Get Schooled
Back to Index
Get Schooled
Choosing Your Classes Right

Okay, so it’s Opening Days. You’ve met an average of 20 people per day, you’ve been to a lot of fucking workshops explaining too many things that don’t make sense, and you kinda miss home. (That’s okay. We all did.) But to be honest, you’re having a pretty great time, because there’s all this fun stuff going on. Except you wake up one morning and realize that you gotta actually go pick your courses. You know, the shit you’re gonna study for 14 weeks. How do you even begin? We’ve got your back. 

1. Balance. Balance. BALANCE. Fuck those people who are already planning to take five courses second semester without actually having taken four classes their first semester. It’s extra, it’s irritating, and quite frankly, those people should not be your friends. If they are, tune them out and focus on choosing classes that are actually interesting to you without a crazy workload.

2. Know yourself. They say to pick a balance of p-set classes and paper classes, but that doesn’t work for everyone. Sometime a blend of course formats can be distracting. If you hate papers, try and minimize those kinds of courses—to a certain extent, of course. You still gotta get Gen-Ed requirements done, but fortunately those are varied enough to please even the most science-averse English concentrator. (Read: yours truly). At the end of the day, try and figure out what kinds of things you gravitate toward, and if you really can’t figure it out, then go for the classic p-set-and-paper balance.

3. Know yourself part 2. if everyone is taking Ec10 (and trust us, most of the people you know will take Ec10) but you don’t even understand basic supply and demand (or want to), then steer clear. There are thousands of courses out there; take something that interests you, for crying out loud. You’re not in high school anymore: you have options, you can try new things, and you don’t have to conform to whatever preconceived ideas people might have placed on you. Seriously. 

4. Don’t shop 20 courses. We’ve tried it, and we felt like we were gonna die halfway through Shopping Week. Try and narrow down your list of courses to maybe 10, if you even have that many, and go to those. You’ll feel less anxious. And you might even be able to take something you’ve left off the list in the future.

5. Freshman seminars. Apply for what you really think is cool, because they can be a hit or miss. Also, fair warning—since they’re pass/fail, the semester you end up replacing it with a letter-graded class could hit you harder than you expect.

6. Language courses. They might seem like a waste, but Harvard has stellar language faculty. If you’re really feeling it, and you’re up for the commitment, then go for it. It can literally never hurt you to be well-versed in a different culture and way of living. (Duh.)

Next article
Rheede Erasmus,  Editor in Chief
rheede.erasmus@hsa.net
Brammy Rajakumar, Publishing Director
brammy.rajakumar@hsa.net
Hannah Phan, Studio 67 Managing Director
hannah.phan@hsa.net
The Unofficial Guide to Harvard Copyright © 2020 by Harvard Student Agencies, Inc., Burke-McCoy Hall, 67 Mount Auburn Street, Cambridge, MA 02138. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system now known or to be invented, without permission in writing from Harvard Student Agencies, Inc. Photographs reproduced with permission from Austin Eder, Ronia Hurwitz, Lance Katigbak, Mark Kelsey, Cindy Niu, Winnie Wu, and Christina Yee. Printed in Canada by Friesens Corp. The Harvard name and/or VERITAS shield are trademarks of the President and Fellows of Harvard College and are used by permission of Harvard University. LEGAL DISCLAIMER. Although every effort was made to ensure that the following information was correct at the time of going to press, the author and publisher do not assume and hereby disclaim any liability to any part for any loss or damage caused by errors, omissions, or any potential travel disruption due to labor or financial difficulty, whether such errors or omissions result from negligence, accident, or any other cause. ADVERTISING DISCLAIMER. All advertisements appearing in Unofficial Publications are sold by an independent agency not affiliated with the editorial production of the guides. Advertisers are never given preferential treatment, and the guides are researched, written, and published independent of advertising. Advertisements do not imply endorsement of products or services by Unofficial Guides, and Unofficial Publications does not vouch for the accuracy of information provided in advertisements. If you are interested in purchasing advertising space in an HSA publication, contact: Studio 67, 67 Mount Auburn St., Cambridge, MA 02138, USA, or studio67.hsa.net.