Harvard University Top Questions

So far, my coursework has been superb. Though some of the CORE classes are not that challenging and designed to fulfill non-major requirements (poets' math type thing), all of the classes I took, including a Core philosophy class, were interesting and well taught. The physics, math, and economics classes are quite difficult-- for freshman honors mechanics, I probably spent 10-15 hours a week on the problem sets. The Faculty are brilliant, but their pedagogical abilities vary significantly. There is little hand-holding, but with perseverance and some research, it is easy to find a great, great education. On the other hand, it is possible to just limp along, taking not-too-challenging courses; the education is largely what you make of it.

Few professors do, Positive Psychology is my favorite class, MCB is my least favorite, students study every day for around 4 hours average, class participation is very common, Harvard students have some intellectual, students are either very competitive, or not at all, the most unique class has been positive psychology, my major is chemistry and it is a very tight knit community and i know everyone in the department because it is only 40 students large, i never spend time with professors outside of class, Harvard's academic requirements are easy, Harvard's education is geared towards learning for its own sake

Do my professors know my name: Yes and no. Some professors do, others don't. It depends on the type of class. Some classes are taught in large lecture halls and others in small seminar rooms. Personally, I like to take about half of each. All of my seminar class professors know my name (and know a lot more about me than that!), and some of my lecture class professors do too. For big classes, though, it all depends on your initiative. When I go into office hours and make an effort to get to know my professor, he or she will personally stop and say hi to me whenever I walk by in lecture. However, when I am lazy and don't bother going to office hours, I can spend a whole semester without personally talking to the professor. Favorite Class: Social Studies 10 This is the tutorial for my concentration. We meet in really small tutorial groups (I only have seven in mine) and we real all the classic social and political theory (Smith, Hobbes, Marx, Mill, Weber, Freud, etc.). I leave the class every day feeling inspired. It challenges the way I see the world when I can sit in a small classroom, read the world's greatest thinkers and have challenging philosophical discussions with some of the smartest people I've ever met. Least Favorite Class: Social Analysis 10 (also known as Ec. 10). Professor Mankiw might be a big name, but that does not make this a good class. Lectures are huge and Mankiw's lackluster speaking ability does not help. Furthermore, a class of that size needs to be administered carefully, but it seems to be disorganized and disjointed. I often feel lost, and I'm not always sure who to go to for help. Luckily, Harvard has other resources to help me cope. Harvard subsides Ec 10 tutors for $3/hr so I've been able to get outside help and quality instruction in an affordable way. Amount of Studying: Some people study all the time. Some people barely ever study. Most students spend about equal time studying, participating in extracurricular activities, and hanging out with friends. Personally, outside of class I rarely spend more than two hours working on schoolwork. The bulk of my time I spend doing things I'm equally, if not more passionate about like running my own business, attending incredible lecture series, directing plays, etc. Intellectual Conversations: Of course! Not ever second of every day, but frequently and randomly. Sometimes a discussion in class just carries over to the walk home or dinner. Other times, I'm sitting in my room talking to my roommates about what's for breakfast and it randomly morphs into a conversation about politics, art, or the meaning of life. Academic Requirements: I haven't tried, and I only have two more classes to go (I'm a sophomore). Fulfilling them is pretty effortless. Education: It is geared to letting you get whatever you want out of it. If you want to be pre-professional, Harvard has the resources to prepare you for your career. If you decide you want a strong, well-balanced, liberal arts education, Harvard is there to help you choose the right classes have access to the right resources for that too.

Professors won't know your name unless it's a small class or if you go to office hours. If you're premed, be prepared to enter the competition. But you're pretty much guaranteered to get into medical school once you successfully graduate. Harvard is not geared toward getting a job, but the degree might help to open some doors.

Academics here are nothing special. Lots of work, but nothing else notable. Most classes suck.

