The "truth" about Harvard University

"Veritas". For anyone that knows Latin, this means "truth". For anyone that knows anything about Harvard University, this is their motto. Harvard was the first institution of higher education established in the United States, founded in 1636 in Cambridge, MA, and today is one of the most prestigious universities in the world. They are also home to the largest academic library in the world. With an acceptance rate of 5.2%, it is obviously one of the most difficult schools to get accepted to, and is world renown for its reputation. While Penn State is obviously the best school ever (especially after last week's win) Harvard remains the top institution in the world today.

                                          source: missopen.com

About five years ago, one of my older cousins Greg was going through the tedious and scary process of applying to college. However, in his case this was not so bad. Not only is he just your regular old genius, he attended Phillips Academy (ironically in my town), which is pretty much the best private school in the country. He only applied to Ivy Leagues, including Harvard. He ended up attending Yale, which is literally the real life Hogwarts. However, when he got his acceptance certificate from Harvard, obviously it was a huge hit in my entire family. My dad proceeded to print out the certificate, and scratched out the name of my cousin and put mine instead, and he did the same to my brother. Although I knew I wasn't going to be going to Harvard, it still remains on my wall because it's just funny, and it's kind of cool to imagine actually being accepted there.

Although I only live about 30-40 minutes north of Harvard, I had never been to see it up until this past spring. Harvard Square in Cambridge is the area surrounding the university, and is an area full of unique shops, restaurants, street performers and brick sidewalks. It is full of energy and different people, and is a great atmosphere overall. When I went there for the first time, we walked quite a long distance, just to explore, and started noticing the Harvard logo on some buildings. Suddenly, we stumbled upon the arches to the school, and of course we walked in. It was a huge grass area, filled with huge trees, with students and classes outside, people wandering around like us, and beautiful old buildings all around. It is amazing to be one such an influential and famous college campus like this one, and when its right in your backyard.

                                                    source: Flickr