Not Feeling So Welcomed

Harvard!

Today I was so excited, because I was finally going to be able to visit the school I had been so anxious to see, Harvard. This day that I had longed for was finally here, but to my disappointment it didn't turn out how I wanted it to.

Beautiful Isn't It?

It all began when we arrived at Harvard, we went inside to watch some videos and slides that were being shown. Unlike the other schools that gave us an information session, Harvard didn't. Once the videos were over we were going to head outside to begin our tour, but to our surprise a recently graduated student from Harvard stopped us and told us that we couldn't take the tour, because Harvard had a policy that didn't allow groups to take tours, only families. This was such a great disappointment for me, because I was really looking forward to the tour. All of this going on made me so unwelcome at Harvard, especially the young lady who was practically kicking us out. She did not make the students at Harvard look so good.

Waiting Outside

As our chaperones and Ms. Kronenberg tried to negotiate with the student we went outside to have a snack. We waited for about 10 minutes and then a man came out asking if we were the students from the Ivy League Connection. We replied with a yes, and he asked us to come back inside. It turned out that he was Roger Banks, a Northern Californian representative of Harvard. He told us that unfortunately he couldn't do anything about the tour incident, but that he would stay with us and answer all our questions concerning Harvard. I was still a bit disappointed, but was very grateful that Mr. Banks took an hour of his time to answer our questions and concerns about Harvard. At the end I decided that Harvard just wasn't the school for me.

Although I feel this school was not for me, it doesn't mean that it's not right for many others out there. Harvard has such a great academic level and such great financial aid that is all need based. I learned that the more money you need the more money you get at Harvard. Harvard also guarantees all four years of housing, which is a reason of why it is not so easy for students who apply to get accepted. Harvard searches for students who challenge themselves academically, have great grades, high extracurricular involvement, and are very sociable. Harvard's faculty ratios are 7:1, which is very nice because students get to interact and know their professors. Harvard is truly an outstanding school.

Heading Off to Eat :)

Paul Revere's House



After we finished asking questions our wonderful chaperons took us to have lunch and to see Paul Revere's House. This house is a like a very tiny museum of how a house back in the 17 and 18 hundreds looked like. I enjoyed looking at the old fashion cribs, beds, tables, and other very old fashion furniture. It was such a lovely little house.

Old Men Playing Dress Up

Mill's Tavern

Today we also had a very casual dinner with everyone. It was just us students, our chaperons, Ms. Kronenberg, and Mr. Ramsey. I really enjoyed this dinner very much, because it was so laid-back and pressure free. It was a dinner where we all got closer to each other. We had laughs, talked about how we felt about the ILC , brought up stories about the sports we played and my favorite, talking about our childhood and what singing games we would play. I was such a wonderful dinner that made me feel so much closer and connected with my friends from ILC. After the dinner, we students were given permission to go on our own and watch the WaterFire. I loved it there, because it was so beautiful. The fire on the water was so pretty especially because the sky was dark. Even though my day didn't begin so well, the end of it was made up for all the disappointing things that occurred.

Dinner With the Brownies

Water Fire