<p>I have been looking a Harvard recently for college, as well as Yale. I stayed at Yale for a month for a summer program, so I have a good idea of what the campus looks like and most everything a non-student can know. But what makes Harvard so special? What is that really makes you love it? I thinking about visting it soon, but if the campus sucks, I probably won't bother.</p>
<p>So tell me, what is so great about it? Not just the campus, but student life and faculty and even just the atmosphere of Harvard. I'd like opinions from students and/or people who have visited it.</p>
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I'm thinking about visting it soon, but if the campus sucks, I probably won't bother.
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<p>Uh, yeah, the Harvard "campus sucks" - so why "bother"?</p>
<p>More seriously: You don't really mean to suggest that your decision whether or not to visit Harvard (or any other school) could be determined by what a random handful of anonymous posters might say on a board like this, do you? </p>
<p>As for what makes Harvard appealing (to some), take a look at some of the earlier threads. You'll find that quite a bit has already been written on this subject by current students, former students, parents (like me), etc.</p>
<p>I never meant to imply that your input would determine whether or not I go, it would just give me some insight as to whether or not the trip would be worth it. It would be helpful if I knew personal accounts of the campus life before spending countless dollars getting myself to Cambridge if it was acutally not as great as some make it out to be.</p>
<p>My D is a freshman and having the time of her life. She thrives on being surrounded by amazing people. The guy across the hall had to leave for Washington a couple weekends ago because his play was being performed at the Kennedy Center. Another friend had to duck out for a couple of days to play a concert at Carnegie Hall. That kind of thing is not unusual. The Harvard Square culture seems to be incredibly social and outdoor cafe-centered; almost like a European city. The extracurricular opportunities are quite extraordinary. The students produce profoundly professional programs, often with the advice and support of famous alums. Example - a week ago, a campus organization sponsored its annual ice skating show for charity. Various Olympic medalists including Belbin and Agosto, the recent heartthrobs of the Turin Games, performed - $8 for student tickets, and entirely student-run. Residential colleges stage operas. Encounters with the famous are commonplace. Faculty are incredibly connected. Already, my daughter has seen a professor call halfway around the world on a cell phone to let a student ask her question directly to the author of the book they were studying. Her seminar professor was teaching about Chilean politics and brought the son of the former president they were discussing in to chat. The entering class is breathtakingly diverse, multinational and multiethnic. And from what I can observe, the students seem to revel in the diversity and really enjoy one another. Plus, the Boston-Cambridge area at night seems to become one giant college student gathering.</p>
<p>Assuming you visit Harvard, ny_lubber, my guess is that you will be somewhere in the middle of the lush, green Yard, surrounded by some of the most amazing people you have ever met, and a tour guide who will be telling you about the tons and tons of academic, extracurricular, career, and social opportunities you will have if you go to Harvard, and then you will realize that it might be a good place for you to be.</p>