Your first year at Harvard College involves making many consequential academic decisions, which can sometimes feel daunting. However, you are never without support. Instead of relying on a single assigned advisor to give you ready-made answers, Harvard's advising system is designed to help you build a broad, personalized network of mentors and academic experts. From Peer Advising Fellows (PAFs) and Proctors in your entryway to centralized staff in the Office of Undergraduate Education (OUE) and faculty experts, our community uses a "mentor mindset" to help you develop the confidence and skills needed to navigate the academic environment independently. Because different members of this network contribute distinct forms of support, figuring out exactly who to turn to for a specific issue might seem overwhelming at first, but this guide is here to clearly define these roles and help you engage with Harvard's full advising ecosystem so you can make authentic and informed choices about your individual pathway. 
 

In the summer prior to your first year and ahead of course registration, you will meet with staff members from the Office of Undergraduate Education, who will not only advise you on your course selection, but also help you begin to understand how academic life works at Harvard and how to engage with it intentionally. These sessions will help you learn how to get information about courses so that you can make well-researched decisions. Following this meeting, the advising hold on your Crimson Cart will be lifted so that you can enroll in classes during course registration in August. 

During the summer after graduating from high school and before starting your first year at Harvard, you probably will (or maybe even already did) receive an email that will go along the lines of:

"Hi! My name is [insert name here], and I'm going to be your PAF this year."

PAF stands for Peer-Advising Fellow. These students are sophomores, juniors, and seniors at the College. They're selected every year and are some of the most compassionate and relatable students on campus, and they really care about making sure first-years have a person to turn to for insider advice on the student experience. They provide guidance by sharing their own academic experiences, helping with course selection, and identifying co-curricular opportunities like research and study abroad.

PAFs are also there to listen to you and talk you through any challenging problems. They can give you advice on a range of topics, such as what restaurants are the best for midnight cravings or what student organizations might match your interests.

Unlike Proctors, PAFs don't live in the same dorm as you. Instead, they live in upper-level Residential Communities and set up meetings with you throughout the semester. PAFs also work closely with your Proctors to host study breaks and other cool events for the students in your entryway. 

Proctors are an easily accessible advising resource in your first year because they live right next to you. At this point, you may have heard the word "entryway" once or twice. Anywhere from 20–40 students live in each entryway. Each first-year dorm splits up entryways differently, and each entryway has access to someone called a Proctor.

Proctors are similar to Resident Advisors at other colleges. Here at Harvard, many Proctors are graduate students or Harvard professionals with a passion for helping students navigate college. They live where you do, and they're available to support you with anything from exploring academic pathways to navigating roommate disagreements.

In addition to providing this social support, Proctors also play an important role in academic advising. During both the fall and spring semesters, they lead required entryway advising meetings before course registration to help you prepare for the next term. After you attend these meetings, your Proctor will lift the advising hold on your account so you can register for classes.

Proctors and PAFs work together to host regular Study Breaks for their entryway, which are small get-togethers where students can hang out with each other and their Proctors, learn about different co-curricular opportunities and other academic resources on campus, and decompress at the end of the day.

Your Proctor is generally the person to turn to if you feel like there's a conflict with someone in your dorm room or entryway that you can't resolve on your own. 

There are four Resident Deans of First-Year Students who oversee the different first-year yards. You are welcome to visit your Resident Dean, who is always willing to meet with you to talk about your experience. Resident Deans also oversee first-year students' academic progress and supervise Proctors.

Your professors, preceptors, lecturers, and teaching fellows can offer you a wealth of advice about whatever topic or field you may be interested in. You can meet with them during office hours, which are typically listed on their course website or syllabus.

Many Harvard offices are also available to help you explore your interests and goals. The Advising Programs Office, Mignone Center for Career Success (MCS), Office of International Education (OIE), Office of Undergraduate Research and Fellowships (URAF), and many others offer drop-in sessions and office hours that are open to anyone, including first-year students. 

You don't need to declare a concentration before talking with departments, either. Every concentration has a Director of Undergraduate Studies (DUS) or Assistant Director of Undergraduate Studies (ADUS), who can meet with you to discuss academic interests, explain the concentration, and help you determine whether the field aligns with your goals. Most DUSs and ADUSs hold office hours, which are listed on their department websites.

Transitioning to student housing as a sophomore comes with a new set of advisors and resources. If that change feels daunting, this section might help. 

Making the Switch from Proctors to Tutors

You may have noticed on Housing Day that no one talked about Proctors so much as they mentioned the vast array of Tutors present in each Residential Community. You may also be wondering what a Tutor does, and trust me; you're not alone in that question.

Tutors, like Proctors, live in the same entryway as you when you move into your new Residential Community. Also, like Proctors, they're a resource for you if you want advice on something academic or to help settle a dispute with a suitemate. They put on study breaks once or twice a month and also work to organize social events for the entire community to enjoy. 

Tutors are split into two categories when it comes to advising you during your sophomore year. The Tutor that lives in your entryway fulfills the role that's the most similar to what your Proctor did during your first year, with the caveat that they usually meet with you a little less frequently than your Proctor did. You can, of course, always meet with them more frequently if you'd like! 

Once you declare your concentration, you’ll be assigned an academic advisor from within your department. They'll become the person you go to when you need to consult on what classes you should take for your concentration, whether to do a thesis or research project, work in a lab, or how to connect what you are studying to what you want to do with the rest of your life. They may also direct you to someone within the concentration department who can provide even more insight into your topic of choice. 

Sometimes your concentration's advising will be set up in a way that you can receive advising from multiple people in the department. Other times you might have an academic advisor who is also a Tutor in your Residential Community. You should never be afraid to reach out to the Director of Undergraduate Studies in your department (or a department you're interested in) and ask them what their advising setup looks like. A lot of the time, you can also find that information on your concentration's website.