<p>"Why is that absurd? " If you have to ask, the answer, even clearly stated, will be lost on you. I’m with danstearns.</p>
<p>Nicholas, re: post 118 - when you say the Big State U brings in big-name pop stars on the school’s dime, you do realize where the school get it’s money, right?
So in effect, the school is diverting your tuition money (it’s probably called something like “mandatory student activities fee” on the bill your parents pay), and giving it to Lewis Black or Lady Gaga. That’s fine - but posting it as one of the things that’s “not so great about Harvard” is, frankly, a little absurd.</p>
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<p>As Mifune himself says, you won’t find many who hated Harvard the way he did. Many Harvard students and parents have described and commented on Harvard undergrad teaching in the past:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/harvard-university/635800-undergraduate-quality-harvard.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/harvard-university/635800-undergraduate-quality-harvard.html</a>
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/harvard-university/979661-if-harvard-undergraduates-dont-get-attention-who-does.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/harvard-university/979661-if-harvard-undergraduates-dont-get-attention-who-does.html</a>
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/harvard-university/547058-what-benefits-attending-harvard-undergraduate.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/harvard-university/547058-what-benefits-attending-harvard-undergraduate.html</a>
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/harvard-university/492836-neglect-undergraduates.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/harvard-university/492836-neglect-undergraduates.html</a></p>
<p>I’m using those as a comparison tool. And yes, there is a clearly defined section for student activities, 78 dollars as a matter of fact. That’s over my four years at the university and I think schools that bring in entertainers, shows, musicals, etc. are doing their students a service. I can only speak to what my friends have told me and compare that to what I know from my experience. That being said, Harvard does do a lot of good things with their social scene, some are a bit more high brow than most are used to but impressive in their own right. It’s simply a matter of which is more comfortable and for a lot of people, it can be a detriment to their college experience. Stating it as subjective or irrelevant (as many do) does nothing to help those students trying to decide where to go.</p>
<p>P.S. the not so subtle assumption that my parents are paying my way through college is also a bit offensive to me. I pay my way through college, my parents have earned their money and deserve to take a vacation rather than pay for me or anyone else’s education.</p>
<p>^If availability of pop concerts is a deciding factor in choosing a college, Boston is just a few subway stops away.</p>
<p>I’ve seen many reasons for not choosing Harvard being put forward over the years by boosters of other schools. Some were important, some were not, and some were just silly. But this is a first. With the quality of the pop concerts funded by the college now being regarded as a crucial factor, we have reached a new low.</p>
<p>^^^^Agreed.
I would venture to guess a good portion of Harvard admits have no overwhelming interest in pop bands. A good thing.</p>
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<p>Princeton is the bomb dot com.</p>
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<p>In my experience, Harvard kids are as interested in pop and rock music as any other kids. But I can’t imagine that very many, if any, of them would pick or reject a college on that basis. Besides, if for some reason you are really focused on attending good concerts, the whole town of Boston is there for you. And up until he graduated a few years ago, at Harvard you might have had Rivers Cuomo sitting next to you in some of your classes.</p>
<p>For what it’s worth, Far East Movement was at Yardfest last year. One of my friends played beer pong with them later that night.</p>
<p>“Overwhelming interest” as in–a determining factor in selecting a campus-- still doubt Harvard students are such hardcore groupies.</p>
<p>Obviously something like this is pretty insignificant, but the importance of “soft” factors such as climate is often greatly understated.</p>
<p>How accessible are professors at Harvard? How often do teaching fellows instruct in place of professors?</p>
<p>“In place of”: absolutely never, except for languages and, arguably, freshman writing. (The instructors for both are usually semi-faculty. Not permanent positions, and young/I’m not sure having completed a Ph.D. is required for either.)</p>
