<p>The best thing to do is for the TF to write a letter and have the prof co-sign it.</p>
<p>Thanks for the insights on recommendation letters. Itās that time of year again . . .</p>
<p>Sorry if this sounds naive, but Iām trying to find out what letters of recommendations are people talking about? Is this for grad school or for summer programs? </p>
<p>Thanks in advance! I just want to make sure my son doesnāt miss out on something he should be doing.</p>
<p>I donāt know about summer jobs. I would hope even with large classes, a student would take the time to know some of these professors. My kid got great recommendations for medical school from professors not TFās.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, my son seems to have his best relationships with TFs in his concentration and professors in classes heās taken for core requirements. Oh well. I am passing along Mariteās advice to have the TF write the letter and the prof sign it. Pure genius.</p>
<p>DocT: Iām wondering how you know the recommendations were great. Do professors show them to the student?</p>
<p>No they donāt show them to students. However her premed advisor saw them and told her that they were very impressive.</p>
<p>We received a postcard in the mail today regarding Junior Parents Weekend and have a quick question: Did any of you who have graduating seniors at H go last year, and was it worthwhile?</p>
<p>I think my parents enjoyed it last year simply because they could experience my house life versus my dorm life which is quite a night and day experience, imo. Particularly, the main events that we went to were house identified, namely, the brunch and the mastersā tea. Nonetheless, I could imagine that with commencement coming up this year, that itās sort of a rehash of parents weekend with fewer undergraduates around and more family and other people, thus, you would at least get to see your child interacting with the entire house community versus their graduating grade were you to attend parents weekend.</p>
<p>I went to Jr. Parents Weekend and thought it was great. Itās wonderful to see your kid in his/her House and functioning in the school in a confident and competent manner, unlike Freshman Parents Weekend. As Peter Gomes says, the Jr. year is the best year because the kid is relaxed and in the groove and learning lots of the stuff, but the Sr. year stress over job and grad school apps has not yet set in.</p>
<p>Plus the a capella group performances are always wonderful.</p>
<p>We went to Jr. Parents Weekend last year and had a fantastic time. In fact, I was surprised at how much we enjoyed it. It was a perfect balance among seeing our D, meeting her friends, attending house events, attending performances, classes and lectures, and exploring Cambridge, museums, etc.</p>
<p>My son is a sophomore this year, do you know if the schedule for his junior parents weekednd has been determined yet? just trying to plan our trips</p>
<p>^^As I recall, Jr. Parents Weekend is almost always held in March - which is too early in the year IMO. Ours was quite cold and rainy. A little later in the Spring would have been more pleasant, but the event was still quite enjoyable.</p>
<p>Thanks coureur!</p>
<p>This year it is March 5-6. Is it a good idea to go saty in Motel on Thursday night and see everting on Friday and Saturday. Please let me know. Thanks</p>
<p>Jr. Parents Weekend was great fun for all the reasons above. Plus, weāve found that excuses for Cambridge tend to taper off after the first couple years, and JPW comes up at just the right time for another dose of the Square!</p>
<p>Sorry to take this off topic a bit - just want to confirm that it really, really, absolutely totally is a BIG FAT WASTE of TIME to fill-out grant applications for summer study abroad if youāre that lowly creature at Harvard - a kid not on FA who also doesnāt have parents rich enough to donate millions.</p>
<p>Someone please tell me this before son and I go through another lovely batch of applications for no reason.</p>
<p>I would call the financial aid office, Sewhappy. They are not very good at replying to emails, but they have been very helpful on the telephone. The have given me straight forward answers, even though they were not necessarily what I had hoped for. They also gave me information on how to work around some of the financial issues particular to āinternationalā students. Please post whatever information you get as I imagine many others will want to know.</p>
<p>Good suggestion, Ronsard. I did call and chatted with a very nice young man who was quite frank about the situation. For study abroad programs, most of the OIP and Rockefeller funding is directed toward programs in China or Eurasia - not Europe (my sonās interest). The awards average about $4,000 with a floor of about $1,500. He said merit drives the decision to award funds or not. After that, need determines the amount awarded. So realistically, for my son to go to the program in Europe that would really help him in his Harvard course of study the most - he would likely receive $1,500 toward the $11,000 total cost. Yikes.</p>
<p>Think heāll return to interning where he has been working over January. They have asked him back for a paid gig this summer. Dull but much friendlier on our finances.</p>
<p>If you find the Rockefeller grant program info in Harvardās website, it says that non-FA students have received an average of $1,500 through the program. That is probably not enough to cover air fare.</p>