Oh yah, they know your names. because they are smart people. BUt, they ONLY know your names. students study a little too hard, and classes are a little too quiet. and intellectual conversations outside classes are regarded as far too obnoxious, and ofcourse, students are always super competitive. Math SUCKS at harvard. it is Literally the department for the Top 1 or 2 students in the class and pretty Asian girls. I had a respected professor in math telling me, when I am seeking advising about what courses to take, "why do you keep taking more math if you are not going to be a prof mathematician? it's a waste of your tuition. go explore things, learn an ancient indian dead language or sth" this is the exact words he told me. OK, i know I do not want to be a prof mathematician may be a turn off for you, but I am still a student here. on the other hand, i know for a fact that he is very very nice to little cute asian girls and 1 supposedly great math udnergrad. the department head and people in charge of taking care of undergrad do not do that job at all. if you are an average math student, you don't get any attention. arond 30{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of the class are people who want a job in finance, and they geer toward getting a wall street job since freshman year. Learning for its own sake? who does that? no one. take a class becuase you can get an A, never take a class because it is interesting. because first of all, nothign is really interesting here. people make up stories to tell you the great things about their classes to look cool, but interesting classes do not exist. there are hard classes and easy classes. in hard classes, you need to do less work but you need to learn hard, in easy classes, you need to do Tons of work because so many people are competing for the rare few A's, but you don't learn anything.

Professors: Yes ,they can learn your name--they're approachable if a bit intimidating at first...TFs (teaching fellows, almost always grad students) can be great and really helpful people who make a difference in your academic experience here. Favorite class: History 10b (Western History from 1628 to the Present), taught by Niall Ferguson, made me look at history and life in general from a different perspective (literally), asking us to consider things like whether the Allies won in WWII or the Axis Powers lost (yes, there is a difference). Least favorite class: Life Sciences 1b (Genetics), which should NEVER be taken as a Core, especially not when the premeds think it's difficult. Argh. How often do students study? It varies, but most study a couple of hours a day at least. Intellectual discussions do happen outside of class, depending on the group you're with...again, the people are the best part about this place. Competition: it depends on the situation. Everyone (almost) at this school is competitive; it's how we got here. However, there's not really a need to compete unless the class's grading system really calls for it...people tend to help each other more than hurt each other. It's nice to do group projects where everyone will actually do their part. Most unique class I've taken: Probably Anthro 1685. An Anthropologist Looks at Science Fiction. It was fantastic. Major/department: Social Anthropology is a very close and friendly department. I was a Social Studies major before, which is considered the big "intellectual" concentration (major) at Harvard, and the department was impersonal and overly intellectualized for my taste. The Anthro department has been incredibly helpful and I have loved my experience this year so far. Yes, I spend time with some of my professors outside of class. I think that the older you get, the more you communicate with professors (because the less intimidated you become by them--they're just people too, and you do NOT need to have something brilliant to say to talk with them). Harvard's academic requirements are perfectly satisfactory to me. Its advising system is (thank God) improving markedly--that's one problem with this place, because you really are expected to "sink or swim". I think that the education at Harvard helps you to get a job, but that's what things like student organizations and the OCS (Office of Career Services); the Houses do a good job of providing panel discussions etc. as well. The education at Harvard is fantastic and all that I could have hoped for--you do not learn solely "information", but how to approach information and work with it, and that's the most valuable thing that an education can offer.

Classes are getting dumbed down. It's easy to make a B, but in subjective classes, it's really hard to get an A. My favorite class was a literature class by Stephen Greenblatt that followed 3 imaginary ships in the 17th century as a premise for reading literature and articles from a variety of different places, many of which were primary documents. I've been completely turned off of math, due to the poor quality of the professor, the inconsistent quality of the TFs and the uncertainty of the level of difficulty. They weren't engaging, and I didn't feel compelled to enter the math department. I feel that professors are difficult to approach (they are, after all, /Harvard/ professors). Intellectual conversations outside of class take place from time to time. The general level of conversation is higher intellectually. Some groups, like math and physics groups or HRSFA, are much more likely to hold technical or nerdy conversations. It's difficult to perceive a real striving for better education in general.

They know your name if you make the effort to meet them (in big classes - sciences and economics). In smaller classes, they do know your name. Students study a lot, but it's definitely a work hard, play hard environment.

The quality of academics at Harvard is overall very good, but can vary depending on the class. Small classes like language courses or seminars are very intimate and you can develop a close relationship with your professor. In larger courses, though, there is definite alienation between students and the teaching staff. My least favorite class, because of this reason, was LifeSci 1a, which was huge, impersonal, and intimidating. I have loved nearly all of my other classes, especially my Spanish classes (Ca, Cb, 30, and 36), Lit-Art A-92 and ESPP10. They have all been very engaging and I have gotten to know the professors well. In terms of studying, Harvard students do it all the time--it seems to me that they feel guilty when they aren't studying. Competitiveness, however, hasn't been a problem. Students are hard on themselves and push themselves very hard, but not at the expense of other students.