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Frequently Asked Questions

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Academics

·         Are professors accessible?

·         How big are classes here?

·         Do professors teach all the classes?

·         I want to joint concentrate? How easy is it to do that?

·         What does “Advanced Standing” mean?

·         I want to study Romance Languages/Electrical Engineering/Biological Anthropology/whatever. Do you have that here?

·         Why is there no pre-med/pre-law/pre-business concentration? Does that mean I’m not going to get into grad school?

·         Do undergrads get research opportunities?

·         I want to study abroad.

·         Are people really competitive?

·         What’s the workload like?

 

Student Life

·         What’s a typical weekend like?

·         Harvard kids don’t really party, do they?

·         How safe is the campus?

·         What’s Harvard Square like?

·         Does being near a big city detract from campus life?

·         What’s Boston like?

·         I’m from California/Hawaii/Bali. What’s the weather like?

 

Extracurricular

·         Are there a lot of student groups on campus?

·         What kind of community service opportunities are there?

·         What if I can’t find a club that I want?

 

Financial Aid

·         What do I do if my parents aren’t happy with the financial aid package we received?

 

Academics

 

Are professors accessible?

Yes! All professors who teach undergraduates are required to have office hours, which are usually 2-4 hours per week that they just sit in their office, waiting for undergraduates to come talk to them. You don’t even need to come armed with specific questions about the class to go to office hours! Professors are perfectly happy to talk about their current research, or how they got where they are, etc. If you can’t make office hours, professors are really accessible via email and are quite happy to make appointments to meet with you.

For a personal example, I’ve started working on my undergraduate thesis for Social Studies, which is a 100-page (eep!) research paper on a topic of my choosing. While reading some of the background literature that I’ll need to write a good paper, I ran across work by some academics who are here at Harvard. A few emails later and the author of the book that I had just read was sitting across from me drinking coffee.

The average class size is 14. That’s not to say that there aren’t larger classes, but you’ll find that as you move up in class year and specialization in your courses, your classes will get smaller and smaller. I’m in two classes right now that are under 10 people each.

In addition, the university requires that any class over 40 people be divided up into small discussion sections led by a graduate student (called a Teaching Fellow or TF), so even if you’re in a larger class you’ll still get a smaller venue to really get to know your classmates.

 

Do professors teach all the classes?

With three exceptions, yes. And I think you’ll agree, once I lay out the exceptions, that they make a lot of sense. Exception one is beginning-level math (multivariable and below). Exception two is beginning-level language, which is instead taught by a native speaker. Exception three is Expository Writing, the freshman-year required introduction to the college essay, which is taught by published authors.

Besides that, you’ll always have a professor teaching you. Graduate students are brought in to lead discussion sections, but they do not give lectures. That way, you have the best of both worlds: a professor at the top of their field guiding you through the material and a graduate student who’s ready for your daily concerns about homework.

 

I want to joint concentrate? How easy is it to do that?

Joint concentrating is actually very easy. You just have to fill out a form that indicates that you’re aware of the requirements for both concentrations and that you’ve thought of a way to fulfill them (this is not binding, by the way).

One thing to take note of is that all joint concentrators are required to write theses that combine the two fields of study. For instance, one former student joint concentrated in Physics and Music and wrote an opera that contained mathematical derivations. Not interested in writing a thesis? The college just announced the start of a new program to give out minors, so you can get recognition for another field of interest without having to formally joint concentrate.

Advanced Standing is a program in which if you have earned a 5 on four or more full-year APs, you can graduate a semester or a year early. Advanced Standing can be activated at any point.

About 50% of the class qualifies for Advanced Standing every year, but only about 50 people take advantage of it. I personally qualify, but after I spent a semester here I knew there was no chance I would be leaving before I absolutely had to.

If you don’t do Advanced Standing, your APs still allow you to advance over certain classes. For instance, a 5 on the Microeconomics and Macroeconomics APs will allow you to skip Economics 10, our introductory level Economics course.

Refer here (http://www.fas.harvard.edu/home/academics/deptwebsites.html) for a list of all the concentrations.

If there’s something you want to study that isn’t listed, you can create your own concentration (called a Special Concentration). All you need to do is devise a plan of study showing that there are enough courses here to fulfill your academic interest and get it approved by the Deans. In the past, a popular Special Concentration has been Leadership.

Harvard is a liberal arts school, which means we don’t have any pre-professional majors such as Marketing or Pre-Law. However, that doesn’t put you at a disadvantage in applying to graduate schools at all. About 90% of Harvard graduates get into one of their top three choices for graduate school. And although we don’t have formal degrees in pre-law, for instance, we do have incredible advising throughout your collegiate career. Each upperclassman house includes at least one (and usually many more) graduate student from each of the Harvard’s law, medicine, graduate, and business schools who serves as a tutor and advisor for students interested in pursuing further study.

 

Do undergrads get research opportunities?

Undergraduates definitely get research opportunities. There are many (world-leading) laboratories on campus where undergraduates engage in research as early as their freshman year. And there are plenty of opportunities to go around. I’m not a science concentrator, but I know that all of my friends who have been interested in working in labs here have gotten the chance to do so.

