Kim, who is Asian-American, says she has spentthe summer almost exclusively with young women andmen of her own ethnic group.

"I started hanging out with just Asian people."she says. "That's just the way it happened."

Indeed, Kim hasn't forged the lifelongfriendships with people of all races and creedsthat are promised by Harvard's guidebooks andCrimson Key tour leaders.

Instead, she says she has the type ofexperience one wouldn't normally read about in theguidebooks.

"It's just new," Kim says. "It's good, though,because I'm learning to interact with people of myown race."

Other students say Harvard's diversity hasn'treally contributed much to the quality of theirsummer.

Chijiiwa says the people he has met at Harvardare "a lot different from the people back home"in Germany-and that the difference have detractedfrom his summer.

"Their behavior is different, just in the wayyou are when you hang around with your friends,"he says.

"They're okay, but they're just different," hesays of the high school students in the summerschool program. "Most people don't think the way Ido."

Another foreign student, Makeris from Greece,also says she has found Harvard's social life abit lacking.

She says Harvard high School summer studentsare "distant and reserved."

But Makeris, who is volunteering at a homelessshelter, says she still considers the atmosphereat Harvard to be very community-oriented.

A Taste of Harvard

Overall, though, most summer school studentssays they've really enjoyed their taste of theHarvard experience.

"I've been to a lot of different colleges,"says Cheng, who listed UCLA, Duke, Iowa State andseveral schools in Missouri. "But I like thisbetter."