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Visitas Weekend 2012

April 29, 2012 in Jesse's Blog by Jesse Sanchez | Comments closed

The excitement of the weekend’s activities was only matched by the enthusiasm of the pre-frosh. After speaking with many of them and being asked about my experiences at Harvard, hearing them talk about how grateful they were for being able to go to college reminded me of how important it is to stay strong with the semester’s finish line in sight.

Times like these really help me realize just how incredible Harvard is. After talking through the endless opportunities available here, I can’t help but feel immense gratitude for the friends I’ve made and the growth I’ve experienced because of Harvard.

To hear a few words about how Visitas Weekend went, check out the latest Video below. My Special Guest and one of my Pre-Frosh, Wil, was able to share a few words about his experience so check out the video!

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It’s that time of year…

April 23, 2012 in Kate's Blog by Kate Meakem | 2 comments

It’s that time of year…

 

When the seasons start changing and Mother Nature can’t make up her mind.  Case in point – early last week it was 80 degrees and sunny, then by mid-week it was in the 50s, then it went back up to the mid-70s, and now it’s back down to the 50s.  Hellooooo Boston.  The way I see it, though, there are two benefits to this kind of weather.  1) It never allows us to take the nice days for granted.  When it’s 75 and sunny, everyone is outside lounging away on beach towels in the Quad or down by the River.  2) It gives my sunburns a chance to heal… rough.

When classes start to wrap up.  Yes, that’s right, this coming Wednesday is our last day of class and then Harvard students around campus will enter Reading Period.  Reading Period can mean one of two things.  It can either mean a 10-day vacation if you’re something like a math or science concentrator, or it can mean a 10-day sleep strike if you’re a humanities concentrator and find yourself writing five papers.  Luckily, my schedule this year has offered me spread out Reading and Finals Periods.  I have a paper due this Tuesday, another paper due next week, and then two finals several days apart.

When stress and excitement levels run high.  There occurs this strange dichotomy where while I’m feeling incredibly stressed about major papers and finals, I am also feeling incredibly excited about the summer!!!  This summer I will be working for the Phillips Brooks House Association’s (PBHA’s) Summer Urban Program (or SUP).  SUP is a series of camps in neighboring communities throughout Boston that helps to fight summer learning loss in low-income children.  Just as PBHA is student-led, SUP is too, which means that Harvard students have been working their butts off all semester long getting ready for this summer.  I’ll be working Full Time SUPport (get it?), which means I’ll be behind the scenes helping out all of the camps.  Get ready for lots of blog posts in the coming months about SUP.  One final plug to the incoming freshmen – JOIN PBHA and then WORK SUP!!!!  I promise you it won’t be a decision you regret.

When I’m starting to dread the prospect of packing up all of my stuff.  It took me long enough to unpack and make my beautiful single look just the way I want, and now I’m going to have to find some way of packing all of this stuff back up and sticking it in Currier storage.  I really don’t want to write anymore about it, it’s all too painful to contemplate.

When I begin to desperately text friends to grab a final meal or coffee before everyone leaves campus!  It’s that time of year when I’m looking back and remembering all those times I ran into “this person from class” or “that person from my freshman dorm” or “the person that OMG I love but I haven’t seen in AGES” and I’m realizing that I only actually grabbed my promised meals with maybe half of them.  This means that I still have a lot of people to go, and not a lot of time left!  Ahhhh!

When House formals go on the calendar!  Each House has its own Spring Formal, which, depending on who you know in which Houses, can mean a lot of formals to go to.  So much fun!

 

That’s about all I got, folks!  I wish everyone a very happy end of April, and to all of the pre-frosh – COME TO HARVARD!

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Harvard Freshman Housing!

April 5, 2012 in Reid's Blog by Reid | Comments closed

Hey everyone! This week’s post is different than normal; I decided to take some photos and collect some information about Freshman Housing at Harvard. It’s known around the country for being incredible, as you’ll find out while reading this post. Click on an image to enlarge it, click on a title to find out more information, and enjoy the post! If you would like another resource, click here to be redirected.

