What kind of people do you find at Harvard?

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<p>I've always been a little intrigued about what kind of people form part of the Harvard community and this post was a reminder for me to ask. I'd prefer if people who have been to Harvard, whether as students or just visitors, give me their opinions on this.</p>

<p>More importantly, do you feel like the school has a certain kind of culture, in that it moulds its students in some ways or is there room for all kinds of people there?</p>

<p>I think it’s more diverse than many–the only criteria on which we’re not diverse is that we all care very deeply/are very motivated about something, whether it’s school or not. (Which would suggest that the admissions office, in looking for “passion”, is doing a good job getting what it’s looking for.) Some very good colleges select for a more homogenous student body because they value a certain kind of student more than another. Reed, say, looks for self-consciously intellectual kids. I don’t know whether that sort of selection is good or bad–I think it could be either depending on what you want out of college–but Harvard’s got all sorts. </p>

<p>I’ve stopped judging “oh, so and so didn’t deserve to get into Harvard, s/he seems dumb” since early freshman year. Freshman fall, see, I knew this big brawny dude who was very “Hi. I varsity sport. Form sentence? Ha.” He was obviously very good at his chosen sport, so I was like, ah, the dumb athlete, whatever. Then I learned that he was also an artist–even to my untrained eye, which is not really the best at judging this, he is obviously absolutely, astonishingly good. So he can’t/doesn’t string more than three words together at a time while speaking–whatever. There are multiple, very good reasons that he is here. I think that’s sort of typical of the kind of diversity you find here. It sounds like an admissions brochure buzzword, but I think it’s true.</p>

<p>My nephew was accepted for Class of 2016; my 2 brothers went there and 2 other nephews. The one thing they have in common (besides being smart and working hard) is an intellectual curiosity. My nephew (who could probably coast now that he got in) is still getting straight A’s and taking really interesting classes at his school. </p>

<p>My brothers both said they met very interesting people there – a diverse group – not just the 16 year old math whiz but also people who seemed really normal and mainstream then you find out they’ve published a novel. It seems like each person is uniquely accomplished in their own way.</p>

<p>All kinds. Only common trait is their intensity for “something”. That something will vary tremendously but there is a sense of aliveness to them. Other than that, they are incredibly variable-- and normal.</p>

<p>Harvard has a very diverse and interesting student body. However, the Yale federalist club is not something you can find at Harvard :-).</p>

<p>What the heck is the “Yale federalist club”? </p>

<p>The “Federalist Society” is mainly a lawyers’ organization with intellectual conservative leanings. I believe it was started by students at Yale, Harvard, and Chicago law schools (a number of whom had been Yale undergraduates but not all of them). It most certainly exists at Harvard.</p>

<p>The “Federalist Party” is one of four or five flavors of politically conservative parties that are part of the Yale Political Union, and as such one of many testaments to the schismatic tendencies of Ivy League conservatives. I don’t think there is any exact counterpart to the Yale Political Union at Harvard, which is sort of a pity, because it means that government geeks and politics junkies there probably have a lot less fun and fewer hookups. (Fun and sex are integral to the actual operation of the Yale Political Union, no matter what its charter says.)</p>

<p>As a member of the Harvard Federalist Society while at the Law School, I can tell you that it does exist (along with the Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy, the national Federalist Society’s journal). But what does not–anywhere else–is the Party of the Right which is more a social/debating organization than purely political (I recall that one, if selected is a “member for life, at least.” haha.</p>

<p>Also The Lizzie at Yale is different than the Signet-- and there is nothing anywhere that is anything like the Lampoon!</p>

<p>The other great thing about the Political Union is that it is like a big romper room for politicos so they don’t have to both anyone else-- they elect officers every term so the pro to-offic holders can be happily in perpetual campaign mode-- Maybe the IOP serves the same function–but that is beyond my knowledge bas.</p>

<p>Just imagine a group of WASPs in a wood paneled room, wearing tuxedos and drinking champagne while debating politics and law :-).</p>

<p>Are they very fussy about the dress code? Sometimes I like to dress nice but more often than not, I don’t really care and just wear shorts or whatever pair of jeans I can get hold of. </p>

<p>Could someone elaborate more on these “politics clubs”? What exactly goes on in there? </p>

<p>I also read a few posts on another forum, where a guy said he took a few classes at Harvard (the business school, I think) while he was at MIT, and that he hated the “culture” there, saying that despite the two schools being so close, the way the people there did things and the way the people were in general, was very different to that of MIT. He took it a step further and said how at the 'tute, they don’t really try to mould their students into anything too specific (implying there was some “moulding” going on) but that at Harvard, the school moulding its students was more specific. What are your thoughts on this?</p>

<p>I’ve only conversed with two Harvard grads and both are/were math professors - one was on a forum, the current prof was because of something I was participating in and was done via video call. I thought they were pretty cool but I couldn’t really see any of the things the guy was talking about. As for MIT, I’ve read their admissions blogs on occasion and when I had my interview last year (I withdrew the app and am applying for next fall), I did get the same impression the guy was referring to and was able to easily connect to the interviewer. But maybe that’s just a coincidence. Anyway, I’m just curious to know if you, Harvard alums or parents, feel the same way or not.</p>

<p>We are all perfect. Our shoes are always polished. We volunteer while doing homework and speaking with perfect intonation. No one wears white after Labor Day.</p>

<p>I know two extremely smart potheads who go to Harvard. Very stereotypically philosophical. Talking to them when they’re high is like watching Inception backwards while listening to Sartre, Kierkegaard, and Jesus discuss Russian politics with Andy Warhol.</p>

<p>@sombre</p>

<p>I’m not Harvard tries to ‘mould’ its students into anything specific. What is that super to mean? There was (and still is, though probably to a lesser extent in the past few years) a tendency to send lots of grads into finance and management consulting, but that’s probably equally true at MIT.</p>

<p>As for your friend who took courses at the b-school, that’s completely separate from the college. A number of college grads do end up at the bschool later on, but there are plenty of students who hail from other undergraduate institutions…including…MIT.</p>

<p>I agree with a number of th comments above. Beyond a general (very high) level of curiosity, passion, and ambition, I really can’t think any meaningful generalization of H students.</p>

<p>normal people</p>