McMillin said Tadesse was highly patriotic, dressing up in national dress on United Nations Day.

Of her senior class of about 24 students, she was the second ranked, after Nebiyeleul Tilahun '96, now an Adams House resident concentrating in economics.

She and Tilahun were the only two students accepted to Harvard from their class, and Tadesse won a full scholarship based on her academic record and financial need.

"It was certainly the goal of our students here and she was so successful in being accepted to Harvard," McMillin said. "It was quite an honor."

Tilahun and Tadesse worked closely on schoolwork, McMillin said, but "their personalities were quite different. Neb is more gregarious and social and humorous."

Friends here said Tadasse built a closer friendship with Tilahun after arriving at Harvard.

Zheng said that when she saw Tadesse she wasalmost always either alone or with Tilahun, whoarrived at Dunster House almost immediately afterword of the stabbings began to spread acrosscampus just after 8 a.m. on Sunday.

Tilahun could not be reached for comment. Hereturned to Addis Ababa yesterday.

Few other students who described Tadesseclaimed to know her well. Many simply said thatshe was reserved but seemed otherwise unremarkablefor a Harvard student.

Tadasse first lived in an apartment inCambridge before starting her first year atHarvard. "She was alone in an apartment beforeschool started," said McMillin, who spends hersummers in Centerville, Mass. and kept in touchwith Tadasse. She was "a stranger in a strangeland."

One junior who lived in Thayer South withTadesse during their first years called her"typical," but "neat" and "interesting."

The junior said that "Sini," as she was knownto her friends and acquaintances, was hard toknow, but that the effort was worthwhile.

The junior expressed shock at the killings."She was never violent. She was always rationaland calm."

"She was by far the quietest person in ourentryway," said J. Kurt Schumacher '96, who alsoshared an entry with Tadesse during their firstyear. "I was friends with a lot of the otherpeople in the dorm, but I didn't know her well."

Tadesse was not involved in manyextracurricular activities--but she did join theHarvard African Students Association during herfirst year.

She spent last summer working at ananimal-biology laboratory affiliated with theHarvard Medical School. During that time she livedin the DeWolfe apartments.