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The Harvard Guide to Happiness

·222 words·2 mins
Table of Contents

I recently read a short article about making the most of your university experience. I thought it contained some good points, and so here are my notes for that article.

Meet the faculty
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  • Aim to get to know one faculty member reasonably well every term.
  • By the end of your undergrad, you’ll have 8 people who can write reference letters for you.
  • You’ll feel more connected to the university.
  • “The most satisfied students in the Harvard interviews sought detailed feedback and asked specific questions of professors and advisors.”

Take a mixture of courses
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  • Don’t just take required courses – take courses that interest you.
  • Also, smaller classes (15 or fewer) were significantly correlated with overall engagement and good grades.

Study in groups
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  • Students who study in groups understood the material better and were more engaged in class.

Write, write, write
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  • “In all of Professor Light’s research, no factor was more important to engagement and good grades than the amount of writing a student did.”
  • Courses with more writing assignments give you more opportunity to improve between assignments.

Speak another language
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  • Language classes were most frequently mentioned among “favourite classes”.

Consider time
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  • Students who spent more time studying, unsurprisingly, did better.

Get involved
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  • Students who got involved in extracurricular activities were happier than those who didn’t.

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