#  First-Year Experience 

 



 ##  

  expand\_more  

 
  

 

## We provide incoming or first-year students with guidance, programming, and resources to help them transition from high school to college.

   ![6 Prescott Building Exterior](/sites/g/files/omnuum7076/files/styles/hwp_1_1__960x960_scale/public/dso/files/6_prescott_exterior.jpg?itok=6FwfnoRM) 

 

  
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](/life-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



 

##  Our Team 

 



 ### Resident Deans

Resident Deans are dedicated full-time professionals who live on campus and oversee the academic and residential life of one of the Yards, which includes roughly 400 students.

[Resident Deans](/role/resident-deans-first-year-students)



 

 ### Full-Time Staff

The team based at 6 Prescott Street facilitates all aspects of first-year life.

[Full-time staff](/programareaoffice-type/first-year-experience)



 

 ### Proctors

Proctors are graduate students and professional staff who live in the dorms with students and create an academic and social community for the first-year students in their entryway.

[Proctors](https://dso.college.harvard.edu/people/people-type/staff?f%5B0%5D=hwp_c_programareaofficetyp%3A169209)



 

 ### Programming Staff

Members of the programming staff plan targeted programs for students: intramurals, arts, faculty-student initiatives, health and wellness, sustainability, and social events.

[Program Staff](/area/programming-staff)



 

  

 

 

 

##  Contact Us 

Office Hours:

Monday - Friday  
9am - 3pm

6 Prescott Street  
Cambridge, MA 02138  
617-495-1574

#### [Email Us](mailto:firstyear@fas.harvard.edu)