<p>One answer I think I can give myself: there seems to be some difference in the leniency vs enforcement of alchohol policy between the two schools. As a parent, I think I don't mind the latter.</p>
<p>harvard actually does funnel a ton of money into student social activities. yeah, they may not buy the alcohol, but they have a ton of other great things.</p>
<p>and, alcohol is not hard to come by at all. you can get it all the time, so we don't really need the administtration to buy it.</p>
<p>Are there any IB Diploma people reading this thread? Because the more I read the thread/think about the article, the more I can make a very distant comparison to the IB Diploma program. Everybody in it "hates it" and complains about it ceaselessly (or at least all of the kids that I know who are in it, both at my high school and others), but in actuality it's not that bad and it actually does offer some fairly interesting curriculum and opportunity. It's just a thing that we do.</p>
<p>So yes, maybe it is just a banter like Northstarmom said. You "hate it," perhaps, but really you love it. It's just...a thing you do.</p>
<p>Did that make any sense?</p>
<p>that video was pretty funny....the interviewer was truly concerned if there was any alcohol present at the parties.</p>
<p>and is the food that bad?? when the dude asked who was excited about the food, no one in that group of probably six kids raised their hands.....</p>
<p>OK first, the food freshman year gets old quickly. It's much much better in the houses.</p>
<p>Second, I just glanced at the above posts, but doesn't Harvard pay for parties? I mean, we can register a dorm party and the house will provide funding for food and alcohol. Also the Stein Clubs and Happy Hours are run by the house committees, so I assume that's college money going to that.</p>
<p>j07,</p>
<p>Or, you can just hate the IB program and never get over that ... </p>
<p>No, that's another debate. And half of the reason I hold grudges is because 1) I got no credit, 2) my school ran it horribly and I wasn't truly given a choice about the program, 3) It was very expensive for me and caused unnecessary stress, given that it really didn't benefit me [... I took more AP tests and got more credit from those]. </p>
<p>So I wouldn't truly compare them. Besides, being <em>at</em> Harvard, I don't hate it when I'm in it - it's wonderful here. As a celiac (gluten intolerant) <em>and</em> vegetarian, I've a lot of food demands and the dining services does a good job at having food for all types. </p>
<p>Yes, we have an Undergraduate Council with party funds, and upperclass houses often have drinking.</p>
<p>“I’d been friendly my whole life,” she says, “but suddenly at Harvard people couldn’t deal with it.” Sanzone remembers awkward interactions with people who questioned her motivation for being nice. “They didn’t know how to respond to people making friendly advances when they didn’t want anything,” she says.</p>
<p>Can anybody respond to this quote? I'm exactly like this person; would it be uncomfortable for me at Harvard? I get that reaction a little bit in my Calculus class (there are only like 9 of us in the class) and they always laugh and seem a little perplexed at my personality, like when I came to school with a tutu and wings on over my jeans and t-shirt the other day: It was Disney Character Day during Spirit Week and I was Tinkerbell! I fit right in with the general student body, by the way, and my best guy friend was Peter Pan. But what I really want is a reaction to the above quote, please.</p>
<p>MusicNut,</p>
<p>I feel like that quote is such a misrepresentation of Harvard. I have never known anyone here to respond the way she says the do. Her statement is just so untrue. Everyone here really is friendly an not THAT competitive. You should fit right in.</p>
<p>hotpiece</p>
<p>One old saw is that Harvard grads always let you know where they went to school within 10 minutes of meeting you. </p>
<p>But that is an old saw ;)</p>
<p>"I’d been friendly my whole life,” she says, “but suddenly at Harvard people couldn’t deal with it.” Sanzone remembers awkward interactions with people who questioned her motivation for being nice. “They didn’t know how to respond to people making friendly advances when they didn’t want anything,” she says."</p>
<p>I never experienced that at Harvard. It's not a warm fuzzy, but it's also not a place in which people are using each other all of the time.</p>
<p>In general, students are very independent, and don't need a lot of affirmation from others in order to pursue their own intellectual and EC passions. </p>
