http://www.collegeview.com/lounge/blogs.jsp?blogid=10004 First-hand account of college life from a Harvard freshman. en-us http://www.collegeview.com/_img/logo-main.gif http://www.collegeview.com/lounge/blogs.jsp?blogid=10004&message=2009_06_18 I'm finally here! I made it safely from Cincinnati to DC to London to Rome to Pisa to Monsummano Terme, the little Tuscan town w're staying in... http://www.collegeview.com/lounge/blogs.jsp?blogid=10004&message=2009_06_11 So here I am, just as sick as I was last week, but now there's only a week to go before I'm supposed to leave for Italy!... http://www.collegeview.com/lounge/blogs.jsp?blogid=10004&message=2009_06_04 Before I'd had even a day to celebrate the end of the school year, I crashed. Big time. I had felt a little yucky during Reading Period and finals, but I willed myself with everything I had not to get sick... http://www.collegeview.com/lounge/blogs.jsp?blogid=10004&message=2009_05_12 This week, to celebrate the end of our second Reading Period and the beginning of finals, we decided to take another trip to New York City! This time, though, we went in style... http://www.collegeview.com/lounge/blogs.jsp?blogid=10004&message=2009_05_05 I know a lot of people talk about college going by fast, and maybe sometime after all this is over, I'll look back and feel like it did, but as of right now, I feel like I've been a freshman for 20 years. I'm ready to move on... http://www.collegeview.com/lounge/blogs.jsp?blogid=10004&message=2009_04_28 So you've been waiting since December for the big "Yes!" or (God forbid) "No!" from your number one university, and instead what you got was a resounding "Maybe!" Well, don't fret: here are the dos and don'ts of winning over your first choice... http://www.collegeview.com/lounge/blogs.jsp?blogid=10004&message=2009_04_14 So you've been waiting since December for the big "Yes!" or (God forbid) "No!" from your number one university, and instead what you got was a resounding "Maybe!" Well, don't fret: here are the dos and don'ts of winning over your first choice... http://www.collegeview.com/lounge/blogs.jsp?blogid=10004&message=2009_04_07 Adams!...It was the one word we hadn't dared to utter over the past two weeks during our incessant debates about which Houses we loved and hated and which would be the best or worst for our blocking group. It wasn't that we had forgotten about Adams for even a second - we just didn't want to jinx it... http://www.collegeview.com/lounge/blogs.jsp?blogid=10004&message=2009_03_31 Housing Day has finally arrived. It's one of the most sacred rites of passage for Harvard freshmen, and today, after being tantalized all year by the upperclassmen's tales, I finally found out why... http://www.collegeview.com/lounge/blogs.jsp?blogid=10004&message=2009_03_24 Last week, I decided to take advantage of the fact that I have so many friends who go to school in the South to bring you the inside scoop on college life below the Mason-Dixon Line. Plus two of them were visiting me, so I had an easy time cornering them and forcing them to answer questions... http://www.collegeview.com/lounge/blogs.jsp?blogid=10004&message=2009_03_20 I feel like I'm standing on the edge of a cliff. I've spent the whole weekend studying, but now it's Sunday night and I'm staring straight down into the abyss of midterm week... http://www.collegeview.com/lounge/blogs.jsp?blogid=10004&message=2009_03_02 Classes are becoming much more manageable, especially since I switched up my strategy for handling the reading load. At the start of this semester, I basically tried to manage the ridiculous amount of reading required for my classes by blocking out big chunks of romantic alone time between my textbooks and me... http://www.collegeview.com/lounge/blogs.jsp?blogid=10004&message=2009_02_23 Don't be immediately turned off if you visit a college and find that the dining hall's cuisine is a little sub-par. There are always plenty of other options out there in any well-equipped college town... http://www.collegeview.com/lounge/blogs.jsp?blogid=10004&message=2009_02_17 I've survived yet another five-class week. Now I'm sitting here trying to think of a good way to sum up this week, or even some notable event that I could tell you about, but I'm at a complete loss... http://www.collegeview.com/lounge/blogs.jsp?blogid=10004&message=2009_02_10 I'm not going to lie to you: my first week with five classes was brutal. Besides my new classes being difficult on their own, auditions for the Freshman Musical were this week, so I had to sit behind a table and take notes on the acting and singing abilities of a constant parade of prospective cast members for four hours every night... http://www.collegeview.com/lounge/blogs.jsp?blogid=10004&message=2009_01_27 Well, it wasn't much warmer in North Carolina, but it was definitely much more