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Harvard University
Rating Details »
Category: Colleges & Universities [Edit]
Neighborhood: Harvard Square1350 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
(617) 495-3434
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Harvard (Red)
32 reviews for Harvard University
This was one of my favorite days spent in Boston, but I'm really giving 5 stars for the Havahd Yahd tours run by the students. The tour is free and meets right by the red line in Harvard Square. The tour is run by two students who tag team the tour and tell you all sorts of funny stories about the rivalry between Cambridge and Harvard, the cannonballs used to keep students warm, and the three lies of the John Harvard statue, and of course the mythological "primal scream".
This is a great way to see the campus and hear some great stories. Here's the website: http://www.harvardtour.../
This would be my dream school. And I will never get in. :[
199 reviews... really, I should have reviewed Harvard a while ago, but decided that I should wait for #200! Being at Harvard was, after all, the best time of my life and I feel like it had to have a monumental review number associated with it =)
Now before anyone starts to think I'm smart, I wasn't technically a Harvard student. Sure I had the student ID and all, but it was just for a summer. The summer after junior year of high school I was lucky enough to come here and take summer classes. I stayed in the dorms, ate genuine, authentic Harvard food and went to real classes. Again, this isn't necessarily a sign of my intelligence... I'm pretty sure anyone who took the PSAT's and wasn't failing high school classes was admitted but nonetheless as a young kid who had never gone anywhere by himself, it was a pretty big step to take.
I lived in a suite that summer and had two awesome roommies. I liked that we all had our own bedrooms so we all had our own space, but we shared a common area and a bathroom. Pretty sweet. Oh, and what colleges have fireplaces in dorm rooms? Really? Crazy. Sweet. Dorm life was awesome and I grew really close to most of the people close by.
I took "Wit and Humor" which was an English class and then Intro to Psych. I probably should have tried harder, but I was too busy having fun. The summer program offered all sorts of trips around the East Coast and of course, I had to tour every school in existence. My grades were okay, but I know I could have done better. Oh well, it was well, well worth the experience.
Just something about being on campus makes you feel smart. You're surrounded by intelligent people, gorgeous buildings and architecture, meticulously cared for landscaping and in the heart of Cambridge and just across the bridge from Boston. There's so much history and it really is such a gorgeous campus.
If the program is still around (if and) when I have kids I'll totally send them here for a summer. It was an amazing experience to be on my own, get a taste of college, spend a summer making amazing friends and growing into a much more confident person. I think I was much better prepared for real college after a summer here. Hopefully my kids will get into real, legit Haaaahhhhhvvvvahhhd and be able to go to undergrad (I just had to settle on getting wait listed... hey, at least it wasn't a flat out rejection). There's always grad school for me!
As a current college student in CA, I really wanted to check out Harvard's campus. I thought it would be overrated and I was right. I was surprised to see how plain it was. The campus was clean but it looked like a park with big buildings around it. The tour of the campus was an hour long but really boring although our tour guide was very informative. She told us about all the traditions and she used a lot of comparisons to Harry Potter. What really blew me away was the Law School Library. That is interior design at its finest. Being a future law school student, I was really geeked out about it. Plus, Obama must have spent a good amount of hours in there. I felt his otherworldly presence. That was three stars worth.
It's perhaps best to stay away from facile stereotypes. Indeed, MIT students tend to have more focus on the science, math and technology subjects, but that's why students interested in this apply. It doesn't make them more or less intelligent than Harvardites, as we all have our strengths and weakness given various types of intelligence.
Are there those who capitalise upon connections? Indeed, this can happen anywhere round the world - but legacy isn't nearly what it used to be.
Now, to get to Harvard...it is a beautiful campus, and has certainly improved from decades past when parts of Cambridge were downright bone-chilling. The Square and Yard embrace students and visitors alike, and there is always a feeling of being a part of important history when entering a classroom or building. The students are generally laid back, although it isn't unusual to find those who affect certain airs. And the COOP is, well...the COOP. A variety of good but expensive books, souvenirs, clothing, and trinkets for those who simply cannot believe they are finally at Hahvuhd. Or for some, Hahvahd.
And then there are the Three Lies....ask a student.
This is a place where the biggest effort is getting in the door. Once you're there, all the rest is icing. Why not relax and revel in that a bit I say? Pulling all nighters and going without a shower for days may be a rite of passage or sign of superior life for some, but once the umbilical cord from school has been cut, employers and clients in the real world will only care about what you've done for them lately.
