Nearly four out of five seniors would still choose Harvard for college if they could pick again, with 85 percent saying they were satisfied with their overall college experiences.

This year’s graduates were more satisfied with their cumulative experiences than with any particular part—whether academics, extracurricular activities, or social life—according to a Crimson survey that polled more than 600 seniors. Women were slightly more satisfied than men in each area, the survey found.

Satisfaction with extracurricular activities was higher than with academics or social life, with 80 percent reporting that they were very satisfied or generally satisfied.

Academic satisfaction accounted for 57 percent of the overall satisfaction, social satisfaction for 27 percent, extracurricular satisfaction for 12 percent, and House satisfaction for 4 percent.

As the majority of seniors depart Harvard with positive impressions of their undergraduate experience, some say that they wouldn’t mind staying longer.
“I could do another 12 to 16 years here,” Philip R. Goldfarb ’08 said. “I can’t imagine anywhere else I’d be a better academic or have a better social experience.”

FROM EXPOS TO THESES

Seniors with higher grade point averages were more satisfied overall and were more likely to choose Harvard again.

The average self-reported GPA was 3.53, and the average for men and women did not differ significantly. The GPA for varsity athletes was .14 lower and .11 lower for those involved in single-sex social clubs, including final clubs, fraternities, and sororities.

There were no significant differences in the average GPA across the disciplines. Those in the traditionally larger concentrations were less satisfied with their departments than their peers in smaller concentrations.
Earth and planetary sciences topped the list, followed by visual and environmental studies. Economics and government, two of the most popular concentrations, were near the bottom.

The disparities in satisfaction revolve around advising and access to tutorials, said Jay M. Harris, who chairs the committee tasked with creating the new general education curriculum. “In many ways this is a straight numbers problem,” he said.

Avery L. Williams ’08, a history and science concentrator, said that she had a positive experience with her concentration. She added that the department, which is small, was able to provide exceptional advising and individual attention.

Seniors who completed a thesis were generally more satisfied with their concentration and academic experience than those who dropped their thesis or did not write one at all. They also reported a higher GPA.

OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM

Compared to the other components of their undergraduate experience, seniors were the least satisfied with their social experience, with about 70 percent reporting that they were very satisfied or generally satisfied.
Over the past four years, the College has increased its efforts to provide more social programming and venues for student activities.

In addition to opening the Cambridge Queen’s Head Pub and the Student Organization Center at Hilles, Harvard also created the Campus Life Fellow position and College Events Board to channel student input into social planning.

David R. Pilbeam, who served as dean of the College this year, said the current plans to evaluate the need for additional social spaces and to renovate the undergraduate Houses should address some of Harvard’s perceived “social deficit.”

Twenty percent of responders said they were in a single-sex social club. These individuals reported higher satisfaction with their social experience but lower satisfaction with House life than their peers who were not in final clubs, fraternities, or sororities.

House life satisfaction also appeared to follow the same trend as concentration satisfaction, where seniors in the largest Houses were the least pleased with their experience.

Seniors in Leverett, one of the biggest undergraduate Houses, were the least satisfied with their House experience. Kirkland had the highest House satisfaction, followed by Currier and Adams. All three Quad Houses ranked in the top half of the House life ratings.

Harris, who is the master of Cabot House, said that size is not the only factor in explaining the results, pointing out that the quality of housing varies tremendously among the Houses.

Seniors reported that they dated 2.48 people and had sex with 2.75 people on average.  A quarter of respondents said they did not have sex while at Harvard and a quarter said they had one sex partner. About 13 percent had sex with more than five people.

Individuals with more sex partners had a lower GPA on average. There was no correlation between the number of sex partners and overall satisfaction.
But Barry C. Burden, a University of Wisconsin political scientist and a former Harvard professor, cautioned that questions about the number of sex partners can be unreliable because respondents often skip the question or don’t answer honestly.

For more results from The Crimson's Senior Survey, see "Many '08 grads head for finance and consulting"