First-Year Experience
We provide incoming or first-year students with guidance, programming, and resources to help them transition from high school to college.
Together, our team ensures academic and social well-being and growth for first-year students. Stop by our office to meet with your Resident Dean, borrow games or kitchen items, or sign up for a music practice room.
First-Year Residential Life
Incoming students live in the central part of campus which includes the first-year dormitories, Annenberg dining hall, Widener and Lamont libraries, and academic buildings. You're also just steps from stores and restaurants in Harvard Square.
First-year students are assigned to one of four residential neighborhoods called "Yards", each with a dedicated Resident Dean. Each Yard includes dormitories, and within the dorm students are grouped into entryways of 15-45 students.
Learn about life in the Yard
Our Mission
We strive to help first-year students:
- Build a strong foundation of skills and strategies needed to be successful in college
- Navigate from the first year to their future at Harvard College and beyond
- Foster intellectual curiosity and build connections based on personal interests
- Engage substantively and reflectively in the living and learning communities that surround them
- Recognize and seek guidance at appropriate moments for themselves and their peers
- Respect the multiple voices and perspectives of our community and commit to productive dialogue