Not to worry; the reality check is definitely in the mail.
You suck Harvard. And no I am not jealous of you b/c I "didn't get in". I have met the most spoiled brats, and social inept people at the same time. You guys just don't know how to have some fun. College should be the best of your times, yet you just don't know how to use it wisely. Even MIT fares better than you.
Ah, there are two ways to get in Harvard:
1.Be a good test taker, and have a great story to tell. (some dramatic my mom died, I went to Peru to build houses to the homeless, I am a recent immigrant from North Korea).
2. Or be a good tester and have money and connections, go to the best schools money can buy, have private tutors, be raised with the silver spoon, and of course be socially inept, as you are used to things being fed to you, and not earn em.
Here is my real beef with Harvard kids er... spoiled brats, (undergrads). Just because they went at Havard for undergrad, and continued to go there for grad school, and they meet somebody that didn't; they instantly feel Superior.
umm, You paid 40k/year for school, I paid zero. Full academic scholarship biatch. You are paying your loans while being some corporate b!tch, I am creating a startup, and actually doing something better for everybody.
Even thou I did a program in here in Finance and Management, I still think Yale is much better.
Ps. Your grades are curved up ridiculously.
I was admitted to a Ph.D. program at Harvard with a generous financial offer, but after careful consideration, and visiting the campus, I realized that there was no decision: I simply did not want to attend this school. I was looking at a cross-disciplinary program that would have involved me working with multiple departments, so in the course of my search I examined a number of departments, mostly in the sciences. Everything I found reinforced the same perspective.
People always make strong statements about Harvard one way or another, and there are a lot of things that I cannot verify about the school because my experiences with it have been limited to secondhand stories from friends and relatives who attended, and my own experience in the search for grad schools.
However, I can't help but feel that Harvard is riding more on its image and prestige than it is on quality. I guess my expectations were pretty high: after all, Harvard is widely considered the most prestigious university in the world. One would think that the best minds in the world could be found at such an institution. However, I was let down: the students here seemed only of average intelligence. What set the students apart was that, even among the graduate population, they were hard workers who had had strong preparation, guidance, and support throughout the years--they were not geniuses nor were they particularly creative or interesting. They seemed, more than anything else, lucky.
The professors seemed intelligent and driven, but they seemed driven by a desire for status, to advance their careers by doing research in whatever was considered most important by other high-status and high-profile academics. I think this is directly related to the unusual tenure system in place at Harvard, in which Associate Professors are not granted tenure, and tenure is only obtained upon full professor status. The professors here seem to chase prestige, directing their research towards whatever is considered most prestigious in academia. I imagine that professors not fitting into this culture would have a hard time getting tenure here.
I have always believed that the most fruitful directions for research involve going against the grain, pursuing less popular topics and ideas outside the mainstream, subjects that have escaped the attention of the most high-profile researchers. A school like Harvard has so much money that they could easily free themselves from the binds of chasing fame and prestige, allowing their professors and students to freely pursue whatever their mind and their gut pointed at being the most fruitful direction of research. Instead, they do the exact opposite, chasing more prestige; it is a twisted and misguided sort of academic greed.
So long as Harvard continues in this tradition, it will always be the most prestigious university in the world. But "most prestigious" does not mean "best". Unless Harvard fundamentally changes its mentality and works to instill a more intrinsic sense of motivation in its students and faculty, it will never become the best university in the world, nor will it ever be close.
Its only fitting that my 300th review, and last review in Boston, is for the place where I have spent the better part of the past 3+ years.
I write this review from the perspective of an employee and as well as a student. As an employer Harvard is the best, plain and simple. There is a reason why it's harder to get a job at the Uni than it is to be admitted. The benefits are incredible, the work environment is great and the possibilities are endless. Harvard paid for my Master's degree and for that I am eternally thankful. I worked in a small graduate school and my co-workers were not only amazing professionals dedicated to their work and our students, but were also amazing people that became my friends. I feel blessed to be able to have worked with them, knowing that our work was making a difference. Enabling others to further their education is one of the greatest feelings I have ever known.
"My" students were nothing short of amazing. While some may think that Harvard is full of stuffy, wealthy, smart kids, the reality is that that stereotype is outdated and asinine. The students I worked with came from all walks of life, all sorts of backgrounds, and had a variety of aspirations. The one common thing that they shared was a dedication to public service. They were not interested in the name of Harvard or the money they would make upon graduation. They were there to make a difference in the world. (And I know they will.)
