Bring on the College Touring!

A coffee and cocoa smoothie from Liquiteria was the best way I could have possibly decided to wake up this morning. Sipping my drink and navigating Cambridge streets, I listened as Mahi told me about a book she thought I should read: The Bell Jar, by Sylvia Plath. We sadly wrapped up our conversation as we headed into a crowded information session. I was not surprised at the gorgeous architecture or the throngs of people. I was expecting this from such a prestigious school.

I was not expecting however, to have such a personal, fun, and friendly experience. We wove our way through the Harvard campus with incredible tour guides. Kalen, one of the guides, even mentioned she had read some of our blogs before we arrived. As a team, they were involved in a huge variety of studies and activities, which meant between the three, they were able to answer all of my questions thoroughly.

These chairs are rumored to be worth five hundred dollars!
Apparently, there is a problem with them being stolen. 

I feel very lucky to have been on a private tour, because the other groups leaving from the information session were quite large. We ate lunch in the Freshman dining hall. I really enjoyed having conversations about our Women and Leadership course, Harvard, the California drought, our guide's experiences, and California college culture. Conversation flowed effortlessly until it was time for us to leave.

One of the best parts of today was dining with our tour guides,
 Harvard student Sarah, and Roger Banks, Director of Recruitment (not pictured).

Top row and center from left to right: Cesar,
Kalen and William. William is from Los Angeles! 

Kalen and Sarah were kind and generous and came with us to tour Boston. I was glad they did because I was able to further conversations about Harvard and Cambridge. Sarah asked me about my plans for college, and shared what paths her Harvard friends take with similar interests. After much rain-filled wandering, we ended up in Boston Commons, where they had to leave us. 

I saw this gorgeous sky-art almost immediately when stepping into the downtown area. 

I have learned that this is Komal's go-to pose for photobombing. 

I was immediately invigorated with the city's energy. We ran around the park, and took many photos...

Diana took this photo of me.

Diana, 

On July twenty-third, I announced that I would be the
next Tarzan. I am now putting that plan into action. 

We exhausted ourselves, and shortly decided to get dinner in Boston. After an hour of walking, we learned that no restaurants in that area were open. We were all low-energy, but we made it to the underground train to head back to our hotel. 

Mahi and Esme.

Reflecting Harvard, I came to this conclusion: the resources, campus, and dorm life are all great, but what makes Harvard exceptional is the people who consider it their home. 

I have become increasingly antsy to go college. I want to skip the application process and senior year and have academic and personal freedom. 

Aching Feet & Harvard.

As usual, the girls, our chaperone, and I met up early in the morning. I really wanted to sleep in, because it is not every day that I get to enjoy a magnificent and heavenly hotel bed. My hotel bed made it challenging to get up. I did make it downstairs on time, however. 

To start off the day we ate breakfast at Au Bon Pain. I ordered a BLT sandwich and a Berry Sensation smoothie. There were many pastries on display that looked delicious, but I wasn't in the mood for something sweet. As soon as everyone had sat down with their breakfast, we took advantage of this opportunity to relax for a bit before arriving at Harvard. 

As we were making our way to Harvard, I didn't really think about it. I didn't know what to expect of Harvard. Before this trip, I had no idea what Harvard University actually looked like in real life. I had seen numerous pictures on Google, but I had never been to the campus itself. My friends and I had dreamily spoken about attending Harvard on multiple occasions. After this visit, it didn't feel like a dream anymore. 

It all began when I was greeted with an unusually elegant scenario of chandeliers. I was awestruck.      The room was dark but illuminated  by the dazzling chandeliers. I also got to meet Roger Banks, who was the Director of Recruitment at Harvard Admissions. Soon after, I got to meet our tourist guides for the day who were Kalen Cobb '18, William Oh '18, and Cesar Villavicencio '18. They were all very kind and informative. Cesar in particular notified us as to some traditions that Harvard has. He also informed us as to Freshman life and the useful student resources that Harvard provides. 

