Calendar of Your Year Ahead

Congratulations. You’re one of the seven percent of applicants to make it in, and one of the three-in-four to take fair Harvard up on its offer of admission.

Maybe you’ve been reading The Crimson since December just so you can stay completely up-to-date with the weekly antics of the Undergraduate Council. Maybe you’ve been stocking up on argyle sweaters, or maybe you’ve already bought a 20-pound snow jacket for the long, dark months ahead.

But no matter how much preparation you’ve done or how well you think you know the Harvard scene, you won’t really know whether you can party like a state schooler and study like the MIT students do with any of your 573 friends on Facebook, until you get here.

For now, we present some things that will happen to you, some things that may happen to you, and some things that definitely won’t happen to you—but will happen to that kid who wears shorts when it’s cold out.

SEPTEMBER: CAMP HARVARD

Welcome to campus, Class of 2013! You have the mixed blessing of being the first class to enter Harvard College under the revised calendar. While this means you’ll never have your eggnog spoiled with worries about your Gov 20 final, you will be missing out when it comes to one of the most memorable parts of freshman year—Camp Harvard. While previous classes have had a week and a half to enjoy the thrill of being a college student before the stress of classes starts, you have just six short days.

With this in mind, jump right into the excitement of being at college and away from your parents. Fill your first days with dozens of info sessions, speeches by campus big wigs, and screenings of Love Story. Remember the four freshman conversation points (name, hometown, dorm, possible concentration) and you’ll increase your Facebook friend count exponentially before the end of your first week.

Your social life this week will predominately take place as part of The Freshman Roving Horde. At night you will call every person you’ve met during your short time at Harvard and wander around in groups of 20 or 30 searching for a party. On the tip of available alcohol, you will flock to one of the houses, where you may find four very frightened upperclassmen sitting around a case of beer. Awkwardness will ensue.

Predictions: When you find an actual room party, in all its sketchy, sweaty glory, someone in your group will get violently ill. You will discover Felipe’s and the Kong. And UHS. You’ll sign up for Ballroom Dancing and comp Women-in-Business and The Crimson. Nearly everyone you know will join the crew team. You probably will too.

OCTOBER: TIME FOR CLASS

After the excitement of Camp Harvard and shopping period, it’s time to hit the books.

At Harvard, freshmen have the reputation of doing so extensively. You will do all your reading, take verbatim notes in lecture, and make skyscraper-like stacks of flash cards to study for exams. Seniors in your sections will snicker at your youthful eagerness.

Depending on your interests, you’ll likely take either Ec 10 (technically Social Analysis 10) or Life Sci 1A, and spend the semester packed into Sanders Theater along with nearly half your class. Along with learning if economics or pre-med is right for you, you’ll pick up vital skills like how to sleep in lecture and the importance of obtaining a good study guide.

You might also end up being assigned to take Expos in the fall. While you’ve probably heard that it ruins lives and you’re bound to get a C—neither of which is true—your Expos experience basically boils down to whether or not you have a good preceptor.

Lamont Library will become your home away from home and one of your main centers of social activity. Lamont is almost always littered with freshmen, so be prepared to run into dozens of people you know as you walk through Lamont Café in sweatpants. Try not to sleep there (at least too often).

Also, say goodbye to the sun. You will not see it again until May.

Predictions: You’ll do poorly on your first midterm. You’ll be shocked. You might even cry. And then you’ll wave goodbye to your childish dreams of a perfect GPA. You will be happy to see your parents on Freshman Parents Weekend, and even more excited to see them go home.

NOVEMBER: THE GAME

By now, you’ve probably realized that Cambridge is cold. Painfully, mind-numbingly cold. And if you’re from anywhere south of New York, your wardrobe is probably sorely unprepared for the persnickety Cambridge skies.

In between stuffing your face with turkey and listening to your aunt tell you how proud she is that you go to Harvard, take advantage of Thanksgiving Break to stock up on two of the most precious commodities for a Harvard student—winter clothes and sleep.

But before you head home for a break that is much too short, make sure to take part in one of the most noted Harvard traditions—the Harvard-Yale Game.

Grab all your Harvard paraphernalia and hop on the bus down to New Haven. There you will aimlessly wander the Yale campus in search of a party (remember freshman week?) and then spend the night sleeping on the floor of your roommate’s cousin’s high school girlfriend. Wake up early the next morning to hobnob with tweedy alums whose names end in Roman numerals; the champagne they have at their tailgates is infinitely better than the boxed wine the Houses are passing out. Maybe even try to make it from the tailgate to the stadium. Maybe.

Predictions: Harvard will beat Yale. Again. You’ll stop caring that you think Uggs are tacky and realize that a scarf is more than just a fashionable accessory. By now, most of your friends have probably dropped off the crew team. You probably quit last month.

DECEMBER: FINALS

Your first semester at Harvard is coming to an end, which means one thing: finals period.

But before you are faced with the first of your intimidating, three-hour-long finals, you have the pseudo-break known as reading period. You’ll likely spend your reading period sleeping in, frantically writing papers, and doing any reading you put off during the semester. Language classes still meet during reading period, so you’ll find yourself regretting your decision to take that 9 a.m. Spanish class.

One night in December you will crawl out of your studying cave and find yourself running around Harvard Yard. At midnight. Naked. Primal Scream isn’t for everyone, but it’s a Harvard must-do and a way to let out some of the stress you’ve been accumulating all semester. So what if creepy old men take pictures of you and everyone you know sees you naked.