 

 

Harvard freshmen all live on campus around Harvard Yard, the central location of Harvard College. There are four “yards” which encompass various dorms, all of which have their perks. When you’re a sophomore, you live in a House (or the Dudley co-op, if you so choose) until you graduate, but this post is only about freshman housing…perhaps I’ll feature upperclassmen housing next year. If you’re interested in learning about how the housing process works, check this out; otherwise, keep reading!

IVY YARD:

Apley Court

Apley Court is known for huge suites, marble bathtubs, and its distinct location between the Yard and River houses.

Not a dorm, but Holden Chapel, my favorite building in the Yard

 

 

Hollis

Yay, Hollis! Suites, which are only doubles, are absolutely gigantic.

Holworthy

I personally love Holworthy, mostly because of their awesome (yet again giant) suites and their common room, which is the best on campus in my opinion.

Lionel

 Lionel’s twin is Mower. I get them confused. There are only 40 residents, and each suite has a private bathroom!

Mass Hall

Mass Hall is incredible, with around 14 freshman living there, because it also houses President Faust.

Mower

Lionel’s twin, home of one of my favorite people, is both adorable and tiny.

Straus

Straus, home of my future roommate (!), is awesome. It’s in a private yard, has lovely rooms, and really cool staircases (things you notice when living in Canaday).

Stoughton

Stoughton! Home of more great people, this dorm is awesome because it looks like it is split in two. Other reasons include huge doubles and ideal location to run Primal Scream.

CRIMSON YARD:

Union Dorms!

Union dorms (Pennypacker, Greenough, and Hurlbut) are “far away;” that is, they are really close to Lamont,

and about as far as Straus to Annenberg. Also, because they’re farther away, there’s more space to have better rooms.

Hurlbut

Despite its gross name, Hurlbut is gorgeous. The suites are huge, and there are many “pod systems” comprised of luxurious singles around a big common room.

Pennypacker

Pennypacker, home of the radio station WHRB, has in-suite bathrooms in each room, a central staircase, and tons of dorm pride.

Greenough

Greenough has hardwood floors and huge suites. Enough said.

Wigglesworth

 

Wigg is where it’s at! This incredibly long dorm has the best practice rooms, where I spend most of my time, and has spacious suites to boot. You’re very close to all of what Harvard Square has to offer!

 

OAK YARD

Canaday

Canaday is my dorm! As a resident, I can honestly say that it is the ugliest dorm on campus, rivaling Mather (an upperclassmen house). The good things of Canaday include our own courtyard, proximity to everything (it takes me less than one minute to walk to class), heightened security (riot-proof building…but that’s not actually a plus to living in Canaday), and most importantly, the GIANT windows. I live in the common room, though, so that might effect how I see the world (pun).

Thayer

Thayer is awesome. I love it. It has the best interior design, with hardwood floors, crown molding, and pale green walls. The rooms are big. My future blockmate and friend since 7th grade lives there. It’s really close to Canaday!

 

ELM YARD

Weld

Dream of Weld. If you like huge common rooms, you’ll love Weld.

Matthews

Matthews also has incredible housing. Pattern? Yes.

Gra

Grays Hall

Grays is known as the Harvard Hilton for a reason. (Hint: best rooms.)

FEATURED ROOMS

I asked around campus in order to find some of the best freshmen dorm rooms Harvard has to offer.

To the class of ’16, you might be lucky next year and end up in one of these sweet suites!

A Weld Room

 

Welcome to the huge common room. Boasting dormers, a hand-made coffee table, and natural light, this common room might be the best in the yard.

 

Pictures from home are displayed on a clothesline in a whimsical fashion.

 

Check out this coffee table, complete with Crimson!

 

A white-board wall is a creative and artistic addition to this lovely room.

 

Both Weld doubles and singles are spacious and well-lit.