The thing about the Harvard experience is that it is what you make it. You have every possible resource at your fingertips and it takes motivation on your part to make it happen. While faculty can at times be distant, if you put in the effort they will put in the effort right back. The truth is that the faculty want to help you succeed but they are not going to hand you anything. You must work for it. I have had dinner with faculty members, consulted with them on career paths and educational trajectory, as well as gotten to know them as real people who are passionate about their work.
Harvard is an amazing place that will open doors for you, no matter what your role at the Uni is. You just have to be willing to put in the work to make those doors open.
If you're a tourist, Harvard is exactly what you'd think it'd look like. Ivy covered brick buildings, preppy dressed students walking about, romantic trees and grass.
If you're a prospective student:
As an alum from MIT undergrad and current Harvard grad student, I'm still a little biased to my alma mater. I think that if you go to either undergrad you're going to be set for life. But, the difference is that at MIT, they'll make you sweat blood and tears for that while at Harvard, it's all about connections. They would actually make fun of how easy Harvard is in classes at MIT (physics, immunology, etc.) by showing their finals in class. MIT definitely has the better education. Still, if you'd rather end up socially normal, Harvard is the better choice. ;)
Walking around looking like tourists.... we always look like that. We never look like we fit in.... except in California. My husband brought me here to walk around and possibly gain some intelligence for his small minded wife. Just kidding! GOSH! But deep inside, I think he was hoping that maybe, just maybe the magic of intelligence via osmosis would somehow find my brain and I would openly discuss something more profound than shopping or eating.
We poked our heads into a couple of buildings and chit chatted it up with some students. It was a nice stroll. All in all, a very nice visit.
Still talking about shoes and food though.
I visited this campus thinking I was gonna see the world's premier facility in 21st century technology complete with robot janitors, digital screens, student GPS systems, and more. What I saw was a handful of buildings crowding around a crooked rectangular grass field. This place has got LOTS of CHARACTER AND CHARM! And by that, I mean it's old as shit and hasn't been re-modeled within the past century.
You would think that a school that charges $40k/year tuition would at least have something to spend the money on. There's also many students who get in just because their parents made huge contributions to the school. Don't tell me putting name plaques on the ground cost $5 million! C'mon now! Seriously, put a petting zoo in here. Or how about HARVARD UNIVERSITY THEME PARK! Or how about a giant arcade, or an underground aquarium? Or HOW ABOUT evening out the grass field? Something! Anything!
I find it cute that there's a story behind every brick, wall, hallway, and fountain but this ain't a museum! I want to see quality education dollars being spent intelligently! Anyway, I'm taking off one star because the campus just wasn't that amazing. Seriously. If somebody told me this was Boston county jail, I would have believed you.
Harvard yard for tourists? Why not?
Harvard yard for students? Why?
I'm never one of the people at a gathering who says, "oh my god, I had so much fun as an undergrad!" because I really didn't. The people just weren't that fun. Sorry mom.
But hey, I've got killer connections. And that plus $3.50 will get me a really tiny latte.
With the recent $100,000,000 endowment given to Harvard- I really wish they would expand the Extension School- I have taken a good dozen classes at Harvard via the Extension school, but wish they would expand their archaeology and history class selection..
Harvard, without doubt I give 12 thumbs up- The right wing squares hate Harvard and all it stands for , and it is amusing to hear them spew their bile on the right wing radio shows about 'liberal Harvard eggheads'.
If you are new to Boston, sign up for a class at Harvard extension- it's open enrollement, and classes can be taken for non credit, undergrad credit, or graduate credit....
You can procure undergrad and grad degrees via Harvard Extension school- its IS part of Harvard, but doesnt have the same range of classes you'll find in the day program. But rest assured, the classes are just as challenging as the courses offered in the day program.
I'm not rating it five stars because I attended and graduated from there--starving my way through on a less than full scholarship, no money from my parents, and a more than full amount of determination. The only factors that make a university great are its resources (yes, money included) and the general level of the students you'll be in class with.
As far as money goes, if you get in and need money to stay, somehow the money will magically appear. I was literally offered a scholarship without knowing or asking about it--someone from financial aid saw me in the hallway, stopped me and said, "Hey John, with your grades you qualify for this scholarship--would you like a scholarship?" One "Yes, please" and this saint simply instructed me to sign the paper, and she took care of filling out the application and all on my behalf. You don't get that kind of attention from Financial Aid at another college.
