Harvard University Top Questions

-people here are really openminded -there is literally every type of person at this school--you can find someone like you no matter how cool/weird you think you are haha... -i'm not sure if certain financial backgrounds are more prevalent than others--i know a ton of people that are on financial aid and a ton that aren't... -i'd say students from different "groups" still interact with one another

I feel that there is a fair amount of self-segregation, racially, at Harvard. It would be interesting to do a survey on Harvard students asking them the race of the majority of their friends. I think there'll be a pretty high correlation between one's own race and the race(s) of friends that one mixes with.

The student interaction isn't very good. Each entering class is about 1600, and students typically know only about 200-300 people in their class.

The student body is very diverse; a lot more so both racially and experience-wise compared to my high-school, which in itself was pretty diverse already. There is also a lot of interaction between groups, although outlines of cliques still tend to form. As far as financial background goes, although there are those from families that are less well off, there tend to be a lot more students from wealthier backgrounds too compared to my high school.

The student body at Harvard is amazing. It feels like an honor to be among such motivated, smart people, who really strive to accomplish great things. At the same time, though, people are extremely nice...and therefore are very approachable. The student body is extremely active with their studies, but also with extra-curriculars, which contribute to a vibrant campus and community.

Harvard has been one of the most diverse places I've ever been at. However, there are some minorities that are not as well represented as others. I feel like asians are the most represented and for good reason, a lot of them are smart! I guess it's reflective of social norms that I would expect. You can always find your place at Harvard no matter what. Sometimes you have to try but it's easy to make friends. Only if you isolate yourself will you be isolated. No, students don't wear suits to class, we're normal people who wear jeans and etc. The dinning hall is quite an active site of interactions, a central hub of each house for meals, studying, and get togethers. I tend to think that most harvard students come from families who are well off but not substantially. I think middle to low middle class students are a minority but it doesn't matter, when you're here, you're equals and nothing more.

Students tend to cluster together with others of the same background/ethnicity. It's also hard to keep in touch with friends who don't live in your house and don't take classes/extracurriculars with you.

Diverse, but not even close to being the most diverse student body out there by far. This student body is no where near to some schools I've seen, including my high school. Basically this school is still all white, with some asian kids, and very few black kids, and almost no Hispanic kids.

Harvard's campus is getting more and more diverse, although there is definitely a bit of choice segregation. But racial groups (BSA, SAMA, etc) are very visible on campus, and they don't seem to face any discrimination. The final clubs (Harvard's version of frats) are definitely a diverse crowd racially, if not necessarily socio-economically. Students tend to look fairly put together for class, unlike my high school where everyone wore sweats and pjs. On weekends people tend to dress up, girls wear heels and such. The east coast mentality definitely dominates at Harvard, although there are people from ALL over. Depending on your crowd, it can sometimes seems like everyone is really wealthy, but that is just because the rich kids can flaunt it sometimes. There are certainly politically active segments, but it's definitely not a campus of radical liberals or anything like that. The average student is probably center-left and supports Obama.

There is a clear socio-economic divide for the elite students, as I mentioned in my earlier entry. For the rest, its fairly ambiguous.