 

An Apley Room

This single in Apley Court is enormous, complete with walk-in closet and and hardwood floors.

 

Same room, different angle: check out that closet!

 

This might look like your bathroom at home, if your bathroom had a marble bathtub.

 

Although this room is on the 5th floor, who wouldn't want to ascend that staircase every day?

 

Two Hurlbut Singles

If this room had a superlative, it'd be best-dressed.

 

A not-so-average college dormroom is common place at Harvard!

 

A Grays Room

This spacious common room gets a cozy feel from the christmas lights

Same room, different angle: brick walls add a classic Harvard touch

 

Too Cute to Bear

A Canaday Room

 

This common room, although messy, is well-lit and has colorful touches. (And it's where I live!)

 

A Canaday single may be smaller than some, but it's cozy and guaranteed to be yours (or in this case, my roommate Helen's) for at least a semester.

 

Canaday rooms make you incredibly happy, as displayed by my roommate Rachel.

 

THANKS SO MUCH FOR READING! I HOPE YOU ENJOYED GETTING TO KNOW A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT HARVARD HOUSING!

 

until next time

-reid

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Boston’s Pleasures

March 7, 2012 in Jeanie's Blog by Jeanie Nguyen | Comments closed

Good thing Yale never engulfed Vassar because then I’d have to dislike (understatement) Vassar through association.

This past weekend, my two friends from Vassar kicked off their Spring Break with a Harvard visit! It was my first time hosting people sophomore year, but my itinerary hardly changed. As a freshman, I hosted a ton of prefrosh (prospective/accepted students) from random kids the Admissions Office introduced me to, all the way to close friends from science camp. In great efforts to sway them in the direction of Harvard, I showed them around campus, forced tourist pictures in front of the John Harvard Statue, and even broke out of the Harvard Bubble with a mini tour of Boston.

Busy, busy! Just let me be ubiquitous please!

Showing people around my favorite places in Cambridge is easy (Science Center, Annenberg, Berryline, etc.) but trying to appear as the master of Boston proved to be more difficult and included interviewing friends from the area as well as a ton of Googling! One of my favorite Harvard characteristics is how campus life feels like a harmonious mesh of urban and suburban culture. It’s a shame that most students’ hectic schedules prevent us from taking advantage of Boston, but I definitely use every hosting opportunity to exploit the city’s pleasures!

First stop: the waterfront. When I think of Boston, I never think of water. Yet, I’m surrounded by the beautiful harbor and Charles River constantly. The harbor is ~500 feet from the T (subway stop) and always calm and peaceful. My friends and I lucked out because the sky was gorgeous although it was still SO cold (California girl speaking here).

Boston Harbor at sunset

From the harbor, it’s just a short walking distance from Faneuil Hall – a great place to people-watch, shop, eat and even see local street performers!

Faneuil Hall

I like to end the tour with a big bang: Mike’s Pastries. This place is legen…wait for it…dary, LEGENDARY. They have the best cannolis I’ve ever eaten and their usual out-the-door line says enough. Even though I hype this place up so much in my head, it never disappoints!! The crispy and flaky texture of the shell which envelops a creamy, yet light ricotta cheese is unparalleled in this and any other dimension. Seriously.

Mike's Pastries in the North End of Boston

For centuries, people have been repeating one word three times: location, location, location! I’ve finally figured out the reasons behind their redundancy – the need for tremendous emphasis! Harvard and its unique and generous opportunities are beyond both phenomenal and amazing; I could type about this forever, but since I still have a pset and a midterm hanging over my head, I’ll just illuminate that one of the more admirable characteristics of Harvard University is its location. Wedged in Cambridge among other top universities as well as successful companies, Harvard fosters a delightfully diverse environment students can thrive on.

