Frequently Asked Questions

Admitted and enrolling students who have questions about reversing their deferral should visit should visit the Admitted Students Website.

Admitted students who have questions about deferring their matriculation should visit should visit the Admitted Students Website.

If your student is considering a Leave of Absence, your student should contact their Allston-Burr Resident Dean or their Resident Dean of First-Year Students to inquire about the process. 

We can't wait to welcome you! For more information about visiting Harvard, please see our Visiting Campus page. 

Please visit the Commencement Office website for details regarding the schedule, answers to Commencement questions, traditions, and much more!

The housing assignment notification is made during the last week of July or first week of August and typically includes the following information:

• dorm
• suite assignment
• first-year proctor
• mailing address
• whether the suite has an en suite or hall-style bathroom
• roommates, if any

Learn more about living in the dorms

Please visit the Dean of Students Office website for a list of dates and deadlines for your student to complete before they start classes at Harvard. It is important that your student meets these deadlines on time to ensure a smooth transition into their first semester.

All dorm rooms and suites are configured with the following furniture:

• Extra-long twin-size bed (including an 80″ mattress)
• Floor lamp (we recommend bringing a desk or additional lamp)
• Wardrobe (in cases where closets are not present)
• Desk and matching chair
• Dresser (with five drawers)
• Bookcase
• Recycling and compost bins (trash bins are not provided). See guidelines for recycling and composting on the Office for Sustainability's website.

If you are wondering what to pack, please visit the Dean of Students Office website, which provides a list of items we recommend bringing to campus as well as a list of prohibited items. You may also be interested in amenities provided to students living in the dorms.

Our residential policies can be viewed in the Harvard College Student Handbook. 

Learn more about living at Harvard

A full listing of what to bring and what not to bring can be found in the Guide to the First Year for Students and Their Families, a publication that is released in early July each year. More information is available on the Dean of Students Office website.

You may also find it helpful to view a list of furniture provided in the dorms.

Communications from Harvard College

The Parent and Family Engagement Office sends