream school. And another thing, Harvard is probably not a good choice if you’re not proactive, since you really need to seek out opportunities yourself.</p>
<p>No school–none–is right for everyone. Harvard students are basically oblong rather than well rounded. Kids like that are not typical and if you want well-rounded kids don’t go there–try Yale or P-Ton which values sociability–Harvard doesn’t–and is pretty clear about wanting oblong kids. </p>
<p>The social scene is compressed bc work does come first–and for a lot of H students it isn’t just what they are good at doing, it is who they are. As for seeing profs-- my S has been at office hours most weeks for one class or another and the profs have been very open. </p>
<p>If you want school spirit-- again, oblong students aren’t much into school spirit–until someone disses Harvard–then watch out. The best thing about Occupy Harvard is that the Yard is closed to anyone who isn’t Harvard affiliated which means the students don’t have to put up with the thousands of tourists… (BTW, if you go and someone tells you to touch “John Harvard’s shoe” DON’T-- the only thing that Harvard students do with the statue is to pee on the shoe…mostly to laugh at the tourists who listen to the tour guides.</p>
<p>^There was a thread a year ago on here titled, “Are there any super hot girls at Harvard?” that spun over five pages. It got deleted, but the general consensus was that, in General, the looks of Harvard girls are below average.</p>
<p>First, Yale and Harvard have practically indistinguishable student bodies. Second, do you have any idea how rude it is to dismiss the entire gender at a school that hasn’t even admitted you yet for failing to live up to your own oh-so-very high “hotness” standards? If we must have this conversation, at least let’s make it about whether Harvard has an attractive student body, or better yet, if someone romantically inclined went to Harvard what their chances are of finding someone they like, rather than whether Harvard has a hot selection of “girls” for you to choose from. (Nor let’s pat ourselves on the back for having “hotter girls” than Columbia or anywhere else; that’s–just, stop.)</p>
<p>Well, the rankings are made by students of the institution, though don’t mind me. I just posted up stats that I recalled seeing due to the few comments I read above my post.</p>
<p>Yeah, but the rankings on those sites are probably determined by like 3 students. It’s like going to Harvard’s page on RateMyProfessors.com; it’s sad and lonely, and you can hear the crickets chirping and the tumbleweed rolling. Just not a lot of Harvard students rank ourselves on these sites. (RateMyProfessors especially so because we have internal–and much more detailed–course/professor evaluations you can see with a Harvard ID. On the other hand, I’d never heard of your site, so I doubt it has all that many students from here either.)</p>
<p>Sheep - You might want to see if you actually get accepted before worrying if the women at Harvard meet your high standards. Tell me, what do you bring to the table as a potential mate? Realizing, of course, the young women you’re so harshly judging already made it into Harvard.</p>
<p>I hate that at this point in your life, I, a random individual on an internet forum, have to be the one to tell you that looks aren’t everything. Secondly, you obviously should realize that many Harvard students date OUTSIDE of Harvard; there are MANY girls in the Boston area relatively near by. How many of them would want to date someone as facetious as you? That I don’t know. </p>
<p>15 minutes away from Harvard is MIT and a little further (okay, maybe not so little) is Boson University. Both thrive with very diverse women, as does Harvard. Beyond the judgment of people’s looks though, let’s move to another topic… such as…</p>
<p>Alright, though a silly question, I’ve never been to Harvard, but whenever I imagine it I see a bridge overlooking a beautiful scene filled with much greenery and water. Is the bridge really something of awe, or is it more of a commonplace structure that is generally in disregard of the population?</p>
<p>For the thing about the girls…first of all, this is a ridiculous question, but go to UMiami if you want a party school…and there are similar claims about other schools as well which are generally super-exaggerated or wholly false.</p>
<p>@SGK Oh I have heard of it, the periods threw me off (I was like pro.wl.er? it was early.). My point stands. 20 people commented on Harvard’s men and women combined, and of those, only 3-4 actually gave letter rankings. Far below statistically insignificant sample size.</p>
<p>@david the bridge marks one end of campus. It’s very beautiful if you’re near it, but freshmen and 1/2 of the upperclassmen aren’t. (1/4 are very far away, 1/4 are pretty close to the freshmen area.) I think there are virtual tours you can check out…?</p>
<p>@DwightE
Are the ECs more active than their websites/facebook pages would otherwise indicate? I really want to join the Harvard-Radcliffe Christian Fellowship group if I’m accepted, but it almost never updates, and seems quasi-inactive. Is this the exception, rather than the rule?</p>
<p>^Yeah don’t go by the websites. Nobody reads most Harvard groups’ websites so it’s not surprising they don’t update them frequently. The group you mentioned is pretty active though.</p>
<p>Some ECs are harder work than a course or your course load. For exam to be a member of the 'Poon or the Crimson you will work harder on your comp than your course work. In many senses this makes sense as you will learn as much --sometimes more–in your EC than the formal course work. I have always given the Yale Daily News credit for my writing ability–such as it is, rather than any course, and having taught at Harvard for a couple of decades now, I think that many undergraduates would credit their time on a publication, a team an orchestra or any number of other ECs as the most formative experience that they have had.</p>
<p>Also, you will learn more from your classmates than you will in your classes–even if it is in working through the assignments. My S who has done Math 55 said it was his hours and hours in the “War Room” rather than in the class itself that made him a mathematician.</p>
<p>Where do you think Conan learned the most. I would venture it was in some castle on Mount Auburn Street not in some English seminar.</p>