My current environment is all the Housing Day hype! Tomorrow is Housing Day!! Basically,

Pfoho's Polar Bear studiously taking notes

freshmen are getting sorted into various upperclassmen houses and as upperclassmen, it’s our duty to make it known that our respective house is the best. We strive to conquer this endeavor by wearing our house mascots everywhere – and yes, this includes lecture – as well as releasing housing day videos!

 

Check out Mather’s official video for Housing Day 2012, a spin off of the hit sensation taking over Harvard campus by storm:

 

May all current and future freshmen win the Housing Day lottery with acceptance into Mather!

 

 

 

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Q Guide: ratemyharvardprofessor.com

December 24, 2011 in Jeanie's Blog by Jeanie Nguyen | Comments closed

Another semester has ended which means another set of 4 (or 5 or 6!) letter grades have come out! Harvard students not only work hard throughout the semester, but we’ll also have to earn the privilege of seeing our grades early.

I’m pretty much obsessed with Harvard College, but that doesn’t mean it’s the epitome of perfection. I think Harvard’s grading system could be more transparent. My public high school used an online system where teachers would input individuals’ scores in varying categories and compute these scores into an overall grade. The online system basically served as a real-time progress report which personally helped me gauge and evaluate what I needed to do more or less of in each class. Although all my assignments and exams at Harvard have been promptly returned, it would be nice to have a similar online grading system, especially because I feel like most of our grades are ultimately relative to other students. This grading system may not exist (yet?! Heyy computer science concentrators, get on this!), Harvard College does offer a singular website where students intricately critique/compliment the classes that they’ve taken during the most recently passed semester. As an incentive to participate, the registrar allows students who have completed course evaluations to view their grades a few weeks earlier than the nonparticipants.

This compilation of student reviews is called the Q guide (which I believe is formerly known as the cue guide; you can’t really see much without a student ID but it doesn’t hurt to browse!). It asks general questions about the course itself (i.e. general thoughts about the course, how it can be improved, difficulty of assignments, etc.) as well as commenting on individual professors and teaching fellows (TFs). It’s really open ended – you can talk about how approachable they are, how timely they are, or even how funny they are. I’ve always done my Q guide evaluations (as a source of procrastination during Reading Period) and I try my best to be comprehensive and extensive as possible. Last Spring semester, my organic chemistry TF was always there for me via email or person. He was the funniest, most patient and down to earth guy! I spent more than an hour basically writing him a letter of recommendation, raving about how he really goes above and beyond his call of duty to make sure that his students understood the material.

I’ve put in a good amount of time to this Q guide because you really get out of it what students decide to put in. I feel like most students look at the Q guide when deciding between both mandatory courses and electives because it can be a good gauge of expected time commitment and what background knowledge is necessary to understand the underlying concepts. However, it’s definitely not something to swear by because a lot of times a class may seem easier on the Q guide than it actually is or vice versa. This Q guide has become a pretty substantial player on campus because I remember my prefrosh (aka Visitas) host telling me how helpful it is and many online course catalogs include an overall Q guide score (ranging from 1 to 5, 5 being the best). The internet is taking over! Are you ready?

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What I’ve Learned This Semester!

December 2, 2011 in Reid's Blog by Reid | 3 comments

Although I have yet to begin my final exams, I’ve finished the first semester as of two hours ago! Now I can dig into studying, Christmas music, and second-semester planning. Before I do that, though, there’s some reflection of the first semester that needs to happen, focusing mainly on what I’ve learned so far in my 3 months at Harvard! Check out my list below to see just what Freshman Fall has taught me, in no particular order.