After the tour, we walked around Boston with Kalen and Sarah, another student from Harvard. However none of the places where we were supposed to go were open. This was quite unfortunate because we  were all looking forward to enjoying Boston. Later that day, we had walked all over Boston which ensured aching feet on everyone.

When we arrived at our hotel, we were relieved that we were finally "home" and that we were going to have dinner and finally rest. I ordered an eggplant flat bread which was delicious. By the end of the dinner, I was so full and exhausted so I decided to head back to my room and rest some more.

The Grand Chase for Food

Soft beds work wonders. After spending two weeks sleeping in a not so comfortable bed, I appreciate the soft and comfy beds they have at the hotel. I think my demolished feet appreciate it more than I do. 

Today was interesting to say the least. We met in the lobby at 8:45 AM which wasn't so bad in my opinion. I could however, have used more sleep. We had breakfast at Au Bon Pain. It was a bakery of sorts. I had a turkey club sandwich, iced coffee, and a red velvet cupcake. Everything was delicious. Afterwards we headed to the info session held at Memorial Hall. There, two students gave information about college life, majors and many more things. 

They also talked about the admission process. They said that a panel of many people looked over and even argued about the applications of all the applicants. We actually met Roger, an admissions officer, He had lunch with us and later accompanied us to the subway. 

Cesar, Kalen, and William gave us a tour of the campus. They were very nice, helpful and willing to answer our questions. Something that I found funny was when they showed us the Statue of the Three Lies. The three lies were that Harvard was not funded in 1638. It was actually founded in 1636. Second lie is that John Harvard founded Harvard. Harvard was founded by a vote by the Great and General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. The third lie is that the person that the statue was made after is John Harvard. It actually was a student of Harvard at the time. This was done because there are no pictures of John Harvard. 

The students also talked about life in the dorms. Cesar talked about the dorm he will be staying in. Dorm assignation day is a big deal in Harvard. There are 17 different dorm buildings in the university. They show their spirit by painting their faces, singing and chanting between many more things. After this and some pictures we went to the freshmen dining hall.

For lunch I grabbed some salad, yogurt and a banana. Sarah, another student at Harvard, joined us during lunch. She was very nice and approachable. Everyone chatted and ate their food. My side or the table mostly talked to Kalen, Cesar, Sarah and Roger. We talked about things like early decision and performing arts. 

After lunch, Kalen and Sarah came with us to take a Duck boat tour. We took the subway and walked part of the way there. When we got there all the tours were sold out. Some of us wanted to stay in the museum. Others wanted to go to do outdoor things. In the end we walked back to the subway. On the way there it started raining so everyone was irritated and tired. 

We took the subway to Boston commons and hung out at the Public Garden. I took a ton of pictures that looked really nice. I also walked and saw the ducks and listened to some street performers. Everything was beautiful and very green. It reminded me a bit of the Newport mansions. 

We were all hungry so we started walking aimlessly. We did this for a very long, long time. We couldn't find anything to eat. At this point my feet hurt with every step I took. Everyone was very visibly distressed but we kept going. In the end we just decided to go back to the hotel and have dinner at the restaurant there. With this we made our way back to the subway once again. 

Once we arrived we felt very tired and hungry. We had reservations in the restaurant at 7 PM. I Ordered a seafood dish that was very good. A bit salty for my taste but good either way. After our delicious food, we came upstairs and started working.

Today  has taught me that planning is very good even if you think you have no clue how to do it. I can't do that much walking again. It was just too exhausting for not getting anything accomplished. 

Tomorrow we will be visiting Yale in Connecticut. We will take the Amtrak very early in the morning to make it to our tour on time. I hope we don't struggle as much as today.

All Over Massachusetts

First thing we did today was visit Harvard University. I really like how it has a victorian look. Right when we got there the first part of the tour, the info session, was inside Memorial Hall. An admissions woman was giving information along with 2 alumnus. They were both rising juniors. Most of the things they mentioned were similar to what a regular university would require. 

Inside Memorial Hall

Ready for the tour!

