Visit Report by x3rose (Member since May 13 2006 with 538 posts) Visit Date - May 2008
Visit to Harvard University in May 2008 by x3rose ()
Visit Activities:
Classroom Visit:
Yes
Harvard University Campus:
Friendliness/Courtesy of Students: 5 - Excellent -
The other students on campus were really nice and always willing to help.
Friendliness/Courtesy of Staff: 4 - Very Good -
Some teachers are boring but most are really busy with teaching so their TFs (teaching fellows) do most of the work. These people are really helpful and nice.
Appearance of Campus: 5 - Excellent Building/Facilities Maintenance/Cleanliness: 5 - Excellent -
They cleaned our dorms everyday! Well the hallways at least, the rooms are up to the students.
Dormitories: 5 - Excellent Security/Safety: 4 - Very Good Overall Campus Impression: 5 - Excellent
Off-Campus:
Area Immediately Around Campus: 4 - Very Good -
Very busy, too much smoking. I'm from a suburb so it was very different
City/Town/Community: 4 - Very Good
Campus Visit Notes for Harvard University:
Visit Description:
I didn't exactly VISIT the school... I'm attending the Secondary School Program so I basically got to experience what Harvard is like if I were to go there. So here were my impressions.
The architecture was totally different from what I'm used to (I'm from California). But the buildings were beautiful especially Annenberg. This is a private dining hall so visitors are not allowed. Some guy took a picture of it illegally and the staff saw and confiscated his film roll or something. It's a really beautiful place... the Yard is always busy with tourists and visitors. Maybe this is just the summer. I've been stopped quite a few times asking where something is.
Food - Annenberg's food isn't great but not horrible either. I believe upperclassmen have dining halls at their houses and restaurant-like places (i'm not so sure about this one) but the other dining halls are supposed to have better food.
Dormitories - The dorms in the Yard all differ from each other. I stayed in Stoughton and I liked it because I shared a common room with only one person. These dorms are really nice but they do NOT have air-conditioning which is absolutely horrible (there was a heat wave two weeks ago.). Some do have AC but it's only available upon request and you have to have a good reason I think. Some of the dorms are really cramped but others are really spacious.
Classes - The professors who teach now also teach during teh school year. I noticed that the Teaching Fellows did a lot of the work as in grading, labs, etc. My TF was a really cool guy. The professors do have a lot of work to do for research and stuff so when I asked her to email me something she said she couldn't. And this is in the summer with a 40 person class. So yeah, umm, TF's are great though.
Dining/Restaurant Recommendations or Comments:
Bartley's Burgers is on Massachusetts Ave. It's been around since 1960 and has GREAT burgers. Their menu is very interesting to read because they constantly update it by naming their food after politicians or celebrities.
Other Comments (Transportation, local attractions, parking, etc.):
The subway is very useful if you don't have much luggage. The taxi drivers here are horrible. Some guy ripped me off by driving around in circles and stopping to look at a map because he didn't know where he was going.
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The other students on campus were really nice and always willing to help.
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Some teachers are boring but most are really busy with teaching so their TFs (teaching fellows) do most of the work. These people are really helpful and nice.