<p>Of my two kids, one had a blast at Prefrosh, and the other was pretty ambivalent and wound up going out more with her sister’s friends than with her soon-to-be classmates. In a way, it seems to be a little like H itself - a lot of resources and opportunities are put out there and the prefrosh make of it what they will. In neither case was the visit necessary to seal the deal for my kids, but nowadays it’s a great way to get on a lot of future classmates’ Facebook friend lists, which sort of extends the Prefrosh experience through the next four months.</p>
<p>Thank you for all the wonderful insights. They will certainly help in making the decision.</p>
<p>btw, for those who are depending on that 120k-180k initiative, make sure you call and ask if you have typical assets. </p>
<p>Apparently I don’t, so my fin aid package was way less than expected, which means suddenly I have a decision to make. Either way, it’s important that you’re informed about what’s going on with this initiative. </p>
<p>Hope the package doesn’t disappoint!</p>
<p>Typical assets are poorly defined. The whole process is opaque.</p>
<p>Any one has insight into what’s typical asset for H? What % rate of asset beyond the higher limit will be used for EFC. Let say if H consider $250k asset (excluding home equity as they claim) as typical, then will H ask for 5.6% (Your total asset - $250k) as the extra contribution from the family?</p>
<p>Hi, I’m a student who was recently accepted into Harvard. This thread looks like a very helpful group of knowledgable people, so I just wanted to ask something about the Prefrosh Weekend (which I’m assuming is referring to the one from April 25 to 27th?).</p>
<p>According to an email I received, my plane ticket will be paid for by Harvard. Harvard told me that if I wanted to take a parent, it could not pay for him/her. My mother wanted to go with me (and maybe my sister) to see Harvard and Massachusetts, especially since we live in CA, and I was wondering:</p>
<p>1) Do family members typically accompany students to Prefrosh Weekend? I did see a session for parents.</p>
<p>2) If family members (that is, my mom and sister) were to accompany the students, typical or not, would they be accommodated by Harvard or would they have to get a hotel?</p>
<p>3) If my mom does go, what would she do there? Would there be something planned for her, or would she and my sister be pretty much independent?</p>
<p>4) Would I be accommodated at Harvard or would I also have to get a hotel?</p>
<p>Thank you so much! I really need to know this, especially because we need to know ASAP.</p>
<p>Congratulations on your Harvard acceptance.<br>
We did not accompany our sons to their accepted weekends. In each case, they were put up by students so they could get a feel for dorm life.
If your mother and sister were to accompany you, they would need to stay at a hotel at their own expenses, and make all the arrangements for travel and accommodations themselves.</p>
<p>^ Thanks. So I would be sleeping and living in the dorms? Would I be able to see my mother and sister? I live in CA, so I guess I could go by myself, but I’m a country girl (although I have lived in the city when I was little) and may need first-time support =D.</p>
<p>What do students do at the Pre-Frosh weekend? Thanks marite, for the answer!</p>
<p>Silversuz - If your parents came to Prefrosh it might be kind of awkward. I’m not aware that parents typically do that. Guitars and family made a trip out there earlier in April of last year. Prefrosh is a sneak-preview weekend of what campus life is like for students. You’d crash on the floor of a current freshman, eat at Annenberg Hall, go to any of a number of social events or presentations, etc. The a cappella groups always perform, and a lot of campus organizations are out getting a jump on recruiting the prefrosh. Last year, Daddy Yankee was on campus to do a talk and receive a student award, and the event began at 1 a.m. So it’s definitely a student-centered weekend. When your parents come for move-in at the start of the fall and for Freshman Parents Weekend in Oct/Nov, there will be parent programs and receptions then.</p>
<p>Congratulations!</p>
<p>I don’t know how many parents come with their kids to pre-frosh but we did. The only parent’s activity we went to was a pretty awful talk by Fitzsimmons followed by a reception; we did however get a nice “Harvard parent 2011” t-shirt. :)</p>
<p>Congratulations and don’t worry - The student host and the university staff will provide all supports you’d need. You may want to contact your host before coming, as most people do. If you don’t know who it is yet, you can call the Admissions to find out. Good luck, and welcome!</p>