Info session

I really did not know that freshman at Harvard were required to stay on campus. In some ways I like that and in others I do not. What if you want your own freedom? Then again everything will be much easier being close to the school. I like how after the freshman year it's up to you whether you want to keep staying there or not leave the hall. I really did not know they also had the freshman separated from all the upper classmen. Where they eat is a different place as well from the upper classmen. The first 3 weeks that freshmen are there s to settle in and think about what activities and other things you want to do. A small percentage of students aren't required to pay anything because of money issues. There are a lot of scholarships than can help once you get accepted and financial aid. 

Cesar, Kalen, and William

After this the second part of a tour we had our own little private tour by Kalen, Cesar, and William. They were all amazing people and were really nice. All of the questions they answered had really helpful and unique answers that I have never heard before. Kalen was really recommending taking out SAT's our junior year and ACT so in case we don't like the scores we always have senior year and that way we can also be eligible to apply early to a school. When you apply early to Harvard you're not allowed to apply at any other Ivy League School until they let you know their response. I am actually taking this in consideration. Although there are no advantages, it seems like something I would like to do. 

The Campus

They all made the halls seem like a lot of fun and spacious. Compared to Perkins Hall at Brown it sounded really nice. I thought it was hilarious how Cesar even had a washer machine inside his room. Everyone seems to get a long there and build strong bonds. They also talked about when the freshman are able to go in the other halls that are for upper class men. They have a big celebration which seems really fun.

Once we were done with the tour we all had a lunch together and Roger, an admissions officer, joined in along with Sarah, another student.  He was really polite and was really interested in what we were going to do around here. Sarah was really nice as well and provided a lot of useful information. Unfortunately I was in the corner of the two tables so all I could hear was half of the things they mentioned on the opposite corner of the table. I was really focused on what Kalen was saying since she was only a couple chairs away. 

Kalen and Sarah decided to join us to go to a boat tour. We were all really excited about that. The Duck Tours were right next to a Science Museum so as Ms.Neal purchased the tickets we went inside to check it out. We were really excited until Ms. Neal sent us a text mentioning the boat tours were sold out. We were all REALLY upset. I was so excited about it! We could not figure out what else to do so as we tried deciding we were sitting inside the Science Museum next to an inside ride. It really caught my attention and all of us wanted to get on it. The wait was 1 hour though and a lot of girls did not want to wait.

Subway

Duck Tour we weren't able to go on :(

The Bridge

We ended up leaving to a park near the city. As we were walking there it started raining. I was really frustrated because I did not want to get sick but there was no way to get out of it. After the park we walked all over to look for a restaurant to eat. We couldn't find a restaurant that we all liked so we ended up going back to the hotel to eat there. We walked more than 7 miles. I was exhausted in the end. I couldn't even feel my feet.

Closest I've ever been to a squirrel

As we were walking around...

Providence St.! I already miss Providence, Rhode Island. 

Cemetery on our way to the hotel

Before anyone got there...

We all left to our rooms to change into something fancier. The restaurant in the hotel was really nice and fancy. I ordered Grilled Shrimp and a lemonade. Right after we ordered, they brought us our drinks and bread. When I saw the bread, I was really debating if I should eat it or not since I am allergic to rye. Usually when I go to restaurants they never serve rye. 5 seconds before I took the first bite, Diana asked Ms. Neal what kind of bread it was. Ms. Neal had to ask the waiter and the waiter had to ask as well. She came out what it seemed to me running. She mentioned it was rye. I could not stop thanking Diana. She literally saved my life. The waiter asked if I was allergic to anything else. I told her I was also allergic to tree nuts. Of course the grilled shrimp had to have a sauce with tree nuts. Now I know to always let my waiter know about my food allergies. I don't even want to imagine what could have happened if I would have eaten any of those things. 

Delicious Grilled Shrimp with no tree nuts :)

Long Lasting Memories

Now getting ready to visit Yale! Can't wait. We will be taking Amtrak to Connecticut. 

