Harvard University Top Questions

activities are much more time consuming than you would expect, and the social life is what you make it. if you come into thinking that you will have crazy parties you might be dissapointed.

I do not participate much in the social life, as my private life is more important to me.

The sailing team has a pretty active social scene. They have parties just about every thursday, and everyone on the team goes, and it's really fun. Some students leave their doors open, but, being on the first floor right next to the main door to the dorm, we usually lock ours.

Political groups are really active, athletic events like football get good attendance but other sports teams aren't as popular, the housing system is fantastic since you can choose who to live with and the house fosters a great sense of community ,sororities/frats aren't very popular and are almost looked down on, finals clubs are obnoxious but throw good parties, dating does not happen here(you either hook up or are in a relationship, no middle ground)

I am politically conservative. The campus overall is very liberal and quite secular. However, there is a pretty good spirit of debate, and it is not the case that most classes are over political, or that conservative students feel threatened or lack administration support. There is some, but not too much, radicalism on campus. By and large, people are liberal personally, but way to busy to protest and march about. Now, I am probably not qualified to talk about social life, but here goes. A lot of kids complain about the party scene. I did not go to any parties (I do not like crowds) so I do not really know. There are parties and things going on most weekends, but I have heard they are lame. There is less of a culture of partying here than at some other schools, but it is available if that is what you are into. I had a great time socially hanging out with friends, going to concerts and plays, watching movies, and traveling with some clubs and student organizations. The university does not make much of an effort to provide any unified social experiences-- we do not even have a student center. I think this makes Harvard feel less like a community. I am in a relationship, but I think there is less of a culture of dating and more random hooking up than might be desirable.

AAA, Eastbound, The African American Drumming Group thingy, I am in the HRO: it is very selective and people in there are nice to you only if you are in HRO, many people in there are scary and too serious about life but you just avoid them, its a very tradition based club with a serious alumni support, students never leave their doors open, athletic events are not popular except for harvard yale, guest speakers are popular, theater is popular, dating scene is very very active, parties are not important

Popular Groups: Crimson, Harvard Student Agencies, Football Team, Crew Team, Basketball team, Lampoon, Hasty Pudding, Harvard Radcliffe Drama Club, A Capella groups Group I'm involved in: I'm involved in the Harvard College in Asia Program. We organized a conference for 60 students from New Delhi, Singapore, Dubai, Seoul, Hong Kong, and Tokyo to come to Harvard and learn about American life. In return, these students are hosting us at their universities over our spring break. I'm going to Singapore where I'll get to meet with top government officials, attend classes at another university, and visit an island beach resort. Best of all it's all paid for by Harvard. Dorms and Doors: Freshmen year we all left our doors open. It was our policy that people could walk in and out whenever they wanted. I made some of my best friends this year. Many students, however, live in suite housing which means groups of between 2 and 10 students live in suites with common rooms and off-shooting bedrooms. In this arrangement, most students leave their bedroom doors open, but keep the entrance to their suite closed. Athletic events: Some students go regularly, most don't. However, everybody goes to some. Nobody would miss the Harvard/Yale Football Game which is known to be the best day of the year. Guest Speakers: I don't think there's ever been a week when I haven't gone to see a guest speaker. There are dozens here every day. I have trouble choosing which ones to go to. Harvard brings in so many incredible people. Dating: Almost all of my friends have had some sort of relationship since they got here. Some have lasted, others haven't. There are also a hook-up scene of people not really looking for relationships. Personally, I'm in the crowd of people still in long-distance relationships from high school which is also fairly common. Closest Friends: My closest friends came from my freshman dorm as well as my extracurricular activities. Strangely, I don't think I've ever met a friend in a class. Awake at 2 on a Tuesday: I'm rarely awake at that hour (if I am, it is probably because I am fooling around on the internet). I need 8 hours of sleep or I can't function. I've never pulled a college all-nighter or anything like that. It really isn't all that common here. Traditions: Head of the Charles-- Biggest college crew race in the country. Always on a beautiful fall day. Everyone sits out on the banks of the Charles, eats lots of food, and cheers Harvard on. Harvard/Yale Game-- Biggest event of the year. Huge tailgate followed by game. Everyone is very spirited, and it is the only time everyone is wearing Harvard colors and publicly dissing other schools (i.e. Yale or The Evil Empire). Primal Scream-- The night before final exams begin hundreds of students storm the Yard naked. Thousands watch. Housing Day-- The day that Freshman are assigned their upperclass houses. Blocking groups (groups of eight friends) stay up all night waiting debating about the best and worse houses. My friends and I bought ice cream, and pizza, and watched three movies. By 7 in the morning, we were trying very hard to stay awake, just when we heard the expected knock on our door. In the morning, an upperclass student hand-delivers and sealed envelope to each blocking group. Inside is the name of the house each group will live in for the next three years. No matter what, everyone is always ecstatic about their placement. Groups then storm the freshmen dining hall to find upperclass students from their new house. When I found my new house, I was showered with all sorts of gifts-- a t-shirt bearing my house's name, a chocolate bunny (the house mascot), pens, pencils, candy, and more. Everyone was screaming. In the evening, students are taken back to their house to welcoming parties where they meet their new community and the other students they'll be living with for the next three years. Parties: There are always parties for people to go to. Some people go every weekend. Many people go occasionally. Some never go. It is always an option, but never a requirement. Fraternities and Sororities: I hear we have a few. I couldn't name any of them. They really aren't part of the culture here. Last Weekend: Friday: Went into Boston Went out to dinner to celebrate my friend's birthday Saw a play at the Lyric Theater Went to bar to get pina coladas Saturday: Went out for Mexican food with friends from freshman year Hung out after at Starbucks Went to a hip hop dance show on-campus A Saturday Night Without Drinking: Plays Movies Dinner Comedy Shows Coffee Bubble Tea Lecture Series Pottery Studio Dancing Hanging out with friends in your common room I rarely drink on Saturday nights. It isn't because I don't like drinking or can't get alcohol, it is just that there is so much else I am doing it doesn't really cross my mind. Off Campus: I use Cambridge every day to hang out in coffee shops, casually shop, eat dinner with friends, watch street artists, go to movies, and more. Occasionally, I go into Boston to go shopping, out to dinner, skating, to plays, art museums, or just walk around.

Cultural groups are generally quite popular, such as the South Asian Association, Chinese Students Association. Food always attracts people.

There's a bunch of cultural groups committed to making the ruling class more colorful. Parties here are unbearable with very few exceptions.

Studnet groups are for resume building ONLY. name one person doing/running an organization 100{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} becuase he cares about what he is doing, i will pay you 1000$. dorms doors are constantly locked. i don't even know my nbs. athletcs- i don't really know, but they are popular. speakers- perfect, you can go around listening to intersting talks from intersting people all the time, they are actually interesting. dating- pretty easy if you can find girls that qualifies as girls. girls are hard to find though, you can find lotz of Hilary Clintons, only some of them are more stupid and uglier and with worse personalities than Hilary. party- all the time tuesday night- prob drinking beer talking with myh rooommate because we just ordered pizza. we talk about everything from girls to bible. weekend- sleep and sleep, play poker, beer, and how can you not drink?