<p>I wonder if the quote came from a person who came from the South or Midwest because Harvard can be a big culture shock particularly for people from those sections of the country, who tend to be more open, and obviously warm than are people from New England.</p>
<p>The kind of friendliness that's routine and polite in the South and Midwest is very similar to behavior that con artists and thieves practice in places like NYC and New England, where it's more normal for people to be more formal before they know another person well.</p>
<p>Northstar, I think you're exactly right. Particularly the part about students tending to be self-directed and not needing affirmation. That's kind of to be expected, right?</p>
<p>Also, your notes about regional differences ring true. In the end, Harvard is by no means unfriendly but it also doesn't bend over backward to make you feel special. Why would it?</p>
<p>Well, I don't know about the Regional Differences? I think most of my friends are unbelievable friendly (as am I) and I think it all depends on the people and who you hang out with...I have some friends who are more "pompous" than others, but you respect those characteristics. So far, all the people I've talked to seem very open and very willing to talk.</p>
<p>I forwarded the crimson article to my daughter who is a freshman - she hadn't seen it. She and her friends have had extensive discussions about it and are quite upset as to how the school is portrayed. Yes the students to some degree are bummed out right now because of finals, but other than that she and her friends love it there. Perhaps the vacation followed by an excessively (absurdly) long reading period before finals isn't exactly ideal.</p>
<p>Quote: "... but doesn't Harvard pay for parties? I mean, we can register a dorm party and the house will provide funding for food and alcohol. Also the Stein Clubs and Happy Hours are run by the house committees, so I assume that's college money going to that."</p>
<p>So, then what exactly are the distinctions between Yale and Harvard that the Crimson article is making? Is is it the regularity of such parties? Is it the way they are publicized (how do kids find out about these?--I should ask my son, but of course he's in the middle of finals, so I'll wait...) Is it the availability of good spaces for these parties, eg. no student lounges or whatever?</p>
<p>I'm procrastinating studying for my Organic Chemistry final to answer Donemom's question.</p>
<p>There are parties that go on every single week. The Undergraduate Council actually funds parties as well and all UC-funded parties are posted on its website as well as sent to the whole student body via e-mail. </p>
<p>There are a ton of party spaces. Currier's 10-Man Suite, Treehouse, Fishbowl, Pforzheimer's Belltower, Lowell's Grille, and of course, many student organizations including House Committees hold parties in their own dining halls often. </p>
<p>Parties are very well publicized. You can find a party each weekend if you want.</p>
<p>Parties aside, the article emphasizes Yale's institutional investment in the quality of life of its residential colleges. I think that rings true, and probably speaks to one continual advantage Yale maintains over Harvard (where so much more focus is placed on graduate depts) and even Princeton (where the residential-college focus is relatively recent).</p>
<p>Getting drunk often makes for quality of life?!?</p>
<p>Don't believe the hype ;)</p>
<p>I spent three years at Yale, went to a # of parties, even went to Mory's, and I cannot recall a single instance of actual drunkenness. </p>
<p>Drinking, sure. Drunkenness, nope. Of course, I can't recall any drunkenness at Harvard either, might be the crowd I run with ;)</p>
<p>Maybe the entire period of finals semi-inspired that article. I'm still in high school, but I know that everybody hates life/school/each other during AP/IB exams, and those aren't probably as difficult as Harvard finals.</p>
<p>So...maybe that influenced it.</p>
<p>I don't know how the belief regarding Harvard's lack of attention to undergraduates started. It's quite annoying when people say that going to Harvard is the same as going to a state school, because it is not. The resources, professors, and even the teaching fellows are unparalleled. There is such a huge support system (House tutors, Peer Advising Fellows, Freshman Proctors, House Masters, Professors, Bureau of Study Counsel, Office of Career Services, University Health Services, 5 different peer counseling groups, etc.) in place for undergraduates that an undergraduate can get as much attention as he/she wishes. I strongly contest the fact that Harvard pays no attention to undergrads, because that is simply not true.</p>