<p>The more research I do about Harvard, the more stuff I find about how depressed Harvard students are. I don't know what's going on here, but have any of you guys come across similar stuff?</p>
<p>Here's an example of the kind of article I mean</p>
<p>Well, the college experience differs so greatly for everyone. Perhaps it's true that Harvard students don't tend to value socializing as much as other college students do, and come off as "cold" for that reason, but there <em>are</em> different social groups. Etc. </p>
<p>I think the article paints the picture a little greyer than truth has it. I haven't met anyone who has hated Harvard or been miserable while at the College. It's a really encouraging place, actually, with tons of opportunities. The opportunities are wonderful, so people are busy and don't have much time to party and socialize (relative to other schools), but it happens and people get things done. It works well.</p>
<p>wow... that article scares me</p>
<p>Take it with a grain of salt. I definitely wouldn't say that Harvard is a "happy" place but I wouldn't say it's doomed to be this way...it's the students who make it this way.</p>
<p>Maybe it's a feedback loop: Harvard is trumpeted as a work-hard, get-successful school, so people assume it's where fun comes to die. Students who go there are intimidated by the reputation and by what they perceive to be a hyper-talented, hyper-competitive student body. No wonder, with all this build-up, that the students complain more than usual. I mean, come on:</p>
<p>"During exam period, she remembers talking to a friend in Loker Commons about an upcoming exam when an unknown student butted in. “She told me ‘I have two finals tomorrow and a paper due,’” Agbonyitor says. “She wanted her life to sound so much worse than mine.” At Harvard, complaining is so essential to the culture, it becomes a badge of honor that students use to one-up their neighbors.</p>
<p>Harvard, of course, is not purely a black hole of misery. Stephanie L. Wilka ’05, a psychology concentrator in Lowell House, oozes school spirit—so much that she joined the College cheerleading squad her freshman year. “I think situations are what you make of ‘em,” she wrote in an e-mail message. “Ya gotta know when to work, and ya gotta know when to enjoy yourself.”"</p>
<p>Since when did college students not complain about being busy? I think the girl in the second paragraph is an example of a student who refuses to submit to the lame chorus "Harvard sucks!"--because it's empty. Basically, my point is, it's the students who are causing the problem, not this nebulous concept of "the school." If Yale students chose Yale because they perceived a better social life there, of COURSE they're going to be motivated to socialize, etc.</p>
<p>Yeah, when I visited the Harvard campus last April, it didn't seem as lively and "happy" as the Yale campus. Maybe I came at a bad time? I got a chance to sneak into one of the really huge psych classes held in the big Memorial Hall theater though, and the class seemed really fun and upbeat and the students were laughing and having a good time. I don't know, I guess it's how you look at it?</p>
<p>You also have to look at the high-school lives of people who go to Harvard. I'm not going to make assumptions that Harvard students were all all-work-no-play robots in high school, but the qualifications that are necessary for Harvard admission are admittedly fairly exhausting. I think that a lot of kids who go to Harvard were very social in high school, but by the same token I think that a lot of them were not. The same could be said for any Ivy League school, though, so this "argument" (which isn't even really an arugment) isn't quite Harvard-specific. Basically, I'm saying that if you never partied or relaxed or did spontaneous things in high school, it might be hard to learn how to do that in the Harvard environment, which, in my opinion, would breed stress and such. That probably made little sense.</p>
<p>And adding onto this thread, if you have any preconceived notions about Harvard students' social lives, this video might change your mind:</p>
<p><a href="http://hrtv.org/shows/crimson%20edition/%5B/url%5D">http://hrtv.org/shows/crimson%20edition/</a></p>
<p>Keyword: MIGHT. Haha.</p>
<p>My daughter loves it and thanks us daily for having the opportunity to go there. She finds the students much friendlier and less competitive than was the case at her public high school.</p>
<p>HAHAHA that was a funny video. Thanks for the good time!</p>
<p>"It's a college. They're students. It could happen."</p>
<p>LOL great video...who would WANT to go to Harvard</p>
<p>I always think of Harvard students' complaints as really meaning, "Don't hate us because we go to the #1 college in the world."</p>
<p>I complained a lot about Harvard when I was there. Indeed, I even thought about transferring. Am I glad that I went there? Yes. I learned things there (mainly from my peers, who were the most interesting, internally-driven people whom I've ever met) that I use every day. The most important thing that I learned is that the only thing that limits us is our ability to dream.</p>
<p>Harvard students have such a sense of empowerment that seems to come from being on a campus that virtually allows you to do whatever you want. For instance, you can create any class that you want to take as long as you can find a faculty member who'll teach it as an independent study. That's not hard to do. Similarly, if you want to start an EC or service project, the world is yours as long as you have the ideas and energy to do so.</p>
<p>As a Harvard student myself, I would say that there is a certain level of unhappiness here. Harvard is really intense and competitive and things can get overwhelmingly pretty quickly. If you are a shy person, or have a hard time finding your niche, then it is easy to get really lonely. That being said, though, Harvard does do A LOT to combat this. There are so many first-year events that attempt to alieviate stress and foster friendliness. And there are a lot of places that you can get help if you are feeling unhappy. </p>
<p>On the flip-side, I find that I am very happy here. The people are great and very normal. The social-life is actually decent. And, there is a sort of comradere bred around being in the same high-stress classes. And, as you can somewhat tell by the retention rate (there are other confounding variables there, but for the most part it is a good indicator) people really don't transfer from Harvard. and the ones that do, usually go to Stanford to be closer to home. So, unhappiness must not be that large of an issue.</p>
