r/Harvard

don’t say pop up bagels, open to any other suggestions. i said around campus in the title but i’m actually willing to travel ~ an hour out provided public transit is accessible

Incoming residential Ed.M. (LDIT) student here, trying to figure out how Advising & Registration Week (after August foundations end) actually plays out in practice. My sister is getting married in New York that exact week and I need to be there. The official guidance says students are expected to be on campus August onwards, and I'm planning to email my program to ask too but I'd love to hear from people who've actually lived it.

A few things I'm trying to understand:

- Was the advising portion just one meeting with your advisor, or were there multiple required sessions across the week? Was it all in person?

- What parts of the week did you find genuinely valuable to be at in person vs. things that could've been a Zoom / an email?

- Did anyone you know participate in the advising week partially remotely, and how did that go over with the program?

- For the course registration piece, did being on campus actually matter, or could you have done it from anywhere?

Not trying to skip out on the experience, I'd be there in a heartbeat if it weren't for the wedding. Just trying to understand how much I'd actually be missing and what's worth pushing to make work virtually.

Any insight from current students or recent alumni really appreciated.

Hi All - Does anyone happen to have any experience (personal or anecdotal) with the CHR Cambridge apartments that they would be willing to share? I saw that CHR overall has terrible reviews, but the individual Cambridge buildings seem to have fine reviews? Any insight would be appreciated!

Pretty niche question, I know, but does anyone on here use Bilt to pay for their rent at an HUH property? I've been using it in NYC and would love to continue to use it in Cambridge, but I don't know if the HUH leasing office accepts it.

Hi everyone,

I'm an incoming international graduate student, and since I am currently outside the US, I have absolutely no access to local housing information or anyone to ask about the reality of these dorms. I'm facing a huge housing dilemma due to the conflicting timelines between the GSAS Residence Hall and the HUH Lottery.

Today (May 18), I received a room offer for a Small room in Child Hall. The deadline to accept/decline is this Thursday, May 21. (By the way, the housing office previously told me via email that I’d have "one week" to decide, but they only gave me 3 days in the official offer letter... is this normal?).

Here is my situation:

1. I prefer a more private and spacious option like a studio at 10 Akron Street (HUH), but my HUH Lottery selection date is way out on May 28.
2. Given that May 28 is very late, I know the chances of getting a studio at 10 Akron are close to zero.
3. However, I’m not sure if I can tolerate living in a Child Hall Small room for a year (sharing communal bathrooms, small space, etc.).

My questions for the Harvard community:

- If I accept the Child Hall offer by May 21 to secure a backup, can I cancel it later if a miracle happens during the HUH Lottery on May 28? What is the financial penalty for canceling a signed GSAS contract before moving in?

- Does anyone know if there is a waitlist or a second-round application for GSAS dorms later in June/July if I decide to decline this offer now and look for off-campus housing with a broker?

- Is a Child Hall Small room really as cramped as people say? (For context, I am a female student assigned to the 4th floor).

Any advice or insight from current/past residents would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much!

Has anyone lived in Alewife while going to grad school at Harvard? I'd love to hear your thoughts on it.

Hi - incoming freshman interested in majoring in applied math with a specialization in CS and Econ. I was looking at the requirements on the website and noticed that there is a A.B./S.M. Option where I can complete a bachelors and masters in 4 years. Does anyone know how doable this is? Is the masters something that I have to apply for separately, or no? I’m currently taking Honors Multivariable Calculus my senior year of HS and got a 5 on my AP CSA exam and have been coding for 5 years.

Any advice or feedback would be appreciated!! I definitely will discuss with Office of Academic Programs too. Would love to hear personal experiences from anyone who has done this or knows someone that does!

Hi All! I am an incoming grad student (HLS) intent on securing a lease in the immediate surrounding area with a start between mid-July and late August.

I am curious if others who have experience in this market have a perspective on when the 'critical mass' of apartments would be on the market? So for example, if I am ideally looking for an August lease, should I expect most apartments that will be available to already be listed, or to show up in June or even July? For those who are looking for similar timing, when are you going to be going heads-down on your search? If helpful context, I am in the market for a studio or one-bed. While some options in my price range are currently available, I am weighing whether I should snag something less-than-ideal or perhaps hold for a few weeks until June and see what else hits the market.

I would appreciate any insight! Apologies if there is some redundancy here; I did look for similar threads before posting.

I'm a long-time working professional about to return to school, so I understand I may be in a somewhat different situation from others except some HBS/HKS students...

I assume most undergrads don't bother with a Harvard Club membership, but are there any grad students who join the club? The initiation fee and monthly dues aren't cheap but still reasonable. I know you get a complimentary membership for a year upon graduation, but I'm debating if it's worth getting it early. The reciprocal admission to other clubs around the world seems appealing as someone who used to travel extensively. Any relevant insights would be greatly appreciated!

Hi, I am an incoming freshman and I need to buy a latpop for college.

I plan on doing both computer science stuff and mechanical/electrical design.

Right now I use a windows desktop 90% of the time and a macbook air for the other 10% (I cannot bring it to college)

Most of the advice I see on CS groups is to get a Mac, while engineering groups say windows, what should I do?

hi guys. what’s up. I’m an incoming student, and I currently plan on either doing electrical engineering or computer science, and I’m deciding between what introductory math or physics class to take.

for context, i took AP calc bc and self studied both AP physics C courses this year after taking physics 1 last year and physics 2 this year.

for math, im debating between the two since I’m not sure if proof writing would be a useful skill to have later down the line. I do prefer to focus on real world applications of math rather than just theoretical (which is one of the reasons why 25/55 is completely out of the question for me here), but I was thinking that proof writing might be a good skill to have later down the line and might help me better develop some math thinking skills…

for physics 16 I was just worried that ap50 / ps12/ p15 or whatever else there is would be kind of repetitive of what I already learned in high school through physics 1 and c. I’m interested in learning about relativity and I do think I have a good enough grasp on physics c concepts to be prepared.. however I hear that 16 takes a lot of time outside of class to do hw and p sets, and I’m definetly pretty bad with time management when it comes to hw already (general procrastination + assignments tale longer for me in general I feel like) so I’m mainly veering towards ap50 for that reason, but if anyone has anything to say to steer me back towards 16 let me know! I should also add that regardless of which one I take for mechanics I’m planning on taking ap50b for electricity and magnetism, since I do enjoy project based learning and there isn’t really a 16 equivalent for that class.

also . I’m not really sure if opting to not take the “harder” version of either of these classes would look worse for grad school applications?? (this is mostly a concern for physics since from what I’ve heard both math series are equally hard) I’m used to course rigor being a huge thing throughout high school for college applications, and I’m not sure if the same applies to grad school applications. the research I did made it seem like it still was a factor, but definitely a smaller one.

I would really appreciate it if anyone who took any of these classes could share their experience and help me make my decision… thank you guys for any advice you may have 😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁

Anyone know how to sign up for the Lampoon’s internal email list? Do they even have one?

Saw a couple of reddit threads asking about HUH accommodations so thought I’d try too — recently snagged a 1BR at 18 Banks St during the lottery. Anyone here have experience living there or been inside that can share what it’s like? I booked it purely on location, floor plans and vibes so fingers crossed!

Hi, my HUH lottery's next week, and I'm considering buildings like Soldiers Field Park and One Western Ave. I'm mindful that it's not accessible by subway since heavy snow's guaranteed in the winter, though. Would it be a problem to get to classes in Cambridge if I lived on the other side of the Charles River?