<p>Comparative analysis useful because they allow you to identify what’s unique about Harvard. Surely I can talk about how Harvard has great and accomplished professors, but that is something you could get at 20+ other schools, let alone within the Ivy League. Harvard has ambitious and motivated students from which you learn much outside the classroom, but that’s not at all unique to Harvard.</p>
<p>I’m a current sophomore at Harvard so I can help. If you have any specific questions that would be helpful.</p>
<p>Common misconceptions? </p>
<ol>
<li><p>That going here is some instant ticket to success. I’m sure some percentage of students are jobless for a period after graduation, especially in this economy. </p></li>
<li><p>That Harvard students are in some “culture of wealth” that makes it difficult for poor kids to fit in. Harvard students are certainly more wealthy as a whole than a random polling sample of America, because wealth unfortunately seems to correlate with academic achievement in America, but wealth is not a subject of discussion by any means. You can go your whole freshman year without finding out if your roommates were formerly homeless or the offspring of billionaires…well maybe in the latter case you’d notice.</p></li>
<li><p>That professors are unapproachable and aloof. Yes, this is not a LAC. There are big lecture classes. However, big lecture classes also have weekly sections of ~12 people in which you can get a more personalized experience. All professors are required to hold weekly office hours and I’ve never met a professor hostile to meeting even the lowliest of new freshmen. I went on a Harvard-sponsored trip to a foreign country in March which was led by a professor. There were only 3 students on the trip (the rest were recent grads) so we got to know the professor really well. As it turns out, he’s a huge name in his field.</p></li>
<li><p>That everyone here is a genius/extrovert/overly-ambitious/future billionaire/aloof nerd etc. The point is that there is no “Harvard student” archetype. I don’t think there’s any one characteristic that ties them all together. Even ambition. I’ve met some pretty big slackers here who seem to not make good use of the opportunities around them.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>This isn’t a misconception but it’s a reality I learned which wasn’t necessarily advertised well in the admissions process: Harvard doesn’t hold your hand. You can get away in 4 years doing all of your assignments, getting a degree, and having absolutely nowhere to go afterward because you spent the rest of your time playing video games, you never got to know your professors, you never joined an EC, you never networked with people, you never found something you’re interested in. That’s entirely possible and probably a poor way to utilize Harvard’s resources. No Harvard official is going to email you sophomore year and say “hey, wake up!”. It’s up to you to find out what’s out there.</p>
<p>You don’t have to do all of the above. In fact, a lot of people spend way too much time in their ECs for my tastes. Many a student will tell you that they spend more time doing ECs than doing work, which I think is a horrible idea because while ECs are important in developing your interests and networking, you can help yourself a lot more by pumping that time into your GPA. Most employers will take the high GPA / no ECs over the crap GPA / EC president. Don’t quote me on that.</p>
<p>Hope that helps. PM me if you have any specific questions.</p>