<p>In general, it depends on your field. Psychology/economics/computer science/biology, you’re going to have a harder time getting to know your professors, at least in the first couple years, than you would at an LAC. I am on a “hey what up” basis with one of the Big Names in one of the above fields, though, despite not being in his field. (He did a better job recognizing me when I drastically changed my hair than most of my friends did; I was impressed.) I also know a lot of professors in my subfield pretty well, but my subfield is tiny, so they couldn’t really avoid knowing me if they tried.</p>
<p>Despite the presence of alcohol as mentioned by mifune, I would like to assure prospective students that there is plenty of variability in the student population. In my housing application, I asked specifically that I be roomed with people who did not plan on pursuing obligatory collegiate alcoholism. I made no other requests, actually. If this is an issue for you, I assure you that this action will (or at least, can) completely ameliorate the problem before you even step on campus. Just be VERY specific on the housing app.</p>
<p>Also, if you’re an early-ish riser, (e.g. ~8:30), put the hours a little earlier than you plan on going to sleep… I put 12, which is the latest I usually fall asleep, thinking I’d not want to deal quiet hours. The walls here are very thin, unfortunately, and Harvardians tend to have loud voices. Long story short, I have often been kept awake longer than I’d like to be by discussions of philosophy, politics, pop culture, etc. Fun discussion, but not so much at 2 or 3 or 4 AM when you have a 9 AM class every day. Eh, whatevs. Just be warned, if this sounds like something that might irk you. </p>
<p>A NOT great thing about Harvard, by the way, is Math 23. If you do not enjoy jumping through hoops, I’d suggest going for 21 or 25. Some people enjoy 23, but I just could NOT. 15 page long syllabus? Got to be kidding me! And, I hear from my roommates that the Physics 16 professor assigns lower grades to people he thinks are not “Physics People,” so if you’d like a fair grade in a fun, intensive physics elective, don’t let on that you aren’t going to be a Physicist after college. </p>
<p>Hmmm… can’t think of any other bad things, now that Occupy isn’t around to force Securitas (ha ha, good name for security at Harvard, eh?) to secure all the gates.</p>
<p>I just wanted to say that at a “near Ivy”, Wellesley, that much of the complaints people have apply to many “prestigious” and private colleges. That being said, I have found myself more interested by students at MIT. In my limited interactions, the entitlement is often significantly less, and the students seem to really care about their learning, instead of the GPA or competition. Although I have found Harvard students to be often approachable, I can usually feel a tension of competition, even if the conversation is just about recreational reading.</p>
<p>^A byproduct of ambition is sometimes competitiveness. Harvard is a school that caters to the former so it does get the latter, maybe to a higher degree than a random smattering of 18-22 year olds. It’s important to realize that this is not a definition of being a Harvard student; I know far more noncompetitive people than competitive. </p>
<p>The only traits one can safely say belong to Harvard students are those that the admissions office selects for, i.e. intelligence, ambition, etc.</p>
<p>Although I would not, perhaps, have picked MIT students as the example for “top college, less competitive, less stressed.” Almost every time I hang out with any, my stress levels start going up to match how high theirs seem to be. It’s kinda scary. Otherwise agree with DE.</p>
<p>Thanks for your response exultationsy!
I don’t want to find myself lost in the huge sea of students. If you don’t mind me asking, what are you majoring in? And how did you come to making a decision? That’s another thing I’m going to have trouble with. I’m still pretty undecided (probably going into the sciences, but I am not completely sure). I know that at Harvard students choose majors by the end of their first semester in sophomore year. How do you get a chance to explore your interests in a matter of only 12 courses? It’s a bit daunting for me. </p>
<p>Also, when do placement exams take place? They’re online exams, I’m assuming.</p>
<p>If I remember correctly, placement exams are administered sometime in May or June.</p>
<p>And deciding on a major within twelve classes is pretty reasonable, in my opinion. Because most people have a rough idea of what they want to concentrate in, taking 6-8 exploratory courses is enough to see what you really like. Switching concentrations after sophomore spring is very easy too.</p>