As someone coming a long way from Cambridge, I wanted to make sure I chose a school that had a thriving community. Harvard was a perfect fit!
One of my favorite facts about Harvard is that we provided housing to undergraduate students for all four years, and that fact shows in the percentage of students that live on campus. Over 97 percent do, including me! There are so many fun details about living on campus that I’d love to share with you all!
Proximity to Harvard’s campus: I can’t lie, Harvard is a big campus. But, there are so many cool buildings around to explore! Harvard’s campus is interwoven with Cambridge, and there are many interesting locations around our residential buildings. Access to the Yard and Harvard Square, many of our graduate schools, and our athletic complex is at your fingertips. The biggest advantage, though, would have to be how close students are to their classes. I love that I can go to and from my dorm throughout the day, going to my classes without worrying that they are too far away from me.
Undergraduate housing is split into different areas: most first years live in Harvard Yard, and upperclassmen live along the Charles river, or in the Quad. Although nothing can really get better than first year living close to many academic buildings, the upperclassmen houses have their charm. Shoutout to Mather House, being on the river!
House Traditions and Events are enjoyable!: The campus house life is strong. House life is filled with fun events designed for students to interact with the people they are living with. One of my favorite Mather events is Coffee Bar. Weekly after Sunday Brunch one of our Resident Tutors brings out specialty coffee or tea for residents to try, sip, and chat with others! Each week there is a different theme too. Sometimes they will bring pastries from different cafes around Cambridge for students to enjoy, or even my favorite, mochi donuts. What's crazy for me to think about is how many of our most loved traditions wouldn’t be there if Harvard’s campus life wasn’t so robust. I couldn’t think about Harvard without Housing Day, one of our most spirited days of the year.
My housing day way back when as a first year, featuring some of my friends. This was minutes after I found out that we were going to live in Mather House! - Finding close friends through my house: The enjoyment of housing extends to not just yourself, but others. What makes Harvard special are the people that I’m surrounded by daily. I can’t think of another time when many that I love live so close to me. Being able to hang out with my friends in the many different common areas on campus is what helps make Harvard feel like a home. Whenever I feel down, I remind myself of how special it is to be living with others, and that we can make spontaneous plans just because we all live together! Even if it’s just studying together at night, or more organized and going into the city, it makes being social fun!
Being an active member of my campus community: Another detail I realized is that living on campus has allowed me to get involved in extracurricular activities. Living close to where our clubs interact has made it so I’ve been able to participate in so many different types of activities, like joining a musical, becoming a First-Year Outdoor Program leader, playing with the Futsal Club, and supporting friends at concerts. Some of my favorite events have been things that I’ve impulsively joined and ended up loving. I will always take a chance to learn about something new, make a new friend, or at least grab some great free food!
My FOP Group that I led with my co-leader, and our ten first years, or FOPpers before the fall semester this past year.
After my three years here, I really would say that all the positives that I heard about living on campus are true. It is such a unique blend of the home-work balance that surmounts to such a “college” way of living. I wouldn’t have it any other way.
