<p>Unfortunately, I haven't had the opportunity to visit Harvard yet, in addition to other schools. One of the most important aspects of a school to me is the culture of the place. Does anyone know what the overall student body culture and school is like at Harvard?</p>
<p>(ie: competitiveness, obsession with grades, etc.)</p>
<p>On most factors, probably close to the opposite of what stereotypes have led you to believe. Many Harvard stereotypes are out-of-date.</p>
<p>In my daughter’s circles of friends, students compete against themselves and not each other. D has only experienced cooperation and willingness to assist others.</p>
<p>Though it is quite possible that others exist, they are just don’t associate with my daughter.</p>
<p>What Harvard stereotypes are out-of-date, gadad? Has it started to admit unaccomplished students? Have its students abandoned their extra-curricular activities in favor of more library (or bong) time? Does it admit women? (Yes, that stereotype IS outdated, but that’s old news.)</p>
<p>Here are MY personal Harvard stereotypes, based on decades of observation mostly from afar: </p>
<p>Almost every student at Harvard College is incredibly good at something, some at more than one something. Lots of them continue to pursue their thing(s). Lots of them have the confidence to switch to another thing. But hardly anyone really drifts (and those that do feel very anxious about it). So part of the culture at Harvard is one of achievement, and a huge part is everyone being amazed at how incredible all of their classmates and friends are, and trying to hold up their end of the relationship. People get inspired by their friends a lot.</p>
<p>Also, the vast majority (but not all) of Harvard students is very engaged in the world beyond the classroom. That’s often where their main focus lies, but even for the more academically oriented extracurricular stuff can be really important. That can mean anything from sports to competitive Social Dance to science fiction and gaming clubs to the Crimson and the Lampoon to local and national politics. Of course Harvard students spend time just hanging out, but I suspect that, collectively, they spend less of such time than practically anyone (except maybe people at West Point or Annapolis). They spend a lot of time doing things. They can’t help it.</p>
<p>Grade obsession and competitiveness about grades? I’m sure it exists, but only among outliers. The vast majority of Harvard students barely cares. I have met only one Harvard student who was like that, and in her case it moderated a lot from her extreme pre-Harvard grade-obsession. (It helps that Harvard is not known for tough grading, and that Harvard students enjoy a panoply of opportunities whatever their grades.)</p>
<p>Competitiveness around ECs? Things like getting elected to an editorial board position at a publication? THAT exists. There are a lot of people used to being the best there, and a lot of people trying to carve out a niche where they can be the best.</p>
<p>Social competitiveness? Maybe within some groups, but on the whole it doesn’t exist. There’s no single social system or hierarchy, more like hundreds of different interlocking subsystems, only a few of which even remotely resemble the Greek system at any state university. To some extent, that’s true everywhere, but the social landscape at Harvard is much more level than almost every place else. Some final club members may be snooty and look down their noses at others, but other final club members don’t, and most of the rest of the people don’t even know who the final club members are, or care.</p>
<p>Thank you, that makes me feel much better. I like “friendly” competition, but not competition that is mean-spirited. It seems like everyone is respectful of each other’s achievements and capabilities at Harvard, which is quite admirable.</p>
<p>JHS:</p>
<p>Your post are always quite useful. Any chance you could provide an overview of Yale stereotypes similar to the one you just did for Harvard? I am starting there in about 8 weeks and am a little curious …</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>^Yale sucks.</p>
<p>In all seriousness, Yale’s dynamic is quite similar to Harvard’s dynamic, except you won’t find as many people at Yale studying in the library on a Friday night. It’s sort of frowned upon at Yale to work your ass off on the weekends and such, but at Harvard many do and no one looks at you weirdly.</p>
<p>My sense of Yale is very similar to my sense of Harvard, with a few screws adjusted slightly. I think there is a little less anxiety there, and maybe a little less accomplishment, too, as a result. For whatever reason, people don’t care quite as much about making their mark on the collegiate world, so there is a little less competitiveness on the EC front (although still plenty, don’t get me wrong). Some Harvard students can get a bit oppressed by the idea of Harvard – “I’m at the center of the world, the apex of academia! How come I’m only getting Bs? Why am I not ruling the world? Everyone is better than I am; I don’t belong!” – and that happens at Yale, too, but waaay less. Yale takes itself a little less seriously than Harvard, too.</p>
<p>I think some of that is self selection: The people who choose Yale are, as a group, less focused on who’s #1 than the people who choose Harvard (but remember that each university has plenty of students who might have chosen the other if they had the chance). Also, Yale attracts more humanities students, proportionately, where the lines are less clear about who’s better than whom, so there’s less of that in the air. And the residential college system puts freshmen in more contact with upperclassmen, who tell them to take the edge off.</p>
<p>Yale is also noticeably arty. Not that Harvard doesn’t have plenty of arts, and Harvard gets more Yo-Yo Ma or Natalie Portman types than Yale. But the percentage of Yale students actively involved with music, or theater, or painting is higher, and that’s a self-sustaining thing, because there’s a lot more support for doing arts at Yale and it’s more normal-seeming. As a result, people who could go either way get sucked in, and people who don’t actively participate in the arts spend a lot of time going to their friends’ shows.</p>