relaxed. I had an amazing time visiting my friends, but all good things come to an end, and now I'm back at Harvard... http://www.collegeview.com/lounge/blogs.jsp?blogid=10004&message=2009_01_20 Just four days into finals period, I'm already starting to feel claustrophobic – and I don't even have any exams to worry myself about. In a word, finals season at Harvard is oppressive. Depression, anxiety, and even dead panic have ravaged the campus... http://www.collegeview.com/lounge/blogs.jsp?blogid=10004&message=2009_01_13 Phew. I made it. Seven days, four papers, two presentations, three cases of Sugar-free Red Bull, and one opening night later, I'm miraculously still alive... http://www.collegeview.com/lounge/blogs.jsp?blogid=10004&message=2009_01_05 I just got back to Harvard this morning. The Yard is breathtaking in the snow. It's almost enough to make you forget about the unbelievable amount of work in store for this week... http://www.collegeview.com/lounge/blogs.jsp?blogid=10004&message=2008_12_29 Here I sit, more than half way through winter break. Remember all those final papers I told you about last week? Well, I've actually only written half of one of them... http://www.collegeview.com/lounge/blogs.jsp?blogid=10004&message=2008_12_24 Well, I'm on my way back home to Cincinnati. I am definitely ready for some time off, although my school's academic calendar might make winter break a little less relaxing than it could be... http://www.collegeview.com/lounge/blogs.jsp?blogid=10004&message=2008_12_23 I have so much news for you this week. I'll give you the bad news first... http://www.collegeview.com/lounge/blogs.jsp?blogid=10004&message=2008_12_15 Every time I finish an essay or take a chunk out of the completely insurmountable amount of reading I have to do, it's time to go to class and get more work. And next week only looks worse!... http://www.collegeview.com/lounge/blogs.jsp?blogid=10004&message=2008_12_04 I invited my friend Mark to come spend Thanksgiving Break with my family in Cincinnati. Mark is British, so he's never celebrated Thanksgiving before. Also, Boston is the only place he's been in the United States. In fact, it's the only place he's been outside of Europe... http://www.collegeview.com/lounge/blogs.jsp?blogid=10004&message=2008_11_26 The weekend of The Game was absolutely amazing. Seriously. I had more fun this weekend than any other of the year so far. Plus, I got to catch up with all my Yale friends. Besides that, we won. So that was nice, too... http://www.collegeview.com/lounge/blogs.jsp?blogid=10004&message=2008_11_19 Next week is one of the most exciting of the year for Harvard students. Ask anyone why and he or she will only have two words of response: "The Game"... http://www.collegeview.com/lounge/blogs.jsp?blogid=10004&message=2008_11_10 With a campus full of students who were completely certain that McCain didn't stand a chance, I had thought that an Obama victory would be met with self-assured satisfaction and maybe a little bit of ecstatic celebration on the part of the most dedicated Dems... http://www.collegeview.com/lounge/blogs.jsp?blogid=10004&message=2008_11_03 With the show finally over and an unexpectedly eventful week behind me, there's no other word that can describe my current state except spent. 'Songs for a New World' closed last night and I'm really happy with how my first show at Harvard turned out... http://www.collegeview.com/lounge/blogs.jsp?blogid=10004&message=2008_10_28 It seems like the majority of other students I've talked to prefer to get work done gradually -- a little bit every day. Over the past few weeks, I've found that I definitely do not work well like this... http://www.collegeview.com/lounge/blogs.jsp?blogid=10004&message=2008_10_20 Considering the fact that rehearsals for the past week have been ending at midnight and I haven't been starting my work until about one, this is actually pretty early. Still, I've been studying for the past three hours and I thought I'd take a break by making a post... http://www.collegeview.com/lounge/blogs.jsp?blogid=10004&message=2008_10_13 I got to thinking, "How do relationships between high schoolers and college students work?" Then, I remembered that my wonderful roommate Arthur (see the post "Meet the Roomies") decided to stay together with his girlfriend, who's a senior in high school... http://www.collegeview.com/lounge/blogs.jsp?blogid=10004&message=2008_10_06 I can now introduce myself, sign the alphabet, count to one hundred, and describe the colors of objects in American Sign Language. Try not to be jealous... http://www.collegeview.com/lounge/blogs.jsp?blogid=10004&message=2008_09_29 My schedule's really packed this semester with exciting new extracurriculars, so I'm glad my classes aren't very difficult. Next semester, though, I'm planning on taking my required math and science