Your first Harvard finals will be scary. Study a lot, sleep a little, and hope you don’t have two on the same day.

After you conquer the finals monster, congratulations! You now have a five-week winter break! Go home.

Predictions: You will spend multiple nights sleeping in Lamont. You will spend most of your Board Plus on coffee as you attempt to stay awake. In desperation, you will discover that J.P. Licks sells a drink called the “Red-Eye” (coffee plus espresso shots). You will desperately try to keep your mother from seeing the naked picture of you on the front page of The Crimson.

JANUARY: NOTHING

Thanks to Dean Hammonds and the economic crisis that has your senior friends convinced they will be working at a bakery next year, you now have a five-week-long break known as J-Term.

Going home will be a welcome rest from the chaos of finals period. Buy your parents something from the COOP for Christmas and try not to drop the H-Bomb on your friends.

After about two weeks of sleeping in and enjoying your mom’s pancakes, you will likely begin to remember why you were so excited to go away to college. Your parents will ask what time you are coming home. It will not be acceptable to come home drunk.

You still have three weeks left of sitting at home. Eek. Avoid this by making friends with someone from Hawaii or Miami during the fall. Your pasty Cambridge skin will thank you.

Predictions: After months of staying up late studying, you’ll find it tough to go to bed before 3 a.m., and even harder to wake up before noon. You’ll spend hours sprawled on the couch making up for the time you didn’t get to spend watching television in your cable-free Harvard dorm. And, deep down inside, you’ll miss being at Harvard. Tear.

FEBRUARY: CLASSES ARE NEW AGAIN

Relaxed and (hopefully) tanned, you will return to cold, snowy Cambridge and the beginning of a new semester.

Time to pick new classes. Take some Gen Ed classes now–it’s good to get a head start on fulfilling your requirements, and you don’t want to take three government classes only to decide next fall to become a physics concentrator.

All your friends will take The Human Mind. It will sound interesting, and you will want to take it too. Don’t do it.

Before you know it, your friends will be talking about what they will be doing for the summer. Start looking into internships and study-abroad grants so you don’t find yourself back at home working at an ice cream shop for the summer.

Predictions: You will shop twice as many classes as you did last semester now that you understand what 400 pages of reading a week actually means. You will not have a date on Valentine’s Day and will spend the evening bemoaning the Harvard dating scene with your roommates.

MARCH: HOUSING DRAMA

Depending on your hometown, March may be a time when flowers begin to bloom, trees being to sprout bright green leaves, and the melodic chirps of the birds signify the arrival of spring. This is not the case at Harvard.

Piles of dirty snow will continue to sully the Yard and fill the streets of Cambridge. And while spring won’t be greeting you anytime soon, midterms will.

In March you’ll get to pick the seven people you want to live with for the next three years. If you’ve had a tight group of seven BFFs since freshman week, blocking will be painless. More likely, it will be awkward, dramatic, and alienating.

Either way, it will end with the River Run, in which you and your blockmates will take shots at the River Houses and offer up a boat to the river gods in hopes of being placed in Adams. Hope it doesn’t rain, keep away from cops, and bring alcohol or hairspray to ensure your boat catches on fire. The next morning you’ll eagerly await your housing decision—try not to slam the door if you get placed in Currier.

Spring break will be a welcome relief. Go somewhere warm.

Predictions: You’ll start going to the MAC in hopes of getting rid of the 10 pounds you’ve gained since September. As you put on your boots and winter coat to walk across the Yard to breakfast, you will regret not going to Stanford.

APRIL: YARDFEST AND HOOKUPS

The year is almost over. Well, not quite. The snow has given way to incessant rain. But April showers bring May flowers, right? Um, sure.

On a happy note, at Harvard, spring is for lovers. After nearly a year without a hint of romance, many of your friends will suddenly be in relationships. And you will realize the girl who has been sitting next to you in Ec 10 all year looks better without her puffy coat.

Yard Fest will give you the chance to break away from studying to hear two B-list artists perform in Tercentenary Theatre. After about 20 minutes your homework will probably sound more appealing and you’ll leave for Lamont.

During pre-frosh weekend, scope out next year’s freshman class and realize how much has changed since you were an over-eager, high-achieving high school senior.

Predictions: You will forget to coordinate with your roommates and end up hosting 7 pre-froshes. You will hopelessly try to convince your blockmates that Dunster isn’t so bad. You will hookup with a pre-frosh at Mather Lather and you’ll both end up with creepy rashes. You’ll go to UHS, and she’ll go to Princeton.

MAY: SUN!

The end is near! As the sun finally begins to peek out from behind the clouds, you will concentrate much less on studying than you did during last reading period. You may even succumb to the upperclassmen’s belief that reading period could be more aptly named “drinking period.”

Grab a spot on the grass and pretend to study your coursepack. Warmer weather means tourists will begin to flood the Yard in droves. Smile politely as they take your picture.

Take your exams, shake off the stress, and you’re done! Bye, bye Harvard.

Predictions: You’ll spend days sitting on your bed watching lecture videos, since you stopped going to class in March. You’ll study less, but still get a B+. You will arrive back home paler and smarter than the rest of your high school friends.

Obviously, no one will have precisely this experience. You are, however, almost guaranteed to be told that Harvard is what you make of it, and this is the truth. Come with an open mind and enjoy your freshman year. It will be over before you know it.

—Staff writer Lauren D. Kiel can be reached at lkiel@fas.harvard.edu.

For more information on the ins and outs of Harvard life, visit the My First Year homepage.