Harvard is so resource rich, so 'user-friendly,' and such an increadibly pleasant place to attend, I believe you could stick any fairly intelligent, diligent person in this place who was wise enough to use those resources and willing to work, and that person would come out on graduation day, knowing everything and 'born yesterday' same as the rest of us--condemned to admiration and hatred by the rest of the world from then on.
Does Harvard 'suck' because all but a truly select few can be admitted and graduate by the traditional route--yes and no.
Yes, it sucks that most every college, down to community colleges, don't give their students the kind of exposure you can get here. There are far more students who deserve by merit to go to a school like Harvard than there are opportunities for them to attend. And if they did, Harvard would be a better place as well, because the shock of 'life on the outside' after graduation would be far lessened.
On the other hand, if you're up to showing you can do Honors level work, you could always get in Harvard through the Extension School. I certainly had friends and classmates who were admitted to the Harvard College degree program by 'showing their stuff' in the Extension School and then applying.
Resources and pleasantries aside however, there are great professors at every college, who can teach equally well, but your fellow students wont be up to learning all they can. At Harvard, you don't have to be the one person in the room who is waiting for others to get the remedial aspects spoon fed to them by the professor which they should have picked up on their own (by studying), and there are no mid-class arguments about some minor point that is destined never to be mutually agreed upon. Put plainly, if you're smart, you will be more at home and effective in the company of other smart people if you attend--on top of the fact that the college is simply wonderful.
Add that the number of students per class is typically small by comparison to most other colleges; you will know your professors personally, most likely; you will make friends who think like you rather than merely dressing like you and being on the same socio-economic level, and actually enjoy working harder than you ever worked in a facinating and pleasant academic atmosphere.
Trust me: we don't go walking around campus with our noses in the air worrying about who is better than who, and having arguments over trivial facts. Harvard is a place to learn from and with everybody.
The largest collection of smarty pants in a one-mile radius of Cambridge (it ends when it comes up against MIT's hard core tech posse). It is an old and beautiful beast but I have seen its ugly underbelly (slave labor of grad students) and touched its cold heart (changes Nobel prize winners like gloves). We are now in a strange symbiosis where I absorb its brains while it slowly digests my grand ideas, leaving a faint trace of a dissertation far far behind...
Here, we move private commerce, public idealism, avant garde science, even avant garder arts, and large legal bills. Can MIT do that? Can it?!? I didn't think so.
Benefits are good for employees, resources are great, students are varied as they are at every university, etc etc, but this review is just for the bathroom at the Science Center. It's great and convenient and open to the public all the time. Go in the building and down the stairs and there you go.
Yep Harvard, that's right. When it comes down to it, I'm just using you for your public restroom.
Nerds!
Seriously, though, nerds. For a school full of people so springloaded to get in, you'd think there'd be a fun explosion once they do. Not the case.
HOWEVER
The school itself is really great. The main yahd is great looking during all seasons, there's a bunch of cool history, Harvard has all kinds of neat buildings and perks, and great fucking location to be living at.
N.B. The statue of John Harvard (even though it's not actually him) has a very shiny shoe. It is shiny because people think that it's good luck to rub the shoe, and will help them get in. What they don't know is that students occasionally urinate on that very shoe at night. Hilarious.
N.B.2 I didn't go to Harvard, nor have I wanted to. It is what it is.
I love this place. Best years of my life. Met the greatest most amazing people here. I'll be honest - about 15% of the undergrad population are PURE NERDS. I talking about asexual people with absolutely NO social skills and know everything about everything. Scary, but fascinating creatures. The remaining 85% (me included, lol...) are so freakin' cool and make for a wonderful undergrad experience. If you have the opportunity to go here, DO IT. You'll never regret it socially, financially, academically, personally, whatever! Loved it.
A beautiful campus at a great location in Cambridge. Might be better if located in California.
A milestone...my 100th review. I was agonizing over what I should Yelp and thought of the WGU, World's Greatest University. I haven't polled every University in the world, but I have seen a lot of schools and Harvard is right up there. It is Ivy League baby, and has wonderful professors, staff and atmosphere. If you are smart enough to get in here, I'd choose Harvard over any other University.
Harvard has the largest endowment of any university in the country. And we all know, when you're well endowed, everyone wants to be your friend. So if you are looking for success, go to Harvard. If you are looking for a nice campus to take a stroll through, why not try the oldest one in the country. But if you don't like a school who's teniored faculty is still an old men's club, then this might not be the place for you.
I felt smarter just walking around campus here. We came in the fall so the leaves were turning those cool autumn colors.. nice photo opps everywhere. One hour limit streetside parking sucked though.
