Formals also provide the perfect excuse to get closer to that guy or girl you've been clocking and offer the perfect opportunity to get to know them better.

And they can still be fun even if you're not interested in anyone. Two years ago, I had a girlfriend back home in New York, but I still went to a handful of formals with friends.

I always had a great time but my favorites werethe CityStep Ball and the Freshman Formal.CityStep was the first formal I went to, and it'sfor a great cause. The Freshman Formal is coolbecause it gives you chance to try to remember thenames of all those people you met duringOrientation Week and never saw again.

But formals aren't completely without theirperils. If you're looking for a love connection,it's a good idea to shy away from going withsomeone who is widely known to be involved withsomeone else.

And if this absolutely cannot be avoided, trynot to follow in the foot steps of an unfortunateroommate of mine (who shall remain nameless). Thispoor but well-meaning soul spent a lot of money,time and effort trying to set up the perfectevening for his date. Yet he seemed surprised whenshe spent the night with her usual playmate. Myroommate is till trying to live that down.

Social Life

As I alluded to earlier, Harvard's strength iscertainly not its social life. Harvard is(thankfully) not an "Animal House" type of college(even though the screenwriters attended schoolhere.)

Hopefully this is not a surprise to you. If youcame here looking for phat parties every weekend,it might not be too late to get your tuitionrefunded.

But don't listen to those who tell you thatthere's nothing to get into here. The key toconstant fulfillment is one word: diversity.

As a first-year, I tried to avoid pigeonholingmyself into just one clique or scene.

I spent the first few weekends rolling with alarge number of the African-Americans in my classto parties at MIT, B.U. and Northeastern.

And although most of these parties were kindaphat, my off-campus forays would come to an abruptend. One night, I was forced to make the hour-longtrek home from B.U. with about five or six of myfriends because we missed that last T and didn'thave enough money for two cabs.

Mentally scarred, I spent the rest of the yearon campus, dividing my time between parties at theriver houses and the Quad. During the fall readingperiod, the inevitable happened--I found my wayinto the Crimson Sports Grille, Harvard's ownblack hole.

The Grille's most redeeming qualities are itslax carding policy and the fact that you canalways walk in there and spend a couple of hourscatching up with your pals from Orientation Week.Whatever. Stay away for as long as you can (sorry,Dave)--your liver will thank you.

Things I slept on during my first year includethe Boston club scene and parties at Harvard'svarious social clubs. In small doses, both scenescan be at worst benign and at best amusing.

Academics