For Harvard, I was lucky enough to interview two amazing people, Austin and Payton!
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Austin
Austin is so relatable and so supportive and even offered to introduce me to other college students that would be interested in being interviewed! His responses definitely surprised me and changed the way I viewed what a student who goes to Harvard looks like. Definitely read his responses, it will inspire you! Thank you so much Austin!
What makes Harvard so special to you? Was it your first choice and your dream school?
"Lol Harvard was not my first choice and dream school actually. No one really applies to Harvard thinking they’ll get in, so I think I was very lucky and fortunate that a lot of things lined up for me. For me, what makes Harvard special is twofold: the people and the opportunities. When I was looking for schools to apply to, I wanted a school that was fiercely intellectual. And when I got here, I realized that you could probably find that anywhere. Classes would be the same material (by different professors), but it’s who you’re able to surround yourself with and the people you interact with on a daily basis that makes this place so special."
What is your major and why did you choose this major?
"I actually don’t know, since students don’t declare until sophomore year. I’m thinking about some combination of physics/math or physics/CS or math/CS as a concentration, and strongly considering East Asian studies as a secondary. Hopefully Harvard creates an ethnic studies department!!! I’ve done a lot of math in high school and thought physics was a really cool application of math to describe the physical world. I still like math lol so I couldn’t really decide. As for East Asian studies, I want to be involved in learning about the literature that came out of the history of Asian America; from migration patterns to domestic civil rights movements, to recent history. East Asian studies is as close to that as Harvard has to a major that focuses on these things."
What kind of classes would you highly recommend students to take in high school before going off to college?
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"I don’t really subscribe to the notion that people need or should take 12 APs or whatever to try to get into colleges. I think my work philosophy has always been like to take challenging courses that are interesting to you. And if that happens to only be humanities, do that, and invest other time into other opportunities that also interest you. If you’re intrinsically motivated to do something, you’ll probably do it better than stressing out over 2-3 more APs."
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"So find something you like and try to learn as much as you can about it. And then try to do cool things with it."
payton
Payton gives AMAZING college advices! I learned so much about Harvard from her and I guarantee you there's some cool stuff about Harvard that you probably never heard of! She is so sweet and a great person! Thank you so much Payton!
How would you describe the weather at Harvard? Does it frequently snow? What would advise students to bring when coming to Harvard?
"Since I'm from Texas, I definitely wasn't ready for the cold, but that can definitely be mitigated with a good coat and a space heater. The weather is usually warmest around move in (70s or 80s) and generally gets coldest in December. Winter break is fairly long and prevents us from being in the area during the coldest time of year, but there was snow on the ground pretty consistently towards the end of first semester. February and april were not too cold (30s and 40s) but I was told by friends from the area that this winter was unusually mild."
How would you describe the workload? Do students study at home during the weekends or go out and relax with their friends?
"I think it can definitely vary on what classes you decide to take. If you ask around you can get a pretty good sense of each class's courseload. Students take 4-5 courses each semester. Honestly, Harvard students are pretty busy, but more because they choose to be if that makes sense. Classes aren't outrageously time consuming compared to other universities, but Harvard students tend to take on a lot of extracurricular activities, extra responsibilities, jobs, internships, etc."
What’s your favorite class?
"Harvard has a freshman seminar program where you can apply to be in a seminar class with 11 other freshmen. The seminars are Pass/Fail and are more of a really cool opportunity to meet some of the great faculty and gain exposure to a new topic. Last semester I took one on the basics of quantum mechanics and it was taught by Melissa Franklin, who discovered the top quark! It was super interesting and I learned a lot in a really low stress environment and made some really close friends in the group!"
What makes Harvard so special to you? Was it your first choice and your dream school?
"It sounds cheesy because it's the answer that everyone gives, but definitely the people. I'm constantly surrounded by people so amazing, talented, and smart and yet so down to earth it blows my mind. I can sit down in the dining hall and just talk to someone next to me knowing that they'll almost always have something amazing to say. Everyone is so incredible to be around. I know Harvard gets portrayed as a really cutthroat and elitist place in media sometimes, but I definitely haven't found that to be true. Everyone is interning and interested in you too. There's really no way to describe it. There are conversations I've had at Harvard that I doubt I could have had anywhere else and student body really has the diversity of thought required to sustain dialogue like that."
What is one advice you would give to current juniors in high school when applying to Harvard? What is one thing you wished you did research on before going off the college?
"I would say that there's no formula to get into Harvard. They're looking for a student who will add to the conversation on campus with a new, interesting viewpoint. Great grades and test scores help and it's certainly hard to get in with being pretty outstanding academically, but ultimately you need to have a compelling story or interest outside of being smart or talented. They also need to see that you have the kind of personality they're looking for: someone who takes a lot of initiative and is generally likable and interesting to talk to as well and interested in others. Prove that you have the initiative, leadership skills, talent, purpose, and drive to make a difference in the world. It's not enough to show you have skill, you have to also show that you will make use of it. Overall, I wish I had done more research into what differentiates Harvard from other ivies and elite institutions. They already know why you want to go to Harvard, what they want to know is why you want to go to harvard more than Yale, Princeton, etc."