I've lived fifteen minutes away from Harvard University all of my life. I've been to some lectures. I've talked with a whole bunch of students and my own father graduated from their graduate school. It is safe to say, Harvard University is more hype than intelligence.
Sure, the campus is beautiful and cambridge is the greatest city in the world. But the lectures i went to lacked uniqueness. Sitting in Harvard yard and chatting with many of the students, i'm kind of disappointed. Lets just say, a lot of them didn't quite live up to the Harvard average SAT score. Although, to their credit, I have talked to some very intelligent and interesting students in that very yard... they went to Mass Art.
It's kinda pretty, if you're into red bricks.
i'd like to give 4.5 stars... but i guess i'll settle with 4.
everyone here seems much happier, nicer, and the students are way more stylish than at mit. the teaching is a lot more straight forward and easier to understand and the campus is gorgeous (i love brick).
the reason for minus one star is the overall strong lack of economic diversity here. still a lot of rich kids sprinkled among the nerds...
An ok place to walk around. Sadly I wasn't wowed even though pictures I've been shown from here look great. Maybe my pictures will end up tricking someone else into stopping by.
Disappointing. As a campus, this isn't a patch on the Oxbridge pair, or any number of other campuses I've seen. The buildings are austere and there appears to be next to no art on the campus - I assume this is a throwback to its Puritan past.
Frankly the place scares me and I'm starting graduate school at the Harvard Graduate School of Design in the fall. The museums are definitely worth a visit especially since they are free on Sundays for the public.
Yes, we are the best, don't be mad because you didn't get in....Especially if you went to Yale.
So, I must divulge that I actually go here before I start. I'll be graduating in a year and see Harvard as a place that has brought me so, so far in the past 3 years. And I don't only mean intellectually. I'm here on a full need-based scholarship (yep, all $45K! thanks Larry Summers!), so I feel that I have at least some credibility when I say that most (more than half) of the people here are not the snobby prep-schooled brats that some people seem to encounter. Granted, there are some of them here, in fact I talked to one on a plane once and I saw the look on her face when I lied and said I go to Tufts. Seriously though, the average financial aid package is more than $20K. Sure, they could give out merit-based awards, but there isn't much difference in "wow-factor" between two Harvard students, assuming one isn't a recruited athlete and legacy, while the other is the academic prodigy. The average Harvard student is perhaps a little ho hum, but as a group, you can't beat them. There are certain concentrations that lack uniqueness (the Econ department is largely homogeneous), but when you get into the smaller fields and some of the sciences, there is a lot of cutting-edge research and theory being produced by students and professors alike. Harvard is most definitely a research institution in addition to a school, which does mean that you will get the occasional bad professor who is here only to do research, and s/he most likely has tenure. To be honest though, coming from an outsider's position to an insider's, Harvard shouldn't be all that scary. Yes, many of the courses are quite difficult and yes, many of the students have no idea what it means to want something and not have it handed to them, but when you think about what Harvard has been doing as an institution, especially with their legacy as both a research institution and a hub of learning and the more recent beefing up of their financial aid programs, Harvard has definitely lived up to my expectations. Oh, and the campus is nice too. A little boring at times, but a lot of that has been changed since I was a freshman. Cambridge is great too! The people are a little uppity, but you get used to it. :-D
The antichrist in Boston... ugh. They buy up all of the city to erect the ugliest building you've ever seen ("optical illusion" my ass) while providing NO services back to the community (where exactly is that "public internet terminal" they claim to have?). The university as a whole is rude, obnoxious, snobby, and evil. The second that they actually do something worthwhile or contribute to the city in any way, I will happily change my mind about them. But I have a feeling that's not going to be necessary.
When I was in college I used to attend conferences for activism and academics at Harvard several times a year. I was always jealous of the resources available to students as well as the beautiful campus. When I moved here after grad school I took a course in the extension school and really loved it--the professor was amazing. That being said though, I do have to agree with some of the other reviewers, that a sizable chunk of the student body give creedence to the "hype" gripes that people have about Harvard. Sure, you can expect just about any campus to have their share of valley girls and materialists, but when I step into a Harvard classroom, I certainly don't expect to have to waste my time arguing with a group of kids who pepper every sentence with "like," and just regurgitate whatever they've heard from other professors or on NPR. Come on, if you're going to work hard enough to get in here (even if that hard work comes in the form of taking princeton review five times and soliciting rec letters), at least take advantage of what you're handed once here.
