Student Advice to Pre-Frosh: Broaden Academic Horizons

This morning, pre-frosh will walk into sections of Economics 10: "Principles of Economics" to hear about supply, demand and the evils of taxes.

One hour later, they will emerge, feeling intimidated, excited or perhaps a mix of both.

But most current Harvard students question how informed pre-frosh will be about academic life at Harvard after their class visits. They advise pre-frosh looking to maximize the utility of their weekend to visit a broad range of classes that appeal to them.

"I don't find any correlation with what happened at pre-frosh [academically] and what's happening here [now]," Ken P. Fujita '00 said.

Ed S. Chen '01 said the weekend gave him a good picture of academic life here--but only because he visited a wide array of courses. "[Visiting classes] is the best way to go if you have the time." he said.

But more often than not, students say they were not as lucky as Chen and never took the classes they sampled as pre-frosh.

"The listings they provided us were composed mainly of large lecture courses," said Andrea H. Kurtz '01, who advises pre-frosh to stray from the list of classes provided by the Office of Admissions.

Attending only lectures also give pre-frosh a limited view of academic life at Harvard, said Shauna L. Shames '01.

"Sections are where most of the learning in classes takes place," Shames said. "Prefrosh should keep in mind that lectures are an important part of the class but not all of it."

But even if pre-frosh manage to wander into a small, engaging class or section, Fujita said they " aren't very helpful because not only are you going to be above your head, but you're jumping in the middle of things."

Hosts are some of the best resources for visiting pre-frosh, according to Daniel B. Horton '01.

"Your best shot at seeing academic life is watching your host do homework on Sunday night, going to the library or [going to] a smaller class that's personally interesting," Horton said.

Pre-frosh hosts also add to the experience of visiting classes, Kurtz said.

"It's always better to attend the class with a host or one of the host's friends," she said. "One can then find out about the resources that lie beyond the lecture hall."

While Harvard is known for its Faculty of luminaries, Eddie E. Aftandilian '01 advises visitors to pick classes based on their own interests and not on the professor's reputation.

"It's better to go to a class you're actually interested in than to go to one whose professor was featured on "The Simpsons," Aftandilian said, referring to Agassiz Professor of Zoology Stephen J. Gould, who was featured in an episode of the cartoon last fall.

"Besides, a professor's fame is not a measure of his teaching ability, and that's what's really important," Aftandilian said.

Some current students did not use the weekend for class shopping and said they did not regret it.

"I wouldn't go to classes because at good colleges, I figure they'll all be relatively good," James J. Pasquariello '01 said. "There are so many classes that basing school choice on attending a few of them isn't a good idea."

And according to Shames, even for the most academically-oriented pre-frosh, two days is simply not enough to fully understand the daily grind Harvard students face.

"I'd just tell all the pre-frosh to hang loose," said Johnny J. Lee '01. "What more can you do in three days?"