In addition, Harvard supports a wide range of research outside of the campus gates. Undergraduates have access to a huge array of undergraduate research grants for term-time or summer work. I just received a grant so that I can go to China this summer to do research for my thesis.

 

I want to study abroad.

Good for you, since Harvard has recently started a real push towards encouraging more students to go abroad. Financial aid travels with you, so it won’t cost more to be in France or Brazil than it would to be at Harvard, and course credit is actually pretty easy to receive. Also, students who choose to go abroad during the summer (like me) have access to a wide range of grants that will fund their experiences. You can learn more about studying abroad from the Office of International Programs.

You would think so, but really we’re not. No one is going to come in the middle of the night and rip up your homework or hoard books from the library. If I had to describe the academic environment on campus, I would choose the word “collaborative.” People are more than happy to work on study guides that divide up readings, work together in groups on problem sets (our version of homework), and share lecture notes.

 

What’s the workload like?

Surprisingly manageable. If you manage your time well, you’ll find that there’s plenty of time to participate in extracurriculars, have a job, and just hang out with your friends.

 

Student Life

 

What’s a typical weekend like?

One of the best things about Harvard is that there’s always something to do. Student groups will be throwing huge parties, your friends will be hosting parties in their dorm rooms, and cultural groups will be having amazing shows.

A typical weekend probably involves dropping by to see your friends display their talents at a show, party-hopping on Saturday night, and telling stories about your weekend at an extended brunch on Sunday.

 

Harvard kids don’t really party, do they?

We do! And if we’re lucky, we get a grant from the college’s Student Events Board and Harvard pays for us to do it.

All dorm buildings require a Harvard ID for entrance. There are blue phones that link directly to an emergency line on and around campus. If you’re concerned about getting home, there’s a campus escort service that you can call that will usher you from anywhere on campus to anywhere else. The campus is quite well-lit at night. And, Harvard has its own police force, which we affectionately call HUPD (HUP-dee). I feel quite secure on campus, even late at night.

 

What’s Harvard Square like?

Harvard Square is great because you seriously never need to leave to do anything. There are amazing restaurants, tons of shopping, supermarkets and pharmacies galore (I have a CVS habit that’s rapidly becoming embarrassing… I went there 3 times in one day once because it’s just so close), dry-cleaning, our campus bookstore (the Coop), etc.

 

Does being near a big city detract from campus life?

Not at all! About 98-99% (I forget the exact number, but it’s really high) of students live on campus, so there’s definitely a sense of community among students here. And most of our social life takes place on campus rather than in Boston, so you don’t even have to leave on weekends.

 

What’s Boston like?

Boston is fabulous. I read somewhere once that when school is open, 1 out of every 5 people in Boston is a college student. That means the city is really young and also really tailored towards people your age. There are tons of bars and clubs (many with 18+ nights), movie theatres, and other colleges to visit if you want to leave Harvard for a night. In addition, Boston is one of the most historically and culturally vibrant cities in America. Want to see where that one of most famous ships in the Navy? How about America’s premier collection of Egyptian and Asian art? Both are in Boston (in the Charleston Shipyard and at the Museum of Fine Arts, respectively).

Finally, Boston is a great resource for people who want internships since it’s a center for finance, biotech, computer science, medicine and a wide range of other fields.

 

I’m from California/Hawaii/Bali. What’s the weather like?

Boston is no Bali, but Harvard’s campus is so compact (it’s never more than 15 minutes from any point on campus to any other point), you’re not going to get frostbite on your way to Chemistry. In addition, students who are from warm areas who get financial aid are eligible for the Winter Coat Fund.

 

Extracurriculars

 

Are there a lot of student groups on campus?

There are over 300 student groups on campus. They run the gamut from the Harvard Project for Asian and International Relations, which annually organizes two conferences in Asia that bring together over 800 students from all over the world with leaders like the Secretary-General of ASEAN, to the Cheeseburger Appreciation Society.

Many of the student-led groups here are great for getting professional experience and also for having an outlet for your energies outside of academics. In fact, many of my friends spend more time on their extracurricular commitments than they do on classwork, although this is of course a personal choice.

 

What kind of community service opportunities are there?

Harvard actually has an entire building devoted to housing the community service groups, the Phillips Brooks House Association (PBHA), which is actually completely student-run. PBHA includes over 72 community service groups with more than 1800 volunteers. Over 75% of Harvard students perform community service during their time here. Some groups go into Boston and Cambridge to tutor local students, others provide legal services to the disadvantaged, and still others travel far afield from Harvard to build houses.

 

What if I can’t find a club that I want?

Get ten signatures from potential members, work out a budget, and go talk to the Deans. Easy.

 

Financial Aid

 

What do I do if my parents aren’t happy with the financial aid package we received?

Call the Financial Aid Office at 617.495.1581! They’re very helpful and can reevaluate your package if you have concerns or if your circumstances have changed.