 

1. Dorm Crew is a great pre-orientation program, but not for reasons you may think.

Cleaning bathrooms is not everyone’s top priority. However, Fall Clean Up (FCU or Dorm Crew pre-orientation) includes very little bathroom cleaning! The majority of my time was spent mopping and sweeping Leverett Towers, alongside my eight other d.crew members, from 9-5 every day. This is, by no means, ‘fun.’ What is fun is making friends, impressing other freshmen with your knowledge about campus, making money instead of paying money, and getting an upper-body workout. Having upwards of $400 dollars in my pocket before I even started school gave me a little bit of a cushion as I set out in the World of Harvard, to which I was accustomed due to the extra week on campus. Also, all dorm crew groups have a secret “theme” that you’re supposed to figure out by the end of the week. Ours was pretty obvious; all of us were going to live in Canaday! Now, I have friends in different entryways (as well as in mine) which really helps to foster dorm spirit; I also have an automatic (and lucrative) on-campus job which took care of some of my financial aid. Moral: Dorm Crew is GREAT, and you make a small group of good friends right off the bat!

 

2. Rent, don’t buy, Textbooks!

After researching the prices of my Chemistry, Biology, and Psychology textbooks, I wanted to either rob a bank or drop those classes. Instead, I discovered some great book-renting sites, such as e-campus and Chegg, whose rental prices prevented me from performing criminal acts in the name of Academia. I ended up paying a third as much as if I’d bought the books, and they were brand-new! (One of them even came with a Schick Razor, which was really weird but useful, I guess…hey, it was free!) Anyways, search around, because the Coop (pronounced ‘coop,’ not ‘co-op’) is MAD expensive, and there are a ton of online options that will save you precious dinero!

 

3. Talk with your deans, advisors (PAFs included), and proctor!

Harvard has a lot of great resources on campus. Unfortunately, they’re not readily-accessible unless you know where to search; it’s very different from high school where everyone is proactive for you, instead of you representing yourself. I found this out the hard way, which caused more than a few points to be knocked off one of my course’s final grade. You have a Peer Advising Fellow, who is a totally Harvard-savvy upperclassman to whom you can ask questions you’d rather not ask your Advisor. Go to them first! They have a big budget to take you out to coffee, which is always high on my list. Your advisor is the next up, and normally they’ve majored in a subject that you’re interested in. (If you’re considering pre-med, there are even advisors for that!) They can help you plan your schedule, work out problems with roommates (luckily, I have had none of those because my roommates are THE BEST), and decide on a plan of action if anything goes awry. However, you need to be very proactive about your problems; if there are even just the faintest sensations of difficulties, meet with your advisor! It takes only a few minutes and can save you a lot of stress in the future. Finally, if things get a little whacky, your Resident Dean is there for you; their job is to help you (along with lots of other stuff), so don’t worry about meeting with them. Also, lots of people have a hard time with courses their freshman fall (and beyond), so there’s no need to freak out if you feel like an idiot. (Because, really, you’re not.)

 

4. Never go to Annenberg at 6:30.

There is a slight problem with Annenberg’s hours: they are really short and really early. Annenberg opens at 4:45 (or something) and closes at 7:15, so everyone ends up going around 6:30, which means you’ll have difficulty finding a seat, getting food, and hearing the person across from you. (Exaggeration. But not really.) You don’t need a tray, either! Freshman fifteen probably exists, and if so, I have found the cure: go trayless. There are a million choices of food and lots of fun containers, which can be tempting, but with one plate of healthy food and a glass of whatever, you’re set! (Just make sure you’re eating properly…I am not a nutritionist, but there are a lot of them at Health Services.)

 

5. Comp the Crimson…if you’re Crazy

Okay so that might have sounded bad. But The Crimson is amazing, and everyone there is a little bit crazier than other Harvard students, which is a good thing. Especially crazy boards to comp (comping is the first step to becoming an editor, where you get to write articles or take photo/video) are FM, photo/video, and Arts. You get to hang out in the crazy basement after having waited crazy hours to get let into the crazy Crimson (no swipe access=long nights), go to crazy formals, cover crazy events, and sprint around like a crazy person while you should really be doing something else! (Post Scriptum: Other boards are also crazy, if you’re interested in crazy economics or crazy no-shave november hockey players, or like sharing your crazy opinions.)

