Back-to-school guide: Harvard College
We asked current students and recent graduates to give us the inside scoop on their colleges before the school year begins. Here, recent graduate Ellen O’Leary tells us the best and worst things about Harvard College, and also gives advice to incoming freshmen.
Click here for a full-sized version of the cheat sheet
Tell us about three things you think are “right’’ with your school:
1. The community is unparalleled. Earnest conversations about something that you recently learned in class, a discussion of some current event, or a deep dive into the latest Harry Potter fan theory are all equally likely to take place over hangover chicken (you’ll figure out what this is soon enough.). Having all freshmen live in or around the yard with their own dining hall really helps create a safe space for assimilation to college life. And then sophomore-senior year, upperclassmen house life is the BEST. There are also so many resources at Harvard and everyone is happy to connect you to a friend-of-a-friend, an old professor, etc., so that you can find the exact person on campus to help you with whatever you need.
2. There is so much to do, the number of extracurriculars can be somewhat overwhelming. There are always a million plays, a capella concerts, club sports games, and art shows going on around campus. There are themed parties (Mather Lather, hello), educational forums, and political movements. And being in Cambridge is ideal for galavanting around the Greater Boston area.
3. As a surprise to no one, Harvard’s academics are incredible. I love that we have shopping week so you can test out different classes, because looking at the course catalog is overwhelming and something that sounds amazing can turn out to be super boring, and vice versa. I’m always surprised by the turns conversations in class take. And I know this is something that all of these college guides say, but professors really do want to get to know you, and help you. They’re probably the most underused resources at Harvard.
Tell us about three things that you think are “wrong’’ with your school:
1. Everyone is so busy that it can be tough to be spontaneous. Social commitments can feel like obligations, when you know that you should really go see your friend’s a capella jam or hockey game. The amount of texts you will both send and receive saying “still on for tonight?’’ is staggering, and speaks to the fact that a plan isn’t really a plan unless you confirm it three times. Even if you have a plan, you’re likely to get a “Shoot sorry I can’t anymore’’ text 10 minutes before you’re supposed to meet up. People will earnestly want to come but most have very little downtime.
2. The social scene can be isolating. A lot of it revolves around extracurriculars (sports mixers, post-performance parties) that are fun and provide a fine infrastructure if those people are your #squad. But if you’re someone who has a few different social groups, it can be hard to find a space to integrate them all. Some of the only spaces big enough for a ton of people at once are the final clubs, and they can be exclusive. As a girl, sometimes it’s hard not to feel like chattel, and as a guy, it’s unlikely you’ll even get in as a freshman.
3. Libraries during finals are the worsttttttt. There’s a lot of competition for deskspace. Some people don’t shower. Some people order Kong delivery. Some people don’t shower and order Kong delivery. Also, there’s always someone eating a meal they bought at the vending machine, which means crinkling wrappers and crunching pretzels and…just, don’t ever enter the library without your headphones.
What advice, specific to your school and campus, would you lend an incoming freshman?
First of all, take that lanyard off. We can already tell you’re new here by all that enthusiastic handshaking and your ineptitude at busing your dining hall tray. Send the lanyard home to be relegated to your mom’s car keys forevermore. (If you did this with your keys still attached, call Yard Opps: they’re your go-to in case of lock-outs and/or any furry friends you may encounter this year.)
Don’t say you go to school “in Boston.’’ Just say Harvard and get used to fielding the awkward “OH!’’ that implies, “Shoot…you’re really smart but also probably a dbag.’’
Order the quesadilla at Felipe’s, know that Cracklin’ Oat Bran is secretly super caloric (but delicious, so whatever), and be aware that you will never be able to take only ten minutes at brain break.
Consult your PAF and befriend your proctor.
Take a professor to faculty dinner and have no illusions that it won’t be awkward. Do it anyway.
It’s likely that you were a big fish in a small pond, and now you’re not. Either the sudden competition of hyper-accomplished peers will leave you scrambling be top dog again, or it’ll make you shy away from the more competitive clubs, classes, and conversations because you’re definitely not going to make the cut.
Either way, you’re screwed until you learn to #doyou, as the kids say. Harvard isn’t competitive, but it’s comparative. No one’s intentionally sabotaging each other, but your roommate’s chatter about a prestigious internship can somehow feel like a personal assault.
Be inspired and challenged by your classmates, not intimidated by them. Don’t wait until junior year to have enough confidence to offer an unpopular opinion in section, and don’t squander your freshman year trying fruitlessly to outshine everyone around you. Both reactions are completely normal, but also a waste of the person you are, and the genuine contributions you have to make. You are not the smartest. You are not the dumbest. You might be the tallest if you’re a new member of the basketball team. I don’t know, I don’t have stats on that.
So repeat after me: “Everyone is doing cool things, and that’s okay. I’m doing cool things too, even if my cool thing is making really delicious dining hall sandwiches.’’ Elsewhere on campus, someone is jealous of you. I promise — you’re doing just fine.
These years at Harvard can be incredible, or they can be lonely and anxiety-ridden. Most likely, they’ll be a combination, plus twenty other things. So rely on the community you’re about to become a part of. Even though they can be the root of a lot of your problems, they can be your solution, too.
Oh, and lastly? You probably don’t need to buy that $150 coursepack from the Coop. Just saying.
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