Class of 2006 Dissatisfied with Advising, Social Experience

Colleges & Universities Harvard University
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<p><a href=“http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=515067[/url]”>http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=515067&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Despite the College’s recent efforts to improve the undergraduate experience, members of the Class of 2006 said that overall, they were less than satisfied with their advising and social experiences. This continues a three-year trend of dissatisfaction among undergraduates. </p>

<p>According to an internal Harvard memo obtained by The Crimson, students remain dissatisfied with the amount of contact with their academic advisers and their concentration advising. Students also said they were less than satisfied with their social experiences. </p>

<p>The responses comprise the Harvard College Senior Survey, an annual survey administered to graduating seniors. Students were asked to rate on a five-point scale various components of their undergraduate experiences—ranging from their academic experiences to their post-graduate plans. In total, 1,524 of 1,641 graduating seniors participated in the survey last year. </p>

<p>While the memo obtained by The Crimson contained the questions and responses asked only of Harvard students, the survey also included a general section given to students of the 31 colleges in the Consortium on Financing Higher Education (COFHE)…</p>

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<p>What do they mean by social experiences? How does Harvard effect it?</p>

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<p>I saw this the other day and thought, I wonder how long it will take crimsonbulldog (or fscottie or posterx or zephyr) to come over to the Harvard board to post this. Nice to know some things in life are predictable. </p>

<p>Fwiw, in my totally unscientific survey of the Class of 2009 (my son), he is happy with both advising and social life. So maybe Harvard’s turning things around. ;)</p>

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<p>i, for one, have never started a thread on the harvard board (or for that matter, on any board but princeton’s - go ahead, check it out). i have a hunch that crimsonbulldog started this thread, however, only in “retaliation” of sorts for this one, posted by byerly, on yale’s board:</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=253536[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=253536&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>and i’d hazard that, substantively, this one is the more useful of the two for prospectives.</p>

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<p>If you saw this article the other day, why didn’t you post it? Its obviously an important topic and very relevant to applicants/students.<br>
Perhaps its just more of the same “hear no evil, see no evil” behavior you’ve exhibited in the past when it comes to Harvard.</p>

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<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/search.php?searchid=4320499[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/search.php?searchid=4320499&lt;/a&gt; </p>

<p>The site search supports your claim. So props to you for keeping comments in the forum where you have knowledge as an alumnus, and for landing in other threads only after others have opened them. </p>

<p>On my part, I don’t know how meaningful the COFHE surveys are, because I don’t know if any of the young people I talk to about college choices are similar to most other enrollees at those elite institutions. People decide to like or dislike a particular college for rather odd reasons sometimes.</p>

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<p>it is actually not a COFHE survey. most of the questions on the survey were generated internally by Harvard.</p>

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<p>First year advising is different for the Class of 2010 and beyond. Upperclass advising is currently being examined + revamped.</p>

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<p>Well, then, it would be interesting to ask the same questions at many other colleges.</p>

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<p>I admit I did not check his posting history, so I apologize for unfairly maligning him. No apologies for cb though! As for me, I’m more of a thread responder than a thread starter (and before anyone goes to check my posting history - yes I have started one or two, but it’s the rare exception). </p>

<p>I am quite happy that Harvard continues to do this kind of research and continues to look for ways to improve. Never complacent - it’s part of what has kept the place number 1 throughout the centuries. ;)</p>

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<p>for everyone thinking about applying to harvard, u all need to stop worrying about whether the social scene is great or not
im currently a freshman at harvard, and like everything here (and at any college for that matter), the social life is what u make of it
harvard is not going to hold your hand - u have to make your own decisions and find a good group of people to surround your self with
my advice is to keep in mind that college is completely what u make of it - u are an adult now and have to figure things out for yourself
furthermore, the advising system is not incredible, but it is workable
for example, my advisor didn’t actually know much of anything about the harvard curriculum, but we’ve been figuring it out together as the semester has gone along, it’s really not that difficult - if u can get into harvard, u can figure out how to schedule your classes
ive really enjoyed my time here at harvard so far - ive had really interesting classes, met some amazing people and gone to more than a few good parties (it’s not a state school, but u can still have a great time) - plus, the best times are usually to be had with close friends
if u come to harvard with a good attitude and willingness to get involved and try new things, u will be successful and happy, just don’t get too stressed out - it’s not worth it</p>

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<p>skigirl-how’s your peer advisor?</p>

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<p>The social scene is improving - Lamont cafe, Hilles facilities/cafe, and the soon (spring?) to open Queen’s Head Pub.</p>

