Or joining a club. The first-years are beginning to discover how much of life at Harvard is organized around extracurricular activities.

Most of them already had an idea what they wanted to do with their time.

Leila says having to choose just a couple of activities to pursue has made her feel unproductive. She has one activity for sure: she recently landed a slot as an assistant director for a Harvard Model United Nations committee on the UN Development Program, which she hopes to work for in real life. It has helped her to feel more grounded.

Other residents of 32 and 42 find routine--and friends--through sports.

Brendan M. McCafferty '04 describes himself as a "quiet kid." He plays football, which means he was in Cambridge a month before most other first-years for pre-season practices.

He spends most of his time with other athletes. Being shy is not a problem for him because he is getting to know his teammates so well.

"I don't think it's harder for me to meet people or enjoy myself," he says. "By the time classes started I knew 110 guys."

For Ellie, 20 hours of swimming a week provide a similar feeling of structure.