Boston Bound

We met at the lobby around 9 AM today. Since we couldn't agree on a place for breakfast we visited two, Gabi and Erin got milkshakes from Liquiteria and the rest of us visited Au Bon Pain. I had an everything bagel with cream cheese, some lemonade, and a chocolate chip cookie, all of which were delicious. 

We walked to Harvard's Memorial Hall for our info session. I learned a lot more about topics such as residential life and study abroad at Harvard. The university has all of the things I am looking for in terms of an urban campus, average class sizes, and international opportunity.

There were two panelists who were currently attending Harvard that were able to share their experiences with us. It was very helpful to hear what they had to say and the advice they were able to give us. They answered any questions the audience had too.

Afterwards we toured the campus with our guides, Kalen, Cesar, and William. I was able to get a lot more information from three different perspectives. We toured some of the buildings where classes were held as well as the outsides of a few dorms.

We went to Annenberg Hall for lunch. We were joined by Sarah, another student and Roger Banks, the director of recruitment at Harvard. The inside of the hall was absolutely gorgeous, We  talked about early decision applications and the drought in California for a bit.

We visited the Museum of sciences for a while but most things we wanted to do had been sold out. It was raining for a bit when we visited the Boston Commons. There was a pretty park outside which we took many pictures at.

We got some snack at CVS before returning to the hotel. We ate at the restaurant there, I had a Shirley Temple and A Steak Frites, The Steak was perfectly cooked and delicious the fries were absolutely addicting. I went to sleep very full and tired.

Touring and More Touring

Erin and I found ourselves struggling to get out of our comfy hotel beds this morning before the cohort got together in the lobby to go get breakfast. It was truly a challenge. We were able to overcome it, however, and by about 9AM, we had found a place to eat: Au Bon Pain. Funny enough, it had been just yesterday that Erin and I had eaten at an Au Bon Pain on Thayer Street with Tyler, Phoebe, and Tory.

From breakfast we walked straight to the Harvard Tour we were about to embark on for our morning. The admissions info session began at 10AM at Harvard's Memorial Hall. Like Brown, Harvard's old fashioned, New England architecture was just as impressive, but much, much older.

Harvard's Memorial Hall: Sanders Theater

Inside the Sanders Theater

The Memorial Hall was a vast theater filled with high school students and their family members eager to learn about Harvard. Kanoe Williams hosted the information session which expanded on general freshman resources such as residential life, advising, dining commons, student research, study-abroad programs, financial aid, and much more. She also informed us on academic curriculum, the house system (Harvard has 12 upperclassmen houses), class environment, and creating and declaring a concentration. Overall, the orientation was incredibly informative.

Annenberg Hall: If Hogwarts were real.

As soon as the orientation finished, Ms. Neal and the rest of the cohort were off on a "special" tour of the liberal arts school. Just outside of the main theater, we met Cesar, William, and Kalen, our tour guides. All three of them had just finished their Freshmen year. Cesar was from Costa Rica, Kalen was from Canton, Massachussets, and William -- like us -- was from California! He came from Los Angeles. On our tour, the three of them showed us around the campus, offered personal experiences, as well as provided answers to our many questions regarding Harvard life. Once our official unofficial tour was over, all of us, including the tour guides, gave us access to Annenberg Hall, Harvard exclusive dining hall reserved for Harvard freshmen only! There, we had lunch with a few more people, including Sara, another Harvard student, and Roger Banks, Director of Recruitment at Harvard College Admissions. 

A picture with the extremely welcoming students: Kalen (next to Erin), Cesar, and Sara. (At this point, WIlliam had left.)

Downtown Boston

After eating and chatting at the dining commons, the group decided to move on and take the time to get to know Boston a little more. Kalen and Sara joined us on our touring of Boston, offering their experience around the area to help us get around. We took the transit and made our way to Downtown Boston. We had initially planned to go on the Duck Tour, which would have taken us though land and water for an extensive Boston tour, but once we had finally arrived at the Science Museum, where the tours were, we found out that they had sold out! We decided to walk all the way back to head to the Boston Common, when suddenly it started to rain! The sky soon cleared up and we were able to enjoy the park and we finally arrived to the dry transit station to head over to the Boston Common.

