Harvard: The Class of 2013 Senior Survey

I was going to comment on how only 5% of the class sees a permanent future in the finance industry while 20% of the class sees a long term career in health/medicine, and how it reflects the perceived attractiveness of the various industries as our population ages and finance is increasingly bound up by legislation.

But then I saw this:

39 percent of respondents said they sought some form of mental health care during their time at Harvard.

A culture and society that coerces its most potent individuals to develop depression and other mental issues is one that we cannot by any means be proud of. While I technically didn't seek mental health care during my college years, I should have by all means. During those four years, one friend visibly broke down and took a leave of absence for a year. Another committed suicide using cyanide from her lab. I can't imagine things are any better at my alma mater both compared to my years of attendance and compared to Harvard today.

I really wish I could even have hope that things are getting better.

I find it really interesting that 11.1% of men identify as gay coming out of college, yet only 1.7% of women do. Those numbers are respectively higher and lower than I would expect. It really speaks to the differences between male and female sexuality, even outside of "normal" heterosexual identity. Any thoughts as to why these numbers are so different? Is our conception of sexual orientation fundamental or just a social construction? I'm endlessly fascinated by these questions. There's so much we don't understand, complicated by politics of heteronormativity and equality. Wikipedia has an interesting article here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_sexual_orientat...

Ivy league students, on average, come from wealthier families than those attending other universities. Even ivy league students from poor backgrounds are likely under higher pressure to succeed than similar students going to other universities. The result is a stronger than average motivation to cheat and a stronger ability to cheat (e.g. Ghost writers do cost money). Couple this with a higher probability of litigation when students are punished/expelled, which causes Harvard to typically go easy on cheaters, and it's no surprise that cheating is more common at Harvard.

The question for HN employers is whether or not this should impact the value of an Ivy League degree.

The cheating statistics really don't surprise me. In fact, I think they are underestimated, understandable considering some students may fear that their answers could be held against them despite being assured it won't.

"Why is this on HN?" Well I think the cheating part has a some transferrable takeaways, the main one being online education. Online education is much like Harvard's honor system in that every assignment, quiz, and test can be completed on your own time (at least that's what I hear Harvard's policies are) and just have to be turned in by a certain date. But what you do to finish in that time is totally unknown to the administrators. Personally, I think it is the biggest obstacle for online education and this so-called Honor system. When there are people who want to succeed, and in class succeeding is generally represented by high grades, they will do whatever it takes and if using external resources is the way, why wouldn't they if no one is going to stop them? Not saying this is everyones mentality, but it obviously exists in many intelligent brains.

The problem is outlined and has been for a while...the solution will have to be amazing.

These are the people being groomed to make decisions that affect our world? Terrifying.

Why is this on HN? I'm not seeing it.