 

6. Get a Mac!

No, not because you miss Steve Jobs. Harvard IT has HUGE deals on Macs, and you really need a fast computer while you’re here. Also, you get a free printer, $100 dollar iTunes Store Giftcard (or whatever Apple decides to do next season), and a great warranty. Go Apple!

 

7. Icing Shots are Disgusting, but Sweet is Great.

Sweet is this incredible cupcake store that makes the best cupcakes in the world, and also the most horrendous invention in the world. They sell these big trays of teeny cups full of icing. Blegh. If you don’t like frosting, don’t ever eat it.

7.b) Good food places include Flat Patties (get the grilled cheese), Crema Cafe (they have legit wraps), Burdick’s (deliciously expensive hot chocolate), Starbuck’s (…sorry…), and Cardullo’s (they have EVERYTHING YOU COULD EVER DESIRE IN YOUR ENTIRE LIFE.)

 

8. PSYCHOLOGY (SLS-20)

If you take this course, you will maybe regret it. You will come away from it knowing too much about how your mind works (joke), potentially much more wealthy/exhausted (psych studies pay 15 or 10 dollars an hour!), and a weakened sense of self-esteem (everyone, except for those terrible smart people, perform poorly on the exams…they’re multiple-choice deathtraps). So…take it, or don’t. Your choice! (Or is it?)

 

9. You learn so much….

TOO MANY THINGS IN MY MIND TO FINISH MY SENTENCE BECAUSE*

 

That’s all, folks!

 

Happy 2nd Day of December! © S. Reid

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*this is college, where you learn things. but this is also harvard, where you learn more!

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My Life

May 3, 2011 in Kate's Blog by Kate Meakem | 4 comments

Hey all!

So my life has been CRAZY lately!  It seems like ever since we got back from Spring Break, it was hit the ground and go.

First of all, I would just like to give a warm shout-out to my three BEAUTIFUL pre-frosh Taylor, Emery, and Alice!  My roommates and I had SO. MUCH. FUN hosting you guys, and we hope you’ve chosen to come to Harvard.  Obviously, we love it.

Second, I would like to apologize to those of you who have asked me questions in my comments that were so profound that I promised to devote blog articles to answering them.  I HAVEN’T FORGOTTEN YOU!  Once my exams are over at the end of this week, I plan to sit outside in the gorgeous Cambridge weather and do nothing but write, write, write!

I have to get back to studying, but I thought I would reassure everyone that I am still alive and well!

A quick list of things that have happened:  Prefrosh weekend, Mather Lather, Eleganza, Yardfest, Harvard-Radcliffe Choral Concert, Easter in Memorial Church, Theta (my sorority) Crush Event, Celebrations of better weather in the yard… and finals.

I promise to elaborate more at a later date.  Until then, good luck to any high schoolers on AP’s!

 

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Top 10 Things To Do When Visiting Harvard as a Prospective Student

April 3, 2011 in Kate's Blog by Kate Meakem

Hello, again!  First and foremost, CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL OF YOU WHO WERE ACCEPTED INTO THE HARVARD CLASS OF 2015!!!

I still remember all too clearly the moment I received “The Most Wonderful Email in the Entire World,” and it’s a moment that you should never take for granted, even if Harvard isn’t your #1 choice.  Take a moment, jump up and down, whoop and holler, and give yourself a giant pat on the back.

But now that you’re in, you might be thinking to yourself, “Golly, what do I do now?”  Well, I’ll tell you what you should do: COME VISIT HARVARD!!!!

With that in mind, I give you my promised post…

THE TOP 10 THINGS TO DO WHEN VISITING HARVARD AS A PROSPECTIVE STUDENT

1.)  Tour a dorm

If you can’t work it out that you can stay in a student dorm (you should always contact the Admissions Office before you visit so that they can make it possible), definitely ask to tour one.  If you have a friend, a friend of a friend, a friend of a parent’s friend who’s kid goes to Harvard, etc. DEFINTELY ask them if you can just take a peak into his/her room.  If you can stay in a student’s room, look at another room.  In total – check out as many rooms as possible, preferably freshman dorms.  How can you expect to imagine yourself going here, if you can’t even imagine where you might sleep?