It was gorgeous! Unfortunately, once we arrived, we had to say bye to Kalen and Sara, thanking them once again for the amazing experience they had provided for us. Once they had left, the cohort stayed at the Common for a while longer, enoying the duck-filled pond, the gorgeous swans, the gardens, the statues, and much more.

The duck pond!

 

Erin and I enjoying the native duck life.

After getting our fair share of Boston, we decided to go somewhere to eat. We walked around Boston for about an hour, searching for somewhere to eat. Unfortunately a lot of places were closed. Tired and hungry, we took the transit back to Harvard Square and decided to eat at the hotel restaurant, called Nubar. The food was amazing! Everyone ordered delicious, quality food. I had ordered the smoked chicken sandwich with fries. Overall, while it was a chaotic day filled with a hardcore amount of walking, I can say that I definitely got to know Boston and Harvard, as well as received a delicious dinner!

Definitely not the Ratty!

More of the gorgeous Downtown Boston!

Tired Feet and Hungry Bellies

This morning I woke up discombobulated because of the extreme comfort of my bed. I wasn't used to the plush pillows and huge mattress. Cindy and I finally roused ourselves and met up with everybody in the hotel lobby.

Waiting for the Info Session to Begin 

We headed out to take on Boston. I stopped at a place called Liquiteria for breakfast and I got a acai berry parfait. It was so interesting, delicious, and very different than the dining hall food. A lot of the other cohort members wanted something else so we stopped at another cafe on the way to our Harvard info session.

The info session was very informative. There were two student panelists who were able to give us a lot of information and insight into what life at Harvard is like. We went over academics first then more about campus life, financial aid, and admissions. The students answered questions and really gave us a good feel for the student life. We covered lots of information in an hour even going into things like dining, studying abroad, and the specific opportunities offered for academic advising.

Inside the Dining Hall 

After our info session we went on a private tour with three brown students named Cesar, Kalen, and William. This was definitely the best college tour that I had ever been on. Since it was such a small group of people we all got to ask lots of questions and got very detailed descriptions of campus life. We saw a lot of the main buildings and housing areas. The buildings were very grand and beautiful. Our tour lasted over an hour because of all the questions we asked. After our tour, we were lucky enough to get to eat lunch at the freshman dining hall with our tour guides as well as another student, Sarah, and Roger Banks, Director of Recruitment at Harvard College Admissions. The dining hall was beautiful. It felt like we were sitting in the great hall from Harry Potter. Although the atmosphere was great the company far exceeded the location. As we sat we learned so much more about the application process and the school itself. All of our guides were so honest and warm which really made me feel welcomed to the college.

Cindy Looking
Adorable 

Once lunch was over we decided to take the duck boat cruise around Boston. Sarah and Kalen decided to come with us. We traveled to the science museum to catch the boat cruise. Unfortunately once we had traveled all the way there we realized that the tours were all sold out. We sat at the science museum for about an hour trying to come up with a plan to what to do and we finally just decided to go check out downtown Boston. As soon as we started our walk to the train station it started to rain. Our plan for downtown Boston was to walk around but the rain put a bit of a damper on that because we didn't want to get soaking. Luckily the sky cleared and we were able to hang out in the Boston Commons for awhile. The park was beautiful but we were all getting tired because of our chaotic afternoon.

We decided that we were going to try and go shopping and find some food to eat for dinner. Unfortunately our adventure ended up being more of a wandering aimlessly around Boston situation. We had tired feet and empty bellies as we decided to take the train back to the hotel. Once we got to the hotel we went to our rooms and freshened up for a bit before heading down to the hotel restaurant. The restaurant was so good and I was very glad that we had waited to eat. I had a grilled vegetable sandwich and some salad. After dinner we were all exhausted so we went up to our rooms to relax. I went to the gym for a little bit then decided that it was time to get ready for bed.