Academics

The teachers are incredibly passionate, deep people. Sure, they often can be difficult to understand and obnoxiously tough, but if you take the time to talk with them, their passion is inspiring. The teaching fellows are often better than the professors are because they are more realistic and reachable. As for classes, it depends on the topic of the class, the teacher, and the personality of the student. Some of the required classes are interesting, some aren’t.

Athletics

Varsity is not too big at all, except within the team. IM sports are big among the people who do them. It’s all relative, but you don’t hear much about either unless you’re really into them.

Campus Dining

Dining hall food is great! Of course, it is cafeteria food, but it really is surprisingly good, and HUDS really does try to make it as easy as possible for the students to get meals they like. The mandatory 21-meal-a-week meal plan ends up being a really good thing, because it gets everyone into the dining hall and helps create community. Food outside of the dining hall is really good, too—particularly at Border Cafe and the Hi-Rise Bakery. Still, I find it hard to justify spending money out when the dining hall food is pretty good and already paid for.

Campus Housing

I think that Harvard has some of the best dorms around. There are very few that aren’t, in relative dorm terms, spacious and nice. There are many different arrangements, but almost everyone I know likes their dorm and develops a good deal of House pride! All of the freshmen live in Harvard Yard (or close by, in the Union) for their first year. After that, you’re able to choose a group of seven other people (collectively, called a blocking group) who you want to live with for the following years, and all of you are assigned to the same upperclass House—you don’t get to choose. I think it’s a pretty good system.

Campus Strictness

One time, I got so wasted that I passed out on the street and had to be taken to University Health Services. My proctor and yard dean were notified, and I thought I would be in loads of trouble. Instead, they met with me to make sure I was "okay." I didn't get in any trouble, they didn't judge me at all, and nothing is going on my record. You pretty much only get in trouble if you're caught serving alcohol, not drinking it.

Computers

Students have access to their own super-fast Ethernet connection in their room. Additionally, e-mail flies back and forth throughout the University to the point that I think it is inconvenient to have to go to the computer lab so many times a day just to check email. Unfortunately, labs are almost always packed, and are a good 5- to 10- minute walk from any non-freshman dorms. So if it’s late at night, snowing outside, and you need to write a paper, having your own computer would certainly beat out a nasty trek over to the Science Center.

Diversity

I’ve definitely met a lot of cool people from all over the world. But there are a lot of rich people here anyway, though they’re not necessarily all white. Everyone’s mostly pretty liberal, but there are some vocal conservatives. There’s not always a wonderful diversity of opinion on things, but overall, you’ll meet some interesting people.

Drug Scene

Okay, let me preface this by saying that I don’t do drugs but have acquaintances who have tried various things. Pot is pretty common and not that hard to get. There is a small scene (often associated with specific finals clubs) that does ecstasy. Also, if you really want, you could find coke. But drugs are by no means a dominant scene on campus. In fact, if you weren’t interested, you wouldn’t even know they existed. People are very respectful if you don’t drink or do drugs.

Facilities

Facilities are generally state-of-the-art. Harvard has the nation’s largest endowment, and most of the time it shows. Nearly all classrooms are equipped with amazing technology, some of which seems like it’s never used, but was added just so they could write about it in their admission guide. The athletic facilities were a bit pathetic, but Harvard rennovated the MAC (Malkin Athletic Center), adding more space and equiptment.

Greek Life

We don’t have Greek life. The University does not officially recognize [fraternities and sororities]. On the other hand, we do have finals clubs where most girls go, but not the boys, since they can’t get in. If people really want to socialize, you go to the parties in the upperclass Houses or in the Quad—they’re famous for parties.

Guys & Girls

Girls here are certainly mediocre, though perhaps not significantly worse than other top schools. One gets the feeling that the prettiest of girls probably wouldn't hold that status were it not for her bank account (fine clothes, careful grooming, etc.). Girls are mostly sapped up by guys on the final guy scene, and the snootier set (read: the best underclassmen and many good-looking seniors) are carted off by grad students.

Local Atmosphere

Cambridge is a great town. Even in Harvard Square, there are tons of things to do. My friend from Yale is always in awe of Harvard Square every time she comes to visit. I was in Princeton for several years, and I can tell you that Harvard Square is hands-down much livelier and more interesting. It also caters more to college students. Boston is also just a short train ride away; students go into the city all the time.

Nightlife

The most important thing to know about the bars and clubs is that they, for the most part, are strict with IDs. For example, you must have identification that says you are 21. If it is an out-of-state ID, you must also have a backup. There are also clubs which are 19-and-over. In Harvard Square, the most popular bars are the Hong Kong, Daedalus, and Redline. In Boston, there are many great dance clubs, each with a different feel; it depends on your preference. Avalon has a huge, generic college crowd dance club that is popular. One of the more chic places is Club Nicole.

Off-Campus Dining

The restaurants off-campus offer an unmatched diversity, a smattering of price levels and a wide range of quality. The always-popular John Harvard’s offers a good variety of quality foods and really gets bumpin’ during its Monday night half-appetizer special hours. Offerings of other restaurants all within a five-minute walk range from sushi, Indian, and French to good ole’ American burgers and fries. If you can’t find something to eat in Cambridge, then you aren’t looking hard enough. But keep in mind, Cambridge tends to be a pretty expensive city, so eating out often can be a bit pricey. I learned that lesson the hard way freshman year.

Off-Campus Housing

Almost nobody lives off campus because the dorms are, for the most part, really good, and Cambridge housing is both expensive and difficult to find. However, during the summer, a lot of students stay around Cambridge doing various things and are able to find nice, cheap, sublet apartments. During the year, though, I would definitely advise college housing.

Overall Experience

Yes, I hate the weather, and I think the students can be a bit pretentious and too career-oriented, but overall, it is simply amazing. Professors and courses are thought-provoking and creative. Even though I might not have individual conversations with most of my professors, they are generally the experts in their field and simply listening to them is quite engaging. While binge drinking can be fun, Harvard’s student theater productions, speaker events on campus, and Boston’s various other attractions offer opportunities to enjoy yourself, no matter what your idea of fun is.

Parking

Parking is extremely hard to find, but annual-parking contracts can be purchased at a variety of lots, such as the Harvard Business School Parking garage. These contracts tend to be expensive, but in reality, students shouldn’t need parking because a car is pretty useless in Cambridge or Boston. Almost everything you will need is within a 10- minute walking distance.

Safety & Security

I won’t try and tell you that at Harvard no one gets robbed or mugged and crime doesn’t happen; students should always be mindful that Harvard is located in an urban area. So, if you are like my roommate and had one too many drinks and hopped a ride with someone you didn’t know, then you would probably end up getting mugged just like him. However, Harvard does a stellar job of protecting its students. Blue-light emergency phones litter the campus, allowing students to make a direct call to emergency response at any time of the day or night.

Transportation

I live by it. Traffic around Boston is horrible, and public transportation is pretty inexpensive. They have special buses and stuff for college students to us get around the campus and community.

Weather

The weather sucks. It really does. It’s no fun to walk to class in the winter and not be able to tell what time it is because it’s been grey and cold since you woke up. The snow takes some getting used to, but a warm jacket and learning to layer your clothes should give most students enough warmth to get through the winter. When it’s not frigid and wintry, Cambridge’s fall and spring feature some wonderful weather. Fall is a bit crisp, but not too bad. Spring generally brings with it cool temperatures—perfect for shorts and t-shirts.