<p>Harvard students are just like every other student. A combination of things can lead to unhappiness/depression, but I wouldn't say that it is the norm. Almost everyone I've talked to here, loves it. The rare few who don't usually are under a lot of pressure, haven't found a really solid group of friends and are homesick.</p>
<p>So, don't listen to the hype. Harvard is a wonderfully happy place.</p>
<p>Oh, and I feel like the Harvard article misdiagnoses the exhaustion and stress for unhappiness. Like i said, Harvard is intense and stressful, so exhaustion and stress are not uncommon things. In spite of this, though, people are still really happy.</p>
<p>I also feel like the article exaggerates the level on unfriendliness here. Cuz it really isn't like that.</p>
<p>hotpiece</p>
<p>Yeah, I guess I understand what you are trying to say about the camaraderie. Like when I visited MIT, our tour guide stressed the fact that the students aren't really competitive (against each other I mean) since they are all really smart people who are going through the same thing. Do you find that the case in Harvard? Are students within a class willing to help each other out rather than beat each other down?</p>
<p>If I can jump in, spiffystars and all, I find that Harvard isn't as competitive as my (AP/IB-based) high school. Exact rankings aren't given, and emphasis for problem sets and assignments is usually placed on working together. Without the study networks and the group sessions, most people would not learn as much. At Harvard, you find that "Working together" is exactly that - everyone has something to contribute - whereas in high school, there tend to be differentiated proficiencies, at least at a higher level (and some 'copiers'). I know a few people who might <em>wish</em> they could "beat others down", but I those are far and few and are actually pretty hard to find [not to mention that they don't tend to do best, either].</p>
<p>Well that's a very comforting thought then. I like the idea of learning outside of the lecture hall amongst your friends...it seems like it would have a bigger impact on me that listening to a professor. Sigh, now I only wish high school was like that. You are right - the only way to form functional study groups in high school is if EVERYONE can contribute something, not leech off of other people, which is usually the case. ugh</p>
<p>I'm just curious about the social life at Harvard. I've heard that at Yale and Princeton you can find a party to go to several nights a week...is that the same for Harvard? The article made it indirectly seem like the social life is a little lacking, and I don't want to hastily believe that. Is it true?</p>
<p>The social life is pretty good. If you want to party on a Tuesday night, then you can find other people who'll be looking for the same thing. There is always stuff going on Thursday through Saturday (well not really now during finals), and if you're willing to branch out with different groups of people, you're social life will reflect that diversity. </p>
<p>In terms of happiness, I think people are generally very positive. The complaining that Northstarmom mentioned is definitely more of a banter. The academic life at Harvard is very intense. If you don't think you want to study hard in college, then don't apply here. But, should you come, you'll find the academic demands are quite bearable given everyone else is in the same boat. Most people work very well together and are genuinely interested in helping each other out.</p>
<p>I know a lot of Harvard alumni now. (Once upon a time, I knew none, but that was twenty-five years ago.) I've not met any Harvard alumni who tell me that they look back on their undergraduate years with regret, or at least not with regret about choosing Harvard over some other college they were admitted to. I also note the federally gathered statistic </p>
<p><a href="http://www.collegeresults.org/search1b.aspx?InstitutionID=166027%5B/url%5D">http://www.collegeresults.org/search1b.aspx?InstitutionID=166027</a> </p>
<p>that Harvard's graduation rate is as high as that of any college in the whole country, so it appears that students there are happy enough with the experience to stay in school and graduate rather than </p>
<p>a) transferring to another college (which many college students do) </p>
<p>or </p>
<p>b) dropping out (which something like half of all college students do). </p>
<p>So the student newspaper article the OP is worried about, it seems to me, is not the whole story. High school class of 2007 must all have their applications in by now, and are waiting for news of which colleges will admit them. Don't worry about whether or not you will like Harvard until you know whether or not you are admitted. Harvard provides an opportunity to visit the campus before the national reply date in May, so if you are admitted you will have a chance to take a look for yourself and talk to students there in person. (Most of the famous colleges to which high school students aspire to apply offer the same opportunity, and Harvard fares well in admission yield among students admitted to more than one college.) </p>
<p>Good luck to this year's applicants. The applicants to Harvard this year who don't get admitted can use the article mentioned by the OP as a basis for saying, "The grapes are sour." </p>
<p>P.S. I agree with the author of the cited article that Cambridge, Massachusetts is a much more appealing city than New Haven, Connecticut, having visited both.</p>
<p>
[quote]
I'm just curious about the social life at Harvard. I've heard that at Yale and Princeton you can find a party to go to several nights a week...is that the same for Harvard? The article made it indirectly seem like the social life is a little lacking, and I don't want to hastily believe that. Is it true?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Speaking as someone who's spent a lot of time on all three campuses, I'd say the disparity (if any) is much less than you've been led to believe.<br>
There are major qualitative differences, but the level of partying isn't really one of them IMHO.</p>
<p>As a mother of a happy Harvard student, with, from what I understand, generally happy friends, I am surprised by the Crimson article. Yet, I imagine, that the info regarding the differences in funding and support and locations for parties etc. between Yale and Harvard must have some basis (since I do think Crimson articles are usually pretty well researched). So that leaves me wondering why Harvard, with a similar house system, can't do the same. Anyone have any answers?</p>