10.17.24: The Career Issue
Finance Fever
A look at the undergraduate fixation on finance at Harvard.
Getting into Harvard is no small feat, with just over 3.6% of the 54,008 applicants admitted into the College in the most recent class. However, incredibly low acceptance rates, intense applications, and extreme competitiveness don’t end with the College’s acceptance letter, especially if you want to join a pre-professional finance club. In the first two […]
The Languages Less Taken
Harvard offers nearly 100 languages, yet undergraduates rarely enroll in courses on most of them.
Harvard College offers courses and tutorials on 98 world languages, with even more available upon special request. From Mandarin Chinese, spoken by 1.1 billion people worldwide, to Old Church Slavonic, a medieval proto-Slavic language only occasionally used in some Orthodox and Eastern-Rite Catholic church services today, undergraduate language offerings span continents and millennia—yet few students […]
To Be, or Not to Be (Pre-Med)
Hear from members of the Harvard community on various ways to solve the pre-med dilemma.
I sat down for a typical lunch at Annenberg. “So, what classes are you taking?” my table-mate asked, a classic conversation starter. “I’m taking a History of Science class, a Gen Ed on heart disease, and LS1a,” I responded, thinking about the work cut out for me later. “OMG, are you also a pre-med?” they […]
Behind the Wheel
How Harvard Undergraduate Automotive Society’s (HUAS) Formula SAE team is cruising toward becoming a powerhouse in collegiate motorsports.
There has never been a more exciting time to be a Harvard engineer. With the recently built $1 billion campus in Allston and its ever-growing student body of engineering, computer science, and applied mathematics concentrators, Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) has seen a meteoric rise. The most impressive part […]
The Overcommitment Illusion
How my habit of stretching myself too thin has hampered my learning.
The psychological concept of illusory correlations, or perceived relations between two things, intrigues researchers across the field of psychology. The catch is, there is no actual relationship between the two variables. Some external thinking process—perhaps a social phenomenon, highly available stereotype, or rampant bias—creates this relationship out of thin air. This falsified relationship then causes […]
So You Want to Work?
A guide to the professional world’s best kept secrets and job interviews.
So you’re looking for a job? Well then, you’re in the right place. Here at the Harvard Independent, we know that navigating the job market is like trying to date someone in this day and age. Confusing. Miserable. And just when you think you’re on the up, you’re hit with yet another blow. But there’s […]
Discovering Harvard’s Jewish Spaces
Reconnecting with my Jewish heritage through a reflection on Harvard’s offerings.
The past few weeks have been a very important time for the Jewish community, both at Harvard and around the world. The coinciding of the high holiday season—in which the community celebrates Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur among others—and the first anniversary of Oct. 7 provides a prime time to reflect on our campus community. […]
Don’t Give Up on Your Dream Job, Just Wait on It.
Take some time before making your dreams come true.
Sitting in an airport diner, my blockmate and I talk about our hopes and dreams. Over Caesar salads and Diet Cokes, we ask each other the question: “What did you want to be when you grew up?” We laughed about the silly answers we’d once thought we could be, like movie stars and astronauts. As […]
Stop and Smell the Roses at Brattle Square Florist
Explore the oldest flower shop in Harvard Square, still in the hands of the founding family.
When you step into Brattle Square Florist, not only are you greeted by a vibrant array of flowers, but owner Stephen Zedros welcomes you with a smile. At this remarkable flower shop, fresh-cut flowers coexist with the deep-rooted family history the shop has in Harvard Square. Brattle Square Florist is the oldest flower shop in […]