Gerry M. Perez says he though he would have to study all the time in order to say alive academically in Harvard's summer school program.
But Perez says he has been pleasantly surprised by the level of academic rigor in his Harvard courses.
"I thought they would be harder, that I'd have to kill myself to stay on top," says Perez, who well be a senior at Miami Country Day School in Miami, Fl. this fall. "But I still find time to go out with my friends."
But Perez says he has learned a lot, too.
"I've been very intellectually stimulated, even though they're not very time-consuming," Perez says.
Like many high school students who have decided to spend a summer previewing the Harvard experience, Perez says he has found many surprises-some pleasant, some not-so-pleasant.
Some students say they have received more reading and assignments at Harvard summer school than they ever imagined possible. Others, such as Perez, have found their workloads to be unexpectedly light.
There are summer school students who say they have found a diverse array of peers that has enhanced their summer school experience. But there are also students who have tended to cling to those who are similar to them ethnically.
But almost all high school students interviewed by The Crimson agree on at least one thing-the little slice of life at Harvard they have experienced this summer is not what they thought it would be.
Above all, most high school students say they arrived at Harvard expecting to be blown away by the academics.
"I expected the experience to match up to the name," says Tiffany M. Kanotz, a rising senior at Marshall Fundamental Secondary High School in Los Angeles. "I expected the courses to be intellectually challenging and just as enjoyable."
But Kanotz says that her six-plus weeks here have been a disappointment in that sense.
"It didn't measure up to my expectations," she says.
Kanotz says she spent the last two summers taking courses at California State University in Los Angeles, and that Harvard's summer school isn't a significant step up from her prior experience.
"[My classes] are both very interesting, but I really don't think Harvard offers any better education than, say, Cal State," she says. R Still, Kanotz says she has found what mostundergraduates discover in their time here-thatshe is learning a considerable amount from herpeers. "In some ways, it was superior [to Cal State]because the name always tends to attract reallymotivated people," Kanotz says. On the other hand, some students-especiallythose enrolled in language courses-seem to havefound their expectations of intense workloadsfrighteningly accurate. "I thought the courses would be a lot easier,but it's very intense," says Helen M. Kim, who inSeptember will start her senior year at ParkwayNorth High School it St. Louis. But Kim says there is a definite difference-atleast in terms of workload-between her classes inpsychology and Japanese. "I guess that language courses are different,"she says. But Kim says she "didn't expect to study somuch over the summer." The intensity of her workload has influencedher overall evaluation of the program, Kim says.Asked if she would have attended summer school ifshe knew in the spring what she knows now, Kimsays, "I don't know if I would do it again." "It was a cool experience," she says. "But I'venever studied so much before." Virginia Makeris, a summer student from Greecewho will also be entering her senior year of highschool, says she is taking elementary Spanish. She describes the course as "not difficult,just time-consuming." "It's a lot more work than I thought it wouldbe," Makeris says. But summer school students intimidated byintense work levels aren't just drawn from theranks of foreign language classes. Gen Chijiiwa, who will start his senior year ofhigh school in Germany next year, is takingArchaeology and Film Psychoanalysis. And those classes are more work than heexpected, Chijiiwa says. "I was surprised at the amount of reading wehad to do," Chijiiwa says. Still, most high school students say they feelthe same as Perez, who is taking genetics and aclass on Charles Darwin, Albert Einstein andSigmund Freud. Perez says his summer school experience hasmade him more likely to attend Harvard if he isadmitted. "I'm more likely to come here [if accepted],"Perez says. "I understand that I'm only takinghalf the normal course load, but this summer hasmade me understand that it's not horriblyoverbearing." Up in the Atmosphere Many high school students also point toHarvard's atmosphere as a feature that hasdiffered from their original expectations. One student, Michael A. Valdes, says he'sdisappionted by Harvard community he sees as quickto put on airs. In his first week here, Valdes says, he "sawthe teacher acting pompous in a way." "He would use big phrases and big terms and hewas intentionally trying to be confusing," saysValdes, who is about to enter his senior year atHoly Cross High School in New York City's Queensborough. Valdes is taking two courses-one onRomanticism, the other on film and literature. Andhe says his professors have exaggerated opinionsof their classes' worth. "Looking at the teacher's face, he looks likeif you don't do well in his class, your life isover," Valdes says. Valdes also says that he thinks his professorsare pretentious. And he accuses many of his peers of the samestuck-up tendencies. "Some seem like normal kids," Valdes says."Some seem overexpressive...It's like they want tobe different, but they can't." To this end, he says many students will resortto ostentatious lifestyles. "People wear real expensive clothing, and thentalk about how much it cost," Valdes says. But, he concludes, it's all just a part of lifein the all just a part of life in the ivory tower. "In the end, I figured this is Harvard, so Iadapted to it," Valdes says. Andrew S. Cheng, who will be a high schoolsenior in Barstow, Calif, disagrees. Cheng, who is taking mathematics this summer,says the environment "has a nice feeling to it." "I've been to California where everything isfast-paced," he says. "You get a more New Englandfeeling here. It's liberal. like it." Cheng apparently disagrees with Valdes'contention that Harvard summer school professorsare patronizing. Despite being enrolled in a calculus course inwhich he has more than 40 classmates, Cheng sayshe has received excellent instruction. And Cheng, who recently attended Commencementexercises for brother Aaron Cheng '94, says heespecially enjoys the many different people he'sencountered at Harvard. "I've been getting to learn about otherpeople," he says. "It's great." Diversity Of course, there is also Harvard'smuch-heralded diversity. It's promoted in theguidebooks, it's promoted in the guidebooks, it'shailed on all the tours and it's supposed to be ahallmark of the Harvard experience. Many high school summer of students say they'vemet peers of all different colors and creeds. "In one day, I can hear 10 differentlanguages," New York City's Valdes says,describing Harvard's diversity as being on parwith that of his hometown. But other say Harvard's diversity is overrated. Kim from St. Louis says her friends from homeare more diverse than those she has made here. 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." Makeris says Harvard summer school is a "greatprogram." She says her summer school has made hermore likely to attend Harvard if she's admittednext December or April. Perez also says he's had a fantastic summer. The best part, he' says, is always havingfriends around day and night. "It's definitely a great experience living withpeople my own age," Perez says. "It makes goingout to the movies and playing things mucheasier." He says his summer school experience hasconvinced him to apply to Harvard under the EarlyAction option. Still, the vote of approval is hardlyunanimous. Chijiiwa from Germany says that after hissummer in Cambridge, he's not going to apply toHarvard. "I was planning to go to Japan for collegeanyway," Chijiiwa says. But his brief Harvard experience has alsoapparently turned him off. "It's probably a good education," Chijiiwasays. "But I don't think I'd do well in thissystem." Asked if he would come to Harvard again if heknew last winter what the knows now, he says he'snot sure. Valdes says he only came to the summer schoolafter being urged to by his brother to do so. "He said to take a chance," Valdes says. "Itseems like a pretty cool experience. And I wantedto go, but not to spend eight weeks here. Maybe,like, two weeks." "Yeah, I think I've probably had really a veryboring summer," Valdes concludes.
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