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| First Arriving at Harvard |
Today was the day of our tour of Harvard University. After arriving a little early we had a chance to sit inside and watch a couple of Harvard promotional clips. Once it was eleven o'clock, it was time for the tour which I was very excited about. Unfortunately, joining the tour was not in the cards for us. We were told, that Harvard had enacted a new policy in which students in large groups, and not in families, were not allowed to join the tours. It was really upsetting to hear this because this had been something I had been looking forward to since we first learned that we would be able to join Brown II on the tour. After a lot of confusion the 14 of us went outside while our chaperones and Ms. Kronenberg stayed in to talk with the students who were in charge. After a couple of minutes, they came out accompanied by Harvard's Northern California Admissions Officer, Roger Banks. He apologized for our situation with the tour, but offered to stay and answer any questions we had.
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| Boston! |
It was really kind of Roger Banks to volunteer his time to sit with us for an hour and answer our questions. Even the students who told us we couldn't tour stayed behind. I really do appreciate Mr. Banks' generosity. However, Harvard doesn't seem like the place for me. I see myself as someone who is easily able to adapt and go with the flow, and I didn't get that vibe from the students that we had a chance to talk to. Also, I am pretty sure I want to go to a college in more of a college-y town and not in the middle of a city. Overall, my first impression of Harvard wasn't really what I expected. Obviously Harvard is a phenomenal school. Most students don't leave with debt, which is a great benefit for students who will need financial aid. And of course it is considered one of the greatest schools in the world. Even through all of this greatness, Harvard just isn't calling my name.
After we were done at Harvard, we walked around Boston, ate lunch, and visited the famed Paul Revere's house. It was nice having a final rendezvous in Boston before heading home to the Bay Area.
After we left the wonderful Boston, we headed back to Hotel Providence to relax before going to dinner. This was Brown-I's last dinner in Providence. We went to Mill's Tavern, which was a fabulous restaurant. All fourteen of us had an awesome time filled with a lot of jokes and laughter. Once the dinner was finished, we headed to Water Fire and enjoyed the pleasurable weather and atmosphere.
Tomorrow is the last day in Rhode Island for those of us in the Brown-I cohort. I honestly cannot believe that four weeks have come and gone so quickly. I am thrilled to have had this experience. Tomorrow is our last event, the Brown Brunch. I know eventually I will cry but for now, I'm pretending that it isn't all over tomorrow.
Okay, Tayler. You’re all a bunch of bright students so why do you think it is that I’m having a tough time finding even one of you to write that they saw something important enough in Harvard that they might want to apply?
ReplyDeleteEven those that have written kind words about Harvard didn’t really write kind words about their experience there today. What they wrote was about things they had read or heard from others.
It’s a shame that Harvard’s current policy sends such a clear and negative message.
I’m especially disappointed that we traveled 3,109 miles from the Bay Area to Cambridge only to be turned away. Disappointed that Harvard accepted our tour reservations and THEN CONFIRMED THEM IN WRITING only to reneg and show us to the front gate.
I am, nonetheless, just as grateful as you and others that Mr. Banks was kind enough to speak to our group. I hope he doesn’t lose his job if his bosses find out.