Rather than doing everything and compiling a resume the length of a walk to the Quad, the typical Harvard student will find one extracurricular and devote a considerable amount of time to it. A clear minority of students choose to devote all their time to studying, and these Harvardians are stereotypically pre-meds.

Elbaum, who until recently was a pre-med, challenges the stereotype. "I haven't seen all the stereotypical people, very few stab-you-in-the-back pre-meds," he says. "There are pre-meds probably involved in every sport. I don't think anyone is a total geek."

Athletics, though not of the scale of big state colleges, still play a role in student life. Harvard's 1985-86 NCAA runner-up hockey team frequently attracted standing-room-only crowds, but The Game--the annual football clash with Yale--is probably the only other sporting event of comparable magnitude.

The Head of the Charles, the October crew regatta, brings Harvardians out in droves, although most ignore the racing boats, preferring to sit on the river banks while picnicking, drinking beer, and enjoying the last days of autumn.

Harvard's lackluster athletic performances can be attributed partially to the fact that it does not offer athletic scholarships. Students also try to uphold the "student-athlete" ideal.

The women's volleyball team, says Stephanie A. Salinas '87, is low-pressured. "Sometimes I wish it were more serious on the volleyball team," she says. "If you really love the sport, it's nice to play with people who are really dedicated."

But the relaxed atmosphere of Harvard athletics also opens up varsity sports to newcomers. Leslie A. Barbi '88 never played water polo until her sophomore year at Harvard. This year she is co-captain of the women's varsity team.

An inexplicable aura pervades Harvard, an aura felt by the students currently enrolled in the College and by the alumni who return to the stomping ground of their youth. "Right around finals time there's a really neat feeling," Salinas says. "You go to Widener Library and think, 'Wow, this is Harvard.'"