Students Need More Time To Make A Concentration Choice

To the editors:

In reference to the recent editorial “Concentrating or Procrastinating?” (Feb. 9), I would like to say that I wholeheartedly disagree with your defense of the current concentration declaration schedule. Harvard students should have more time to choose a concentration, not because they need a chance to procrastinate, but because students need time to consider their options and come to a rational decision that makes them comfortable.

Choosing a concentration at the end of freshman year makes students feel that they must prematurely decide their course of study without having had diverse experiences. Experimentation is discouraged, and switching concentrations is truly difficult. For example, switching from government to economics is grueling, because they have two different tutorials. Students who would like to switch from the social sciences to the natural sciences at the end of sophomore year are faced with an even greater challenge. Currently, Harvard is not a good place for bright students who come into college undecided about their concentration.

MICHAEL I. LEVIN-GESUNDHEIT ’08
February 9, 2006