If rapid access is a concern, seeing a UHS clinician is easier than going to an outside gynecologist.

While it takes six to seven weeks to see a gynecologist in the Boston area, two to three weeks is the standard wait in student health services, Faigel says.

"[We] see students who are in the beginning of an intimate relationship and they want [birth control] right now," Faigel says.

According to Weingarten, the UHS director of medicine, the health service's fastest exam, performed by a nurse practitioner, will require a wait of one to two weeks.

Though some women might rather speak with a gynecologist, a nurse practitioner is "a terrific way to deal with a large facility [like UHS]," Faigel says.

Appointments can be made more quickly if you already have a primary care physician or if there is an urgent problem, he adds.

In the event of an emergency such as suspected pregnancy, Bowman says a woman can go to the Urgent Care Clinic in the UHS basement and get a "morning after" pill, a high dose of estrogen which induces bleeding. That pill's effectiveness is maximized if used within the first 24 hours sex, and it becomes ineffective at preventing pregnancy after three days.

Peer Groups

Faigel says students seeking contraception will find their college health care system friendlier if they have a peer group to walk them through it.

Bender says peer counseling offered by PCC allows students to talk to someone "less threatening than a nurse practitioner." And if a woman has never had a gynecological exam, PCC counselors can demystify the procedure.

When advising a female student about contraceptives, Bender says PCC counselors first establish how comfortable a woman is with her body and how appropriate a method like the sponge or diaphragm--which both require insertion--would be.

The bottom line for many students, though, is that a condom and foam are safe, cheap and require no contact with the medical profession, Bender says.

PCC counselors can refer people to clinicians at UHS. Bender says the counselors can recommend a physician on the basis of sex or according to the student's medical problem.

Another Option: Planned Parenthood

If students are not covered by the Blue Cross/Blue Shield policy provided by Harvard and are looking for a cheap clinic, PCC counselors sometimes will refer them to Planned parenthood.