Harvard University Top Questions

Harvard life is extremely competitive but at the same time very rewarding if you can adapt to this environment. It definitely helps one to become more prepared for the competitive world outside college. Definitely be prepared to live on the edge.

The most frequent student complaints I hear are either about the immense workload or the extremely elitist social scene.

this is a load of crap

I would increase financial support. The professors I got to know so far are much more accessable than one would think they are due to their reputation and they are very encouraging and motivating.

harvard is about the most diverse place you could be in life, but peopel are really ambitious, and putting too many ambitious people in one place leads people to talk about and start to define success similarly, making everyone want the same things (ibanking.)

Academic Debate is very rigorous, but it doesn't matter where you come from or what rank you hold as long as your point is sound.

The best thing about Harvard is probably how much you learn from your peers. Having arguments, and discussions with friends over dinner or in the dorm can be extraordinarily educational. I think the size is just right: it is large enough that you can easily disassociate yourself from people with whom you don't really want to spend time, but small enough that when you meet someone, you will bump into him or her every once in a while. Cambridge is great. Not very much school pride, though.

The people are incredible, diversity of ideas huge, many resources(from many libraries to the speakers Harvard can attract), campus size isn't too big or too small, Cambridge is a great area as is Boston

Harvard University is an unusual institution. It holds the distinction of being one of the most famous (if not the most famous) schools in the world. Because of that, it attracts a lot of criticism, some of it disingenuous at best. Although I have only completed 1 year, I will endeavor to give an accurate account of the school. The Campus is attractive, and there are lots of nice shops and eateries, although many are bit too pricy for the starving student (Burdicks has great hot chocolate, superb for a nice date...at 4 bucks a mug! The River Houses (I live in Winthrop) are bit crowded but still pleasant. Boston is a cool place, but I really did not find myself going into the city that much as there was usually something on campus to do. All the academic facilities are nice, once one gets over the architectural atrocity that is the Science Center. The food is pretty good by college standards (at least it compares favorably with all of the other schools I have visited, save Middlebury College). The administration of the school is very good--there is not a lot of paperwork, it is easy to get into classes, and things seem to be run efficiently in general. There are vast resources for those who access them, but the school does a poor job advertising some their services.

Harvard is amazing because when it snows, it is the single most beautiful place in the world. The academics are almost similar to any other Ivy League; however I believe the surroundings and the facilities make it much better. I would change the housing at Harvard. Much of it is old and dilapidated and need renovation. The school is a little too large. People admire the fact I go to Harvard. I spend most of my time in my room at Harvard. College town for sure. Some of Harvard's administration are nice and others are mean but realistic, The biggest controversy on campus is primal scream, there is not that much school pride, Harvard is relatively normal, one experience I will always remember is walking across the frozen Charles River with my girlfriend, students complain a lot about the food