u/Ok-Setting4027

Hi everyone! Incoming freshman here and I've been playing casual outdoor pickups with my friends throughout HS and I'm looking to continue playing pickups/IMs when i get on campus. (even though i'm highkey 5'5 and ahh) I'm planning to get some new shoes since I've just been playing with sneakers right now, but i was wondering if the courts at Harvard had basketballs I could use while I play if I want to work on myself/train, or if i have to bring my own? i don't mind dropping the money for an Evolution/Evo NXT, but at the same time if Harvard's courts already have them I don't want to spend if I don't have to. In addition, what's the culture like regarding pickups? Are there a lot of people and is it inviting to people who might not be that good? Thank you all so much!

Ok so for context I'm an American HS senior and the application cycle (barring waitlists for some) just finished a month ago, but I wanted to take some time before I shared my thoughts. I'm really happy with my results and I'm super proud that writing about PJSK in my essays seemingly played a role in helping me get in.

For some context, I applied to most of the T20 colleges in the nation (Ivies, HYPSM, Vandy, Duke, etc. etc.) and some liberal arts colleges (WASP hold the P) I had great grades and test scores, but I felt my ECs were a little middling... being hospitalized in freshman year meant I couldn't really participate in as many clubs or whatnot as I would have liked. Thus, I really relied on my "authentic story" (kind of an ironic statement) and what made me unique, and one of those things was Project Sekai... so that was the topic of a lot of my supplemental essays.

I think it's important to note, of course, that I didn't just talk about PJSK, but I framed it in a way which highlighted certain qualities of why it's important and influential to me. Specifically, I talked about how I fell in love with classic literature because of the Samsa/Metamorphosis event while sitting in the hospital; wondering more about the event led me into an extensive rabbithole that saw me start reading Kafka and then slowly moving on to other eras and cultures such as Trollope and Yeats and Murakami and so many others! While I had originally intended to major in physics and I had reasons for doing so, PJSK made me realize I loved literature and give me the desire to also major in English (for context, majoring in two subjects is something US colleges let you do) and it was this somewhat weird, nerdy story that I wrote about in all of my "Why major?" essays for colleges! I doubt the people reading my application knew what this game was, but I did my best to convey its importance to me in the simplest terms, just writing the necessary details to get my point across.

Of course, with all colleges I applied to having below 10% acceptance rates and many having below 5%, I didn't get into everywhere I applied (not like I can attend more than one college, anyway!) but I did have some extremely successful results and I had the really tough choice of choosing from schools like Duke, Johns Hopkins (with a merit scholarship too??), Brown, and others, some of whom even noted my weird essays (they called them "out of the box") as part of what helped me stand out.

And finally, where I'll actually be attending this coming academic year is... >!Harvard!!< Sorry for the long post I just really thought I'd share this story since I just feel it's really interesting how this game that I've been playing separate from my academics for years has somehow helped me tremendously in my own life goals. If you have any questions about my situation in more detail (good luck, juniors!) I'd be happy to answer them in DMs or in comments!

basketballs at the basketball courts?

PJSK helped me get into colleges... holy freak