You were one of the 19,009 applicants to Harvard this year, and somehow, you beat the greatest odds ever-only 10.7 percent of applicants made it into the ivory tower.

Nearly 80 percent of you will be back here in September, but if your Crimson Key tour memories are a bit fuzzy, here is a side of Harvard that your Crimson folders and glossy brochures will never tell you.

Armed for the Weekend?

First thing first-ditch the folder. Harvard Yard’s easy enough to figure out, especially with the signs posted by every extracurricular activity at Harvard pointing you in the direction of various buildings.

Your hosts will hopefully have good intentions, pointing you in the right direction so you can find other pre-frosh to entertain you. But beware upperclassmen. While freshman party goers are often dubbed “freshmeat,” pre-frosh are prime-rib.

Your schedule may promise panels that inform and intrigue, but you’ll have four years to slowly fall asleep to these professors. However, don’t miss the President’s Welcome. This may be the only time you ever get a chance to meet Harvard’s outgoing president, Neil L. Rudenstine who will soon be replaced by the man who signed your dollar bills, Lawrence H. Summers.

You are a member of a diverse and talented class. Now make some use of that-the people you meet pre-frosh weekend may be your best friends or people you never see again, but chances are, you’ll be spending the next four years with them. After four years, graduating seniors often report that their best teachers were other Harvard students. If you’ve ever wanted to learn the proper pronunciation of “y’all” or hear a true Bronx accent, this is the weekend.

After the Weekend: Academics