Harvard University Top Questions

Most of the time goes in just studies.

There are so many options for clubs and groups. Boston is lovely and there's plenty to do in Cambridge.

Great!

The final clubs, cultural organizations, and study groups, all of which I am a part of, are the most popular activity groups at Harvard. All the student groups do a good job of not only throwing parties, but having cultural and meaningful events as well.

There are always a million activities going on: student theater, both good and bad, art openings, speakers, dialogue groups, film screenings, and anything else imaginable. It's rare to find a student who's uninvolved in some sort of group, and people take them very seriously. The student body is divided up into houses, which are equivalent to Yale's residential colleges. Students "block" at the end of their first years with a group of friends, and though the houses are all now supposedly equal, there is certainly a general impression that some are better than others. Adams remains the sort of elite house, the one with the most gilded feeling and which happens to be closest to campus. Some student rooms and suites are really stunning, and especially as they become upperclassmen, people tend to leave their suite doors closed and socialize mainly with their blockmates and roommates when they're at home. The Dudley Co-op is an alternative to the Houses which more students should know about and visit, whether or not they decide to live there. Big hot dinners every night, 32 creative students in two Victorian houses, front porches, fresh bread, cheaper than the houses, endless food and much love, not to mention the persistent dream of a naked lunch.

Social life and extracurriculars are pretty decentralized. There's no one dominant group, and people find their niches pretty easily. Met closest friends freshman year and through the house system (through meals). Dating scene is not great, but I can't imagine it's great anywhere bc college students are immature. If awake at 2am, it was doing reading or BSing with roommates. Traditions include primal scream. People party on weekends. Frats/sororities not a big deal. Most of social life is on campus. Lots of options for nondrinkers, but lots of drinking, too, if you want it.

The social life at Harvard is odd. I feel that the way social life happens on campus is often extreme...I have met many a student who can't seem to function or have fun without alcohol. I personally party every once in a while but at times it can get monotonous. I am very happy that Harvard doesn't officially have frats and sororities and I make it a point to stay away from finals clubs (even though I have friends in them). Harvard has made great strides to amp its social scene on campus. I feel that because many of us don't venture out into the Boston community, we do support our fellow students and attendance at campus shows is always heavy.

Lots of clubs and activities, but the social scene is lacking, focused mainly around final clubs. Also lots of people are either not interested in going out or too busy to do so.

-like i said, its whatever you make of it: if you want to find people that party hard 4 days a week, you can find them, and if you want to find people that stay in the library until closing on the weekends you can find those people too. -its kind of hard to date here, although i know plently of people that do it...it seems everyone i know is either in a multi-year relationship or just hooking up with someone for the heck of it... -athletics aren't important...no-one seems to be able to muster the energy to walk across the river

Social life at Harvard has a lot to offer for all kinds of people. People who enjoy parties will definitely find a lot of those be it in snazzy finals clubs or in sweaty, congested common rooms in Houses. Then, there are plenty of concerts/theater shows and so on to occupy the more artsy. Harvard Square in itself is a great little town for socializing with various pubs and restaurants.

Great.

Dorm doors are usually open all the time, social life is actually better than I expected it to be before I came here. Whether you like to party or not, you'll find the group of people here (or rather, they'll find you) that fit your tastes.

Harvard has something going on all the time. Whether you want to go to a dance or listen to a renowned politician, you can do pretty much anything. Also, despite the fact that students work very hard, they do find time for a social life. Most people aren't cooped up in their rooms all day long and don't talk to anyone. People eat together, visit each others' rooms to hang out, etc.

The typical harvard prototype is a the male guy who is on the crimson and does crew. yeah, I know a couple. However, that's not the case at all. The social life can be whatever you want it to be. I tend to think I can assocaite myself easily with any group I want. I met my closest friends by being their neighbors and then eventually roommates. Also other close friends are people I share classes with. People who are awake at the random 2 am are probably studying or trying to do something productive. Yeah, there's the ocassional goofing off, yes we do procrastinate. Harvard students are not machines. There's always that house grille to go to at 1 am and drinking isn't an issue until the weekends. Rarely will I leave campus b/c honestly I see no need.

There are a lot of extracurricular activities. Social life centers usually around your roommates/people in your clubs.

If you look for good ones and put in the effort they can be sweet. If not there seems like there are too many, not true. And also the crimson rocks.

I think like 30{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of guys are in a frat or final club and 15{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of girls, but I could be making that up. Athletic events are not generally well attended unless it is a big game against Yale or something. Theater is pretty rampant -- generally 2-4 shows a weekend. Dorm rooms aren't generally left open, but apart from the final clubs, that is where the majority of parties take place. Dating here tends to be either casual hook-ups or "you're almost married." Friday and Saturday are the main social nights, although sometimes Thursdays can happen. There are very few wild, trash-the-house keg parties here, because no one wants to do that to someone's dorm room, and the final clubs are fairly classy, multi-million dollar establishments. For those kinds of parties, one can easily go to MIT or BU.

The IOP, Crimson, and Women in Business are probably the most well respected organizations on campus. On top of that there are clearly the varsity sports, most notably crew. Varsity sports are obviously reserved for recruits and the truly talented. However other organizations rely heavily on dedication, time commitment and creativity. The dating scene is practically non-existent, at least among freshmen. People seem to feel that once they come to Harvard a relationship will mean a huge long-term commitment, especially because so many people believe they will find their spouses here, or at least should. So either there are alot of drunken hook-ups or serious dating. Not too much in between.

Many people participate at the Institute of Politics, the Harvard Crimson, the Harvard Lampoon, or a program at the Philip Brooks House Association. Personally I spend a lot of time at the Harvard Crimson as a part of the business board. I spend about 10 hours a week there working on marketing or ads. Athletic events aren't too popular. If I were awake on a Tuesday I would be procrastinating in our library's cafe. I have found my closest friends through various organizations and my roommates. If you don't drink on a Saturday night, you could go to a show in Boston, the movies, board games, etc. Last weekend I went out to dinner with a friend's mom and to a finals club which is almost the equivalent to a fraternity.

two things: 1) The dating scene is crap 2) I shouldn't have to kick people out of a library on Saturday night. 'nuff said.