The historic high far exceeds previous records, 851 applications in the fall of 2001 and 852 applicants in the fall of 1967.

But because both the number of courses and the number of applicants rose drastically, about half the students still found themselves rejected from their choice of seminar, according to Doherty.

“There were simply not enough spots in seminars to accommodate everyone,” says Doherty. “The limiting factors are the number of slots available and some degree of unevenness in number of applications to individual seminars.”

Adding Science into the Mix

In the past, the Freshman Seminar Program was often dominated by humanities courses, leaving first-years with an interest in the sciences with few options.

But Doherty says that increasing science and math offerings has been a priority for her office, and this year there are 23 seminars being offered in the natural sciences, including mathematics.

Thirty seminars are being offered in the social sciences, and 34 in the humanities, leveling the field from previous years.

“Clearly the number of science freshman seminars has increased dramatically,” says David H. Hubel, research professor of neurobiology who is teaching a seminar this year. “Last year and the year before there were only about three hard sciences offerings.”

Faculty members stress that the seminars provide pre-med and science track students with a welcome alternative to the typical science course.

McKay Professor of Applied Biology Ralph Mitchell, who is leading a fall seminar on microorganisms in the biosphere, says the small size of the seminar is its major strength.

“The seminars give first year students an opportunity to interact with a faculty member in a small informal setting, and this is particularly important in the sciences where freshmen frequently find that their first courses at Harvard are large and impersonal,” he says.

Hubel points out that seminars, with a less intensive workload, can give first-years a chance to enjoy the subject matter.

“Big science classes are often dreadful at Harvard. The problem sets, the mid-terms and term papers can make life such a rat-race for undergraduates,” he says.

First-years can also benefit from seminars because the courses focus on new research, rather than simply teaching basic concepts, according to Daniel Fisher, Professor of Physics and Applied Physics.