what to expect at harvard

I can't tell you about the interview day, but I can tell you a good spot to spend your down time if you don't want to hang around campus. Right down the street (on Longwood Ave) is a Starbucks, where the barristas don't care how long you nurse oen coffee (they're used to students taking over tables for hours on end). It's right near the school (you can poke your head out the door and see campus), so it's an ideal place to pass the time. Good luck at your interview.

 

Expect a red folder and interviews and a tour with lunch in there. Good Luck

 

Your interview invite should have said to be there from 8-6.

Arrive: 8:00-8:15 AM
Welcome talk and breakfast (you get your schedule here): 8:15-9:30ish
Lunch: 12:15-1ish
Tour: 1-1:45

Interviews can take time at any point during the day from 9-6. They can be on campus (up to a 25-30 min walk from the admissions office) or off campus (you get a taxi voucher). Most people have one morning interview and one afternoon interview, but one person had two morning interviews my day and was actually done right after the tour. I was done a little after 4. If you're unlucky and have two afternoon interviews or just one late interview, you may be there till 6. You can do a self-directed tour (instructions in orientation folder) during your down time, or you can just go to Starbucks. Hope this helps. You can PM me if you need more info.

 

Your interview invite should have said to be there from 8-6.

Arrive: 8:00-8:15 AM
Welcome talk and breakfast (you get your schedule here): 8:15-9:30ish
Lunch: 12:15-1ish
Tour: 1-1:45

Interviews can take time at any point during the day from 9-6. They can be on campus (up to a 25-30 min walk from the admissions office) or off campus (you get a taxi voucher). Most people have one morning interview and one afternoon interview, but one person had two morning interviews my day and was actually done right after the tour. I was done a little after 4. If you're unlucky and have two afternoon interviews or just one late interview, you may be there till 6. You can do a self-directed tour (instructions in orientation folder) during your down time, or you can just go to Starbucks. Hope this helps. You can PM me if you need more info.

 

I was there till 5 or 5:30 finishing my student interview. I had about 2 hours of downtime, I wondered around campus seeing how much mischief I could get into. I explored the New Research Building until security was wondering what I was doing, and then I wandered the wards of Childrens. In sincerity, I just wanted to see what the facilities were like, but it's amazing what you can do with a temporary HMS ID.

The Admissions Office can't help you sit in on classes- the small nature (8 students) of most of them, and the changes in topics and schedules makes it impossible for them to know if it would be "appropriate" to send in interviewees. They did say you could ask a 1st or 2nd year student if you could shadow them into a class, and then they could check w/ the faculty.

 

When I went we were actually given a guided tour by two second year students, albeit a very informal one. One of them had a social science elective course that afternoon that she invited us to, so we had a chance to sit in on a class.

 

to the op, what date in jan are you going?

 

first years have lectures from 8:30-10:45am so there might be a chance for you to peek into one before your morning interview