classes, so I'll definitely have to cut down then... http://www.collegeview.com/lounge/blogs.jsp?blogid=10004&message=2008_09_22 During the summer I told myself and you and everyone else that I was tired of theatre, and that I was going to make sure that, in college, I would dedicate myself to pursuing all those things I never got a chance to do in high school... http://www.collegeview.com/lounge/blogs.jsp?blogid=10004&message=2008_09_15 I'm still having the time of my life. One of the definite highlights of this week has been getting to know my roommates. They're super laid back and really interesting, which is extremely lucky considering the roommate horror stories I've heard... http://www.collegeview.com/lounge/blogs.jsp?blogid=10004&message=2008_09_03 This week was the best week of my life. Hands down. I met amazing people, did things I never thought I would, and became comfortable at an impossibly intimidating university. I was in an arts orientation program called FAP (Freshman Arts Program)... http://www.collegeview.com/lounge/blogs.jsp?blogid=10004&message=2008_08_28 What do online placement tests, daily trips to Target, incessant parental nagging, and oversized cardboard boxes all have in common? They're all things I've had to deal with during this unbelievably stressful last week of summer... http://www.collegeview.com/lounge/blogs.jsp?blogid=10004&message=2008_08_20 Throughout high school, I constantly found myself the youngest member of my group of friends. For some reason, upperclassmen were always drawn to me and I to them. This was both a blessing and a curse. When I was a freshman and sophomore, it was nice to have friends who drove me around and showed me the ropes... http://www.collegeview.com/lounge/blogs.jsp?blogid=10004&message=2008_08_15 Actually, that last week in April was pretty fun. I mean, by that late in your senior year, anything beats going to school. Yeah, I was really stressed out, but I made the best of both trips... http://www.collegeview.com/lounge/blogs.jsp?blogid=10004&message=2008_08_12 I am definitely sure that I'm going to the college that is right for me. But choosing Harvard wasn't the easiest decision I've ever had to make. In fact, it was one of the most difficult of my life... http://www.collegeview.com/lounge/blogs.jsp?blogid=10004&message=2008_08_10 After going back and forth several times and debating it with a million friends and family members, I've decided to do the arts pre-orientation program. Yes, I'm tired of theatre. And no, I don't want to commit to anything that will seal... http://www.collegeview.com/lounge/blogs.jsp?blogid=10004&message=2008_08_06 Here's one more thing that I thought of for you to consider as you begin to apply. Colleges want you to send them your high standardized test scores, a glowing high school transcript that shows that you're academically adroit, an impressive list... http://www.collegeview.com/lounge/blogs.jsp?blogid=10004&message=2008_08_04 If you're about to be a senior, I have a news flash for you. It's August. That means that by now, you should have your college choices narrowed down and you should be starting to feel a nervous little tingly feeling every time you think about applying. http://www.collegeview.com/lounge/blogs.jsp?blogid=10004&message=2008_07_31 In my estimation, there are three important steps to getting a great score on an AP test. I'm not guaranteeing you a five, but the ability to plan ahead can be a powerful tool to have in your arsenal during the college application process. http://www.collegeview.com/lounge/blogs.jsp?blogid=10004&message=2008_07_29 Advanced Placement tests: there are few better ways to get a jumpstart on college while you're still in high school. http://www.collegeview.com/lounge/blogs.jsp?blogid=10004&message=2008_07_24 Everyone's heard this. You have to find a "hook"; something that will make your application stand out in a pile of thousands. http://www.collegeview.com/lounge/blogs.jsp?blogid=10004&message=2008_07_17 I'd like to talk to you about extracurriculars. Here's my experience with them. http://www.collegeview.com/lounge/blogs.jsp?blogid=10004&message=2008_07_15 It helps to have a beacon of inspiration that continues to motivate you through the always stressful and disheartening application process. http://www.collegeview.com/lounge/blogs.jsp?blogid=10004&message=2008_07_09 The point is, when it comes to financial aid, don't settle. I didn't, and now I'm going to Harvard and paying as much as I would to stay here in Ohio and attend a lower-end state school. http://www.collegeview.com/lounge/blogs.jsp?blogid=10004&message=2008_07_07 Many of the Ivies' tuitions had climbed above $50,000 per year and, at the time, financial aid for middle-class families like my own was hard to come by. However, my parents supported my dream and encouraged me to pursue it.