<p>In the old days, at least, I thought people at Yale were a little more focused on their classwork than people at Harvard. There was constant discussion of what everyone was learning. A lot of the time, lunch conversation was completely dominated by Vin Scully’s or Gaddis Smith’s 11:00 lecture, whether or not you were in those classes. The people I knew at Harvard were more focused on what they were doing out of the classroom. I’m not certain that remains true, and it was never more than a subtle difference. People at Yale also partied more than the people at Harvard. It’s not that the people at Harvard didn’t mean to party, it’s more that they were busier with other stuff, whereas at Yale the parties were seen as an important part of the experience not to be missed (but waaaaaay less so than at, say, Dartmouth).</p>
<p>Thanks, JHS! That doesn’t sound do bad at all! I am so incredibly excited … I hope I still am at christmas time.</p>
<p>As a current student, I second everything JHS said. It’s right on.</p>
<p>Though I would like to add that I met quite a few people (freshmen, at least) who haven’t yet found an EC that they fell in love with. I’m one of them, so maybe I was more sensitive to it. But sometimes the students who have found their niche are more vocal about it, and resultantly it seems like everyone is that way. In reality, however, there are many students who have not quite yet figured things out.</p>
<p>Let’s be blunt here. How are the parties at Harvard?</p>
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<p>I was thinking about ones like these:
- Nearly all the students are rich, white, and snobby
- Faculty don’t care about undergrads
- Most students went to elite private prep schools
- If you aren’t from a background of privilege you’ll have trouble fitting in
- You’ve got to have connections to be admitted
- If I did get admitted, I could never afford it</p>
<p>Frankly, I don’t know that any of these generalizations were ever really accurate, but they don’t have much at all in common with typical student life there in the 21st century. However, from a lot of prospective student questions on this forum, I get the impression that the stereotypes will take some time to change.</p>
<p>omg! That sounds frightening.</p>
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<p>Freshman year? They can be great, as long as you have the connects to get into upperclassman parties; you are a member/associate of the Crimson Key Society, a fraternity, a final club, a sports team, or other social organization (eg., Latino Men’s Collective, Black Men’s Forum, Asian American Brotherhood); or you have the ability to procure alcohol and live in a fun suite or know people who do. Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of university-sanctioned, open-admissions parties organized by student groups – and most turn a blind eye to underage drinkers – but they can get boring.</p>
<p>My advice if you want to “go hard”… buy a fake ID or make friends with an upperclassman who is willing to buy you alcohol regularly, live in a fun suite (tho you can’t really control that), or become part of a student group made up of fun-loving people. </p>
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<p>gadad, I wouldn’t be so quick to dismiss this stereotype completely. A plurality, if not a majority of students have gone to college preparatory schools of some sort – not necessarily “elite prep schools” but often magnet schools and well-known private schools. If you haven’t come from one of these schools where students have a culture of achievement (i.e., a rural area of a run-of-the-mill public school), you might experience some culture shock or heightened anxiety. Nothing that can’t be overcome, though.</p>
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<p>This is an excellent point.</p>
<p>Mustafah, I remember liking your posts last year and hope you had a great year at Harvard.</p>
<p>Just want to mention that those who come from less than stellar high schools can sometimes help those who went to the top notch preps and high schools, by offering a different point of view.</p>
<p>Those who did not come from a school w/a culture of achievement often had to learn from an early age how to get the education they needed, on their own. </p>
<p>This means they are less tied to external motivators - such as teacher approval or grades - a refreshing viewpoint for hyper-competitive peers.</p>
<p>This kind of mixed student population offers unexpected benefits, such as a kid from a low quality high school teaching those from high pressure ones, to relax and think about why they are there. At the same time, the former group benefits from the high level of discussion and motivation from the latter group, which can be a relief after those 4 years of apathetic peers.</p>
<p>I know this is a Harvard forum, but since you commented on Yale…what about MIT? How does life there compare? What about Dartmouth, Cornell, Princeton?</p>
<p>Chardo, you can explore the Ivy forums for those other schools. Your question is too broad and general for this thread.</p>
<p>Hi everbody!</p>
<p>I’ve got a question concerning the life at harvard and would love to hear your oppinions! So I am thinking about applying for a PhD at the Geoscience department. For me it would be a huge decision since I come from germany and 4 years are a long time (I studied in New Zealand and Brasil but just for 1-2 years). I am highly tempted since I would love to work with good people and do research there. I love my subject (I do geophysics) and I am sure it would be an amazing time at the university. However I am a bit concerned that I will spend my whole live in the lab. I have a bunch of hobbies and enjoy going out and socialize and I would not like to give this up. Just for you to get an idea, I guess here I work about 50 hours per week for my course. Is that realistic for Harvard?</p>
<p>The question wether I have a chance is another one, but first of all I need to make up my mind if I want to give up everything I have here. It’s a tough one for me. Do you have any comments for me?</p>
<p>Thanks a lot!</p>