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<p>Is the Lamont Cafe in the Lamont Library? And is Hilles a out in the quad netherworld? These are great additions to the campus life and coffee offerings at Harvard (which doesn’t really lack coffee boutiques in the least), but I seriously doubt that they have major impact in what most students generally think as a social life. The bar on the other hand is a great step forward which mimics the oxcam model of having in college pubs. I hope that Yale will follow as well, since the only bar/pub they have on campus is really for graduate students.</p>

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<p>Yes, it’s in Lamont. And I believe it’s open “24/5”.</p>

<p>Re: Hilles - "In addition to cheeseburgers and buffalo chicken flavored pizzas, the caf</p>

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<p>If you’re really so concerned about making sure that “applicants/students” are alerted to “important” and “very relevant” topics, you may want to start a thread on the Yale board about this story from today’s Yale Daily News. Or you could just exhibit “more of the same ‘hear no evil, see no evil’ behavior you’ve exhibited in the past” when it comes to Yale. ;)</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.yaledailynews.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=33946[/url]”>http://www.yaledailynews.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=33946&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>On a more serious note, the article contains some very good, common-sense advice. Some excerpts:</p>

<p>Yale Police Department Lt. Michael Patten said students should exercise caution when walking around campus and the city late at night. </p>

<p>“We always advise people to walk with someone else and if you have an alternative to walking, don’t walk,” he said. “Try to have situational awareness.” </p>

<p>Patten said students should use public transportation, like the minibus, to go between on-campus and nearby off-campus locations. </p>

<p>According to the University Shuttle web-site, the minibus’ routes do not extend as far as where the robbery took place, which is also outside of the Yale Police Department’s jurisdiction. </p>

<p>If a student must walk, Patten said, the student should remain alert and look out for potentially dangerous situations. </p>

<p>“Don’t walk around with iPod stuck in your ears or while reading a book,” he said. “They look to pick off people who look vulnerable. If something doesn’t look right, get away from there.” </p>

<p>Shannon Guy '08, who lives off-campus by Dixwell St. and Lake Place, said she agrees with Patten’s suggestions. </p>

<p>“I always take Yale’s security service,” she said. “I feel a commitment to take it because I do not feel safe walking back to my apartment by myself.” </p>

<p>But she said the shuttle service can also be frustrating because of the long waits - anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes - she must endure when she calls for the shuttle. This long wait, she said, can discourage other students from taking the shuttle when it would be ideal for them to do so. </p>

<p>Last year, 19 Yale students were robbed while on public property, Patten said. Last month, a Yale Divinity School student was robbed and assaulted near the Divinity School in the morning by a group of youths.</p>

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<p>My daughter is a freshman at Harvard and has had a very active social scene (she did in high school also). She loves the school, thanks us everyday for sending her to Harvard. Her advisor is a professor in the field she is pursuing so there haven’t been the type of issues that have been stated. However, one observation that she has is that of course there are a lot of nerds, many who are socially inept and were the same in high school. They expected that in college that there lives would change - it hasn’t. Some have tried to change this by drinking or other behavior to become popular while failing their courses.</p>

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<p>Really, is this the pathetic extent to which you contribute to a discussion about the social life and advising at Harvard - by criticizing me and other posters falsely, by posting articles about crime at Yale. Come on. That’s really sad and just plain bad form. Look at some of the threads I’ve started in the past year in the Harvard forum: Harvard establishes minors, might introduce religion into the core, Cornell West might return, Football captain suspended… Hardly deprecating, but rather I think pretty informative. You’re inability to discuss the merits of anything that might be negative about Harvard is frankly just tiresome. </p>

<p>So, why don’t you try to stay on topic in threads, and start other threads that you think will be useful - like one about an article showing that violent crime is down at harvard:</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=514840[/url]”>http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=514840&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>Wow! Where are the chill pills? Where’s your sense of humor? “Pathetic”, “tiresome”, “really sad”? I think it’s time for me to get out of this thread. Last piece of advice: try not to take yourself quite so seriously. TTFN.</p>

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<p>I’m a Havard freshman too, and I’ve had no issues with the peer advising program- or, for that matter, the social scene. Of course, I can only speak for myself.</p>

<p>My problem with threads like this is that they try to generalize positives and negatives as though they apply to all applicants. Certainly some students go to Harvard and don’t enjoy it, while others consider it one of the best experiences of their lives. Applicants should understand that they need to find the college that’s best for them- an attitude made harder by the US News and World Report rankings that suggest there’s is a definite order that’s the same for everyone.</p>

<p>My opinion is that these threads do serve a purpose, but it’s not the purpose some posters are applying to it- that is, to try and prove one college is better than another.</p>