<p>Silversuz1-We saw a fair number of parents at the Pre-frosh check-in. Parents are given their own packets, with maps, schedule of activities for parents, and of course the Harvard Parent T-shirts. </p>
<p>My daughter appreciated having us there for the multiple air flights, T ride (subway), and to escape a hard floor for a hotel bed (very) late after a night on the common room floor. However we did not see her at all during the other 20 hours of the day.</p>
<p>Your mom and sister can find plenty to do in Cambridge between the scheduled activities (lectures, panels, Parent Club reception, free museum tour and passes, Widener Library tour, financial aid open house, athletic facilities tour, and a Parents Only lecture: “Life at Harvard for your Student”, etc.) However, they should not expect your company during those activities, as the prefrosh amass in groups and attend their own activities until the wee hours.</p>
<p>Hotels are very expensive near campus ($250-400.), more affordable hotels require a T ride. Family will have to pay all their own travel/ hotel expenses.</p>
<p>You may be asked to bring your sleeping bag, not all student hosts have one to lend.</p>
<p>If you are a beginning solo traveller, I would suggest splurging on a taxi from Boston Logan airport to Harvard, it is around $40.00 one way, but gets you to campus in 15-20 minutes, safely without any worries about the T schedule (it does not operate 24 hours/day). Just ask at the airport for the taxi stand (it is monitored for legal cabs), and do not accept an offer from the gypsy van drivers who may approach you with “a better deal”. </p>
<p>Be sure to wear comfortable shoes, you’ll be walking all day on the charming, but bumpy brick walks. </p>
<p>Hope you do the trip!! My DD had a blast & met great people who are now dear friends, and most importantly she gained a visual image of her future college life.</p>
<p>I stand corrected! D1 told me not to even think of coming with D2 last April - so now it’s starting to sound like she was covering for little sister so they could have a big time on their own?! (OK, the kid now owes me a 2012 parent t-shirt.)</p>
<p>^ haha</p>
<p>Thanks for all the input! I’m really looking forward to Harvard, more so than before! (Harvard, here I come!!)</p>
<p>I went to pre-frosh weekend with my daughter; I stayed in a hotel and she stayed in a dorm. I barely saw her and was busy with parent activites. There were loads of parents there. She was happy to have me there the last day so that I could pay for stuff at the Coop! No t-shirts for Class of 2010 parents - just students.</p>
<p>Another question for the friendly experts on this thread: How do you view competitiveness at Harvard and what do your children report?
PS: S decided to fly up a day late to the formal visitation program. Thanks again for all of the insights.</p>
<p>My child reports that it isn’t all that competitive. Students work together much better than in her high school on problems sets etc. in math and science courses.</p>
<p>^^^ Just as DocT said. You know, my first D never initially thought to look into Harvard, and I never had in mind to suggest it because of all these stereotypes I’d assumed - cutthroat, snobby, aloof, impersonal, etc. We only ever began looking into it when my D sent out feeler e-mails to choral directors at all the Ivies, got no response or a terse response back from seven of them, and got this effusive, enthusiastic, encouraging reply from . . . Harvard, of all places? One after another, we found all these Harvard stereotypes to be urban myth, as one of the students called it in another thread. My D found the students to be cool, easygoing, supportive, fun. The staff can’t seem to do enough for you. Many faculty hang out and bond with undergrads, and the only impact we’ve seen of the celebrated “emphasis on graduate programs” seems to be that the JFK School of Government constantly brings in world leaders and celebrities to meet with the undergrads. I asked on CC where all the anticipated arrogance was, and an alum explained “Showing up for your freshman year at Harvard is perhaps the most humbling experience in the world. Whatever made you hot stuff back home now just makes you one of the crowd. You learn pretty quickly to check your ego at the gate.”</p>
<p>I thought of another question that I would like to ask. Did anyone have a son or daughter who told him/her about the specific things that he/she did at the Visiting Weekend? I know there’s a schedule full of events, but I just wanted to know what type of events. Dances? Ice cream socials? Movies? Running around playing sports?</p>
<p>Thanks!!</p>
<p>^^ and gadad, that’s great that your daughter got to know the real side of Harvard and not the stereotypes people place on it!</p>