2.)  Go to the Observatory

At the top of the Science Center there is a small observatory open to any Harvard student who has bothered to take a 45-minute instructional class.  Find one of these students and ask him/her to take you up.  It is honestly one of the coolest things on campus!  Even if it’s a cloudy night, there is a balcony with a BEAUTIFUL view of Harvard with the Boston skyline in the background.  As a freshman, this was definitely one of my biggest “Harvard moments” – where it finally sunk it that I attend this amazing school.

3.)  Widener Library Stacks

Ok, so when I suggest this, people often look at my funny.  Most students will tell you that the Widener Library stacks are creepy, only because they are SO VAST, and it’s easy to feel like you might venture forth, lose your way, and die without anyone ever finding you.  But as a pre-frosh, my friends and I had the BEST time running around, making the automatic lights switch on and off, and trying to find the oldest book.  It amazed all of us that Harvard would entrust its students with such valuable, old books and that it had so many of them!  Going into Widener opened my eyes to the incredible opportunities that Harvard offered, and made me realize that as a prospective student, I could take full advantage of them.

4.)  Annenberg Dining Hall

As the second-largest collection of secular stained glass in the world, Annenberg Dining Hall provides a very “Great Hall of Hogwarts” feel to freshman dining… not to mention that it is gorgeous.  The food might not be the best on campus (though I will admit that by and large I think it is delicious), but the experience cannot be matched.

5.)  Adams basement tunnels

Adams House is the closest upperclassman house to the Yard.  While the housing lottery is now completely random, it was not always that way, and as a result, Adams has a history of having once been the “artsy house.”  This means that the tunnels under the house (yes, there are tunnels under all of the houses), are decorated with really awesome artwork that students have painted over the years!  It is really cool and fun to check out!

6.)  Eleganza (if you’re here over Visitas Weekend)

I like to tell people that Eleganza convinced me to go to Harvard.  As a prefrosh, I was really worried that Harvard students would be ALL work, and no play.  I am a social person, and the idea of attending a school where everyone sat behind a textbook all the time repulsed me.  Eleganza turned all of my preconceptions upside-down.  It is an AWESOME fashion/dance show that will feature just how much fun Harvard students can have.  GO!

7.)  Go to a few classes

Drag yourself to a class or two on a topic that interests you.  Don’t just go off the list the Admissions Office gives you – ask current students what their favorite classes are.  Do it, and then don’t base your decision off of it.  I know that sounds like silly advice, because you are, after all, going to school to go to class.  In my experience, however, when you’re a second-semester senior, and you’ve just been accepted into one of the best colleges in the world, its hard to focus and not feel bored in a college class.  If you happen to find the class fascinating, that is awesome.  But if you don’t, don’t freak out.

8.)  If the weather is nice, sit under a tree in the Yard, pat yourself on the back for getting in, and picture yourself there.

Seriously, just take some time off from running around, being super excited, and meeting new people.  Sit down, and ABSORB.  Watch current students walking around (I know that sounds creepy), and watch for how people get along.  See a group of students laughing at some joke, or another group cramming for some midterm and try to picture yourself as one of them.

9.)  Eat a ve-ri-taffle

These are the waffles they serve on Sunday morning brunches at Harvard, and they have the VE- RI- TAS emblem on them.  How much more Harvard can you get?

10.)  Talk to a student about social life

If you know that there is a group of people that you generally hang out with, look up that group and spend time with them.  Whether you are really into religion or politics or science or cultural groups or Greek life or you want to check out what the big deal about Final Clubs is, find out what is going on on campus (there are ALWAYS things going on) and check it out.  Your social life at Harvard (even if you’re not the type of person who likes to “go out”) will be an important part of your time at Harvard.  You owe it to yourself to take a look.

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