Click here to go to the NEW College Discussion Forum

Frankly, I've heard terrible things about Harvard's social scene...do people there party? Is there a general night-time party atmosphere on weekends, or is that a small minority attitude?

In a related but different question, what is the Harvard drug scene like? Do people use recreational drugs on campus/is it very illicit? This question isn't about my personal interests, but it helps describe what the general atmosphere at the school is like.

By Hstudent (Hstudent) on Sunday, May 23, 2004 - 12:04 am: Edit

Harvard social scene is happening - Its kind of an artsy bent/vibe to it (in that weekend evening there are a lot of plays/perfromances and whatnot) but it all always ends up in the traditional cheap beer whack music crazy dancing party scene which is what college is. Anything you have heard about H is heresay until you get here and experience it for yourself - some people drink and go out everyday, others rarely go at all. There is a larger "study all the time" population than you'll have at other types of schools, but trust me, these people are in the far minority.

Drugs: Well weed is big of course, and very easy to come by. The people who are into clubbing hit up E and all that other •••• - dont know too much about that scene. There is of course a strong prescription drug scene and a huge contingent of people who outside of recreation take stuff like adderol that helps them "study"

hope this helps, email me or Im as always

By Stanfordman99 (Stanfordman99) on Sunday, May 23, 2004 - 01:21 am: Edit

Harvard is a great school, arguably the greatest school academic-wise, and definitely the most prestigious in the world. But the social scene is dead. When I visited Harvard after I was admitted, I saw kids who were generally unhappy. The prestige is great, but personal enjoyment is almost non-existent.

Maybe it's just me though. If you can fit in well at Harvard, I imagine the social scene can be quite enjoyable.

By Hstudent (Hstudent) on Sunday, May 23, 2004 - 02:47 am: Edit

hmm thats largely the problem with people and "impressions"

Harvard social scene is far from dead, and I have yet to meet a person yet who feels that he/she doesnt "fit" in...

Its one of those things where you just have to go to a school to actually get the deal - so if you want to know whats its like the closest you can get is to talk to ppl there now

there are a LOT of steretypes attached to this place that people love to feed into - once your in cambridge and you are at Harvard, you start to forget about how the rest of the world views the place and spend your time just being a college student - the amount of stuff that is exagerated or just plain false about the place is impressive, misleading, and well sad

By Thekinslayer (Thekinslayer) on Sunday, May 23, 2004 - 01:37 pm: Edit

Hstudent, that's very reassuring, both on parties and on drugs. I don't even do pot, but I feel like it is a good litmus test for the general admistration attitude to student body. Schools that make drug use illicit usually have a very police style attitude to the student body in general, while schools that are (relatively) relaxed about drug use usually give their students more freedom in general

By Northstarmom (Northstarmom) on Sunday, May 23, 2004 - 02:15 pm: Edit

I just read an article in an old NY Times about a web site set up by Harvard students that is called something like Hahvardparties.com or .net.

It describes what parties are going on each weekend, and also has a roving photographer who posts pictures from the parties.

It originally was called Harvardparties, but Harvard made them change the name.