Harvard University Top Questions

Most of the time goes in just studies.

There are so many options for clubs and groups. Boston is lovely and there's plenty to do in Cambridge.

Great!

The final clubs, cultural organizations, and study groups, all of which I am a part of, are the most popular activity groups at Harvard. All the student groups do a good job of not only throwing parties, but having cultural and meaningful events as well.

There are always a million activities going on: student theater, both good and bad, art openings, speakers, dialogue groups, film screenings, and anything else imaginable. It's rare to find a student who's uninvolved in some sort of group, and people take them very seriously. The student body is divided up into houses, which are equivalent to Yale's residential colleges. Students "block" at the end of their first years with a group of friends, and though the houses are all now supposedly equal, there is certainly a general impression that some are better than others. Adams remains the sort of elite house, the one with the most gilded feeling and which happens to be closest to campus. Some student rooms and suites are really stunning, and especially as they become upperclassmen, people tend to leave their suite doors closed and socialize mainly with their blockmates and roommates when they're at home. The Dudley Co-op is an alternative to the Houses which more students should know about and visit, whether or not they decide to live there. Big hot dinners every night, 32 creative students in two Victorian houses, front porches, fresh bread, cheaper than the houses, endless food and much love, not to mention the persistent dream of a naked lunch.

Social life and extracurriculars are pretty decentralized. There's no one dominant group, and people find their niches pretty easily. Met closest friends freshman year and through the house system (through meals). Dating scene is not great, but I can't imagine it's great anywhere bc college students are immature. If awake at 2am, it was doing reading or BSing with roommates. Traditions include primal scream. People party on weekends. Frats/sororities not a big deal. Most of social life is on campus. Lots of options for nondrinkers, but lots of drinking, too, if you want it.

The social life at Harvard is odd. I feel that the way social life happens on campus is often extreme...I have met many a student who can't seem to function or have fun without alcohol. I personally party every once in a while but at times it can get monotonous. I am very happy that Harvard doesn't officially have frats and sororities and I make it a point to stay away from finals clubs (even though I have friends in them). Harvard has made great strides to amp its social scene on campus. I feel that because many of us don't venture out into the Boston community, we do support our fellow students and attendance at campus shows is always heavy.

Lots of clubs and activities, but the social scene is lacking, focused mainly around final clubs. Also lots of people are either not interested in going out or too busy to do so.

-like i said, its whatever you make of it: if you want to find people that party hard 4 days a week, you can find them, and if you want to find people that stay in the library until closing on the weekends you can find those people too. -its kind of hard to date here, although i know plently of people that do it...it seems everyone i know is either in a multi-year relationship or just hooking up with someone for the heck of it... -athletics aren't important...no-one seems to be able to muster the energy to walk across the river

Social life at Harvard has a lot to offer for all kinds of people. People who enjoy parties will definitely find a lot of those be it in snazzy finals clubs or in sweaty, congested common rooms in Houses. Then, there are plenty of concerts/theater shows and so on to occupy the more artsy. Harvard Square in itself is a great little town for socializing with various pubs and restaurants.