Dear Class of 2017,
Holy !@#$%^&* you’re at HARVARD.
Move-in is always a hassle, and those first few days are a whirlwind of new faces and places, and it’s all a bit overwhelming, buuuut that’s the general idea. Harvard. You did it. You are HERE!
Can you believe it?! No? That’s okay… I’m four years in and I still can’t wrap my head around it sometimes.
Harvard is a special place. If you let it, and if you love it (and I think you will), these will be the best four years of your life. Now, I’m not going to lie to you: it’s not all sunshine and roses here. For one, snow can’t really be considered a surprise if it arrives anytime between October and March. And it’s college — you’re going to deal with stress and commitments and hours of reading, lab work, and slaving over assignments. It’s also college — so throw in some heartbreak, a few rough hangovers, and rides on the roommate rollercoaster.
But you’ll also learn more than you ever expected. You’ll meet people who inspire you to be more passionate, to work harder, to be a better you, in the cheesiest and absolute best sense. You’ll make friends that will become your family. You will have that moment of sitting in the Yard, or by the Charles, or even in a classroom, and thinking that you are the luckiest person in the world just because you’re here.
Welcome to shopping week, AKA day one of your real life at Harvard. So what better way to relay all the wisdom of the Harvard experience than filling you in on the real gen ed requirements for your time here?
The General Education Curriculum Requirements for Incoming Harvard Freshmen
Aesthetic and Interpretive Understanding:
Take at least one class that makes you read good books by big writers and important thinkers. And/or one that introduces you to art, or music, or something you find beautiful. Remember why you loved learning to begin with, even if it gets increasingly difficult to remember that you do love it sometimes. Learn for learning’s sake (for the first time like, ever?). Learn how to fail (which will take way more time than you expect). Tell yourself that this semester you won’t give a damn about your GPA, and actually figure out how to mean it (first semester freshmen, this is a bit advanced, so you may be wise to just wait it out, but the sooner you start gearing yourself up for it, the better!).
*Q score of 5.0 for assignments and section; student comments hype up the personal enrichment value.
Culture and Belief:
Take some time to figure out the Harvard culture, and then decide how much you want to buy into it (it’s a personal call) and where you fit within it. Take some time to explore your own culture — your regional culture, your heritage, or whatever you associate yourself with. There are tons of ethnic and cultural organizations on campus and it’s worth checking out the ones that represent where you come from as well as the ones that represent nothing about where you come from. Celebrate every holiday you can, regardless of whether or not it has personal significance for you. And as far as beliefs go, challenge them by listening to those of others: spiritual or personal, firm or shaky. Be prepared to change your mind on things a million and one times. (Or like, a million and four.)
*Q score of 5.0 for materials and assignments; recommended with enthusiasm by 100% of students.
Empirical and Mathematical Reasoning:
There are fourteen concentration requirements, five secondary field requirements, and eight gen ed requirements, plus or minus ten formals a semester, (up to) seven blockmates, twelve upperclass houses, at least ten campus organizations more than you have room for in your schedule, at least two sports you wish you had time to play (or learn to play… or could be half decent at…), three things you have to do before you graduate, minus at least one umbrella per year (thanks, Cambridge wind), half your previous average hours of sleep per night, a teensy bit of your sanity during reading period, and a partridge in a pear tree. All in all, before your time at Harvard is through, your professors and peers alike will make sure that you can do at least a little basic math… whether you like it or not (here’s looking at you, humanities concentrators).
*Q score of 5.0 for hours of work per week, plus or minus a whole lot of hours… (hey, I never said I wasn’t one of those humanities concentrators).
Ethical and Moral Reasoning
Make good decisions. Make bad decisions. Accept that you’re only human and are going to make both good and bad decisions. Don’t judge yourself, don’t be ashamed of yourself, just learn as you go. Develop your own moral compass, and stand by it.
*Q score of 5.0 for difficulty and 5.0 for (mental) workload, but students stress that it’s completely worth the effort.
Science of Living Systems:
Remember that you are a living system. It is scarily easy to get trapped in an overcommitted schedule that will jeopardize the happiness of your mind and body. Do what you like, and don’t be afraid to say no or to quit things. Have as much “you” time as you need, and don’t ever be afraid to ask for help because it’s everywhere you look around here. Make it a priority to take care of yourself. And for the love of puppies, caffeine is not the same as sleep. Get some rest!
*Q score of 5.0 for course overall, though student comments indicate that 5.0 is not a recommended number of hours of sleep!
Science of the Physical Universe:
See the physical world around you, by which I mean don’t spend all your time in your room, or in the library, or even in the d-hall. Walk places, look around you. Go out with your friends at least once a weekend, and sometimes on school nights, too (gasp!). Also, it’s below an acceptable temperature a significant portion of the year here, so get physical. In the words of Elle Woods, “Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy.” Do IMs (yay new friends and dorm/house spirit!), take classes at the MAC, cram for your finals on the treadmill (alternatively, the stationary bike — way easier to balance study materials), walk around OUTSIDE in the fresh air. Good for your mood, good for your health, good for your life. And I don’t think you need me to explain the perks of other forms of physical activity that keep you warm in the cold Cambridge winters…
*Q score of 5.0 for personal feedback received from work in these courses.
Societies of the World:
Embrace them. See them. Go abroad while you’re here: study, work, do some sort of “purposeful travel” — go somewhere you’ve always wanted to go, or go somewhere you never expected to go. Learn the language that they speak wherever it is you end up. Talk to everyone you can and ask them about their lives… okay, you may feel a little creepy at first, but people are amazing and hearing their stories will be worth it. Get the travel bug (and let Harvard foot the bill). On a smaller scale, get out of the Harvard bubble every once and a while. Explore Cambridge and Boston and all they have to offer. And if you’re ever short on ideas for what to do when you get off the T, check out our weekly Events section featuring fun happenings off campus (not to brag or anything, but we usually feature pretty cool stuff).
*Q score of 5.0 for fun and excitement; recommended by 100% of students and regretted by 0%.
U.S. in the World
Read: “Us” in the world. College is way, way more than just classes. Dedicate the next four years to finding where you belong in the world. Try new things, try random things; when you’re asked if you want to try something, make your default answer “yes” rather than “no”. Bottom line: just do you, really, and make whatever it is you want out of the next four years, but make sure they’re the best four years ever, because that’s up to the professor of this course, YOU.
*And yes, you guessed it, that professor gets a 5.0 on all the Q evaluations. Every single semester, and every single year.
Happy shopping, collegiettes, and remember to start knocking away at those requirements early on… ;)
HCXO,
Some wise, worldly, wordy senior