<p>justchecking, CONGRATULATIONS! Welcome. I hope your dtr decides to join our kids at Harvard in the fall. My son is very excited. You might want to check out the link I posted, it’s entertaining and fun. I will also find the link that shows the dorms inside and the buildings outside. Harvard has such history and tradition. When we visited in April after my son’s acceptance we were so impressed with the kindness that the current students showed us. The administration was wonderful as well. You’ll notice throughout these threads that the current students at H are very kind and ALWAYS willing to help. </p>
<p>Now let’s see if I can dig up the other links for you :)</p>
<p>Harvard has convocation ceremonies at move-in time as well. Orchestra plays. Choirs sing. A member of the Massachusett tribe of Native Americans welcomes you. And you get to hear the university president officially declare open the 373rd academic year of Harvard College.</p>
<p>Justchecking, I was at the move-in two years ago and went to the Convocation, though there were an interim President and Dean of Harvard College at the time so the players have changed. One thing that President Bok said that stuck with me was that it was the 371st entering class at Harvard College, and the Class of '10 might reflect on the fact that over a third of their preceding entering classes completed their studies before the signing of the Declaration of Independence.</p>
<p>But tearing at your heartstrings? Not really. I’ve been surprised to find that in comparison to what I anticipated would be a culture of pretentiousness, the dominant attitude at Harvard seems to be a little on the self-deprecating side. The students are amazing and sophisticated, the administrators seem secure in their knowledge that they don’t have to prove anything about Harvard to the external public, and tongue-in-check wit seems to trump pomp and ceremony. I recall that the Interim Dean Emeritus two years ago, beloved and iconic British scholar Jeremy Knowles (who holds up the “4” on the admitted students video when its says “Centuries of Tradition” - he passed away a month ago) said that the one inevitable consequence of a Harvard education is the development of a profound capacity to “talk rot.”</p>
<p>But what really got me about the Harvard Convocation has truly turned out to be something truly indicative of the campus culture. The Kuumba Singers - a traditional African-American choir performing music grounded in the African and African-American traditions - performed before the speakers took the podium. I’m from Georgia, and I’ve seen many gospel choirs - like them, Kuumba sways and claps and belts from the heart. But it was impossible to miss something that I’ve never seen in Georgia. No more than half the Kuumba Singers were black. There were white singers, Asian singers, Indian singers, all clapping, all swaying, all into the music, clearly having made the music their own despite its origin not having been their own ethnic group.</p>
<p>Since that time, I’ve seen couples of every race, nation and gender walk together through Harvard Square without attracting any stares. I’ve seen a group of girls that looked like a United Nations subcommittee erupting in laughter in the Dining Hall - they were black, white, Asian, and one was wearing a burka. I’ve seen a break-dance performance by the “Harvard Breakers” - a hip-hop group whose membership is primarily Asian. My daughter covered the annual Hindu religious feast for The Crimson and was welcomed with open arms and invited back to further events. She learned to covey dining at the Hillel House - we’re Presbyterians from a town that’s 35 miles from the nearest synagogue.</p>
<p>When I reflect on the most talented young people on the planet converging on the Old Yard and enthusiastically embracing the differences that make them as remarkable as they are - that’s when I get the lump in the throat.</p>
<p>gadad, thank you for your post… I found it very insightful and will share it with the rest of our family. This thread is extremely helpful and I am learning more every day!</p>
<p>Welcome to this board, whatever your D decides. I second everything Gadad says. My S has friends from all over the country and indeed the world.</p>
<p>For the more prosaic issue you raised: Unless your child is part of the Orientation programs such as Dorm Crew, the earliest she can move into her dorm is on moving in day. When she gets to campus, she needs to register. Then she can get her key and whatever packet of instruction is handed out. If she decides to matriculate, she will get her housing assignment some time in the summer. </p>
<p>There are events planned for both students and parents. Students are expected to attend some session in their respective dorm at around 5 or 6. this is the signal that non-students should leave the dorms. Some parents stay overnight and have lunch with their student the following day. Others just go home. There should be plenty of information over the summer.</p>
<p>I’m trying to plan to be in Mass on move in day, but my dtr will be starting high school on Sept. 4th. I’m wondering… Do most parents go home the evening of move in day or do most of them stay to have lunch with their kids the next day? I want to be available for my son, but I’m torn because my dtr is also a bit nervous about starting high school and probably wants me around to be with her as well .</p>
<p>It’s entirely a matter of personal choice. I have no idea what other people decides.<br>
If I were in your position, I would go home and be with your daughter. Your son will probably be busy making friends and getting acquainted with the lay of the land. But the transition to high school is a big one and your daughter may also feel bereft of her brother. I would not want her to feel that more of a fuss is being made of her brother. But that’s just my opinion.</p>
<p>Some wit from D’s convocation four years ago:</p>
<p>The Dean recounted that in Harvard’s first year there was only one professor, and he was eventually fired for beating the students. His wife held the position of what would now be called Director of Food Services. And the students back in that first class had a lot of complaints about the food, <em>some</em> of which have been addressed in the subsequent 370 years.</p>
<p>The Dean pointed out that (then) university president Larry Summers had served as US Secretary of the Treasury and thus there were millions of dollar bills out there in circulation with his signature on them - “…and Harvard wants them all back.” </p>
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<p>Yes, my daughter and one of her roommates were Kuumba singers, and they are both white. It was great.</p>
<p>gadad, I had the pleasure of taking a freshman seminar from Jeremy Knowles (called When Antibiotics Fail, it was about antibiotic resistance and methods of antibiotic action). He was charming, humble to a fault, and had an incredible presence around him. We kept in touch after the seminar ended and he was an amazing advisor and sounding board for me, even though my worries were probably amazingly trivial to him.</p>
<p>Just saying, if you’re talking about tugging at my hearstrings, I just teared up thinking about him. Rest in peace Dean Knowles.</p>
<p>guitars101, We stayed until the day after move-in, but found that many parents left right after they moved their kids in. </p>
<p>BTW, there will be a Freshman Parents Weekend sometime in late October, and I strongly recommend that parents consider going to this event. Of my DD’s 4 roomies, four sets of parents came to this event (one of her roomies had two sets of parents because of a divorce), and they were mostly from other latitudes, including California - the one set of parents that could not come was because they lived too far away - Asia. I have to tell you that I found the Parents Weekend to be well organized, with tours, receptions, presentations, and panels. I am glad that I went as it gave me time to judge how well DD was adapting to college life (very well). It really gave me peace of mind that she was doing well and I was able to buy things that she determined that she needed after being at H for close to two months. Additionally, the parents that I met, especially those of her roomies, were awesome - I found that I had many things in common with the mother of her bunkmate.</p>
<p>To the parent who asked about cell phones, we found that AT&T works very well in Cambridge, and you can use your AT&T Tri-band mobile phone in Europe by swapping the SIM card or getting an AT&T International Plan, which I do not recommend because of the expense.</p>
<p>justchecking, Congrats on your DD’s acceptance. </p>
<p>gadad, I want to echo and commend you for your post regarding the amazing diversity at H - it is, IMHO, a model for others to follow. Not only is H diverse, it is also inclusive. Many schools do well with the former, but not the latter.</p>
<p>Edit: I just checked and this year the Freshman Parents Weekend is on November 7 - 8.</p>
<p>H-bomber, I only heard Dean Knowles that one time, in a large crowd, but he was my introduction to the culture of Harvard. His presence and charm were absolutely mesmerizing. With his sense of restraint, proper British accent, and completely straight face, the wry wit just hit you like a load of bricks. He had me alternately misty-eyed, inspired, and then falling out of my seat laughing. When D2 got the acceptance e-mail from Harvard this month, it had a link to the accepted students video which ended with the image of Dean Knowles as it described the centuries of tradition. When it got to him, I thought “how perfect,” and choked up. A couple days later, I saw on the website that you’d lost him to cancer, and the tears came back yet again.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the advice on the move in day. </p>
<p>If I understand correctly, the Convocation is on Sunday afternoon, the day after the move in. It sounded like a really fun event. However, when will it end usually? My younger one has school the next morning. If we leave in the late afternoon, we won’t be back home by midnight. </p>
<p>Thanks MSMDAD for mentionning the freshman parent weekend. We will mark our calendar.</p>
<p>Actually there are TWO Parents Weekends - one in the fall of the freshman year and the other in the spring of the junior year. I recommend you go to both.</p>
<p>And at both weekends and move-in day or any other time the student a capella groups are singing, be sure to take in the performance. They are incredibly talented. Also go to any lecture by Peter Gomes if you get the chance.</p>
<p>Four years after I went to Freshman Parents Weekend I still remember one of the tours I attended - about a half dozen of us parents got a personal museum tour and lecture on Mimbres pottery ([NMNH</a> Anthropology : Mimbres Pottery](<a href=“Anthropology | Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History”>Anthropology | Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History)), which I had never heard of before that day, given by a Harvard Archaeology faculty member who has dedicated his career to researching this Indian tribe and their fabulous pots. He could not only trace the styles as they evolved over time, but he could even recognize the individual potters by their handiwork. </p>
<p>He was trying to understand the meaning of the pictures on the pots. Some meanings were clear and some were obscure. He was convinced that a few of the pictures told jokes. And so he has shown some of these around to members of various modern southwest Indian tribes - hoping that someone will laugh and explain the joke to him, and he will thereby identify the modern descendants of the Mimbres (which is not known). It was fascinating. Made me wonder how many other quiet yet fascinating professors there are toiling away in various corners of Harvard, just waiting to share stories of their wonderful research with anyone who will listen.</p>
<p>Thanks for the welcome and the good advice. Gadad MSMDAD, marite, h-bomber etc…I will check out Bank of America for my D when I take 11th grade S college shopping at the end of June (no rest for weary or stressed-one down 3 to go!!!). As for cell phones, my younger D almost had a heart attack when I suggested that my older D could just take her T-mobile phone and get a new Sim Card for Cambridge (younger D has been coveting older D’s phone and had been promised it when older D left!!!). I suppose in the interest of family harmony I will just have to get older D a new phone when we get there!!! Lots of good information from you all on moving in etc. I am glad I found the site, hopefully at some point I give back some advice and not just take! I am looking forward to checking in with all of you in the months to come.</p>
<p>Just checking… congratulations on your D’s acceptance, will be interested to hear what she decides.</p>