At Saturday's computer fair in the Science Center, Christina M. Shuman '03 seemed in her element. Instead of wandering around with a lost look in her eyes, as many first-years were, Shuman was chatting and laughing with groups of friends.

It's not hard to spot the first-year students, like Shuman, who already seem to be "connected": they're off to meet up with friends outside of their entryway and they're seen walking around en masse. Annenberg? Not a problem--they already have seats reserved for them with their high school buddies.

But worried first-years can take heart. Though the networks seem impenetrable and intimidating, that's not always the case. Often, people who know each other only cursorily will clump together during the first few weeks, seeming like longtime buddies.

But upperclass students who have survived Freshman Week say the friendships made then don't always last. It's more important to meet new people, and to be open when others meet you. Self-help talk? Maybe, but it works.

Hey, You Did CTY, Right?

Allen S. Ho '00 was one of the many fledgling Harvard students who knew no one his first few days. "It was kind of lonely, but that was only for like, two seconds," he says.

One thing that helped Ho was his realization that though other first-years seemed well-connected, those connections didn't always translate to deep friendships.

The connections can come from any number of experiences: Students name boarding schools, debate competitions, athletic meets and scholarship awards ceremonies as hot spots for meeting prospective Harvard students during high school.

Which leaves first-years with many people they can wave to in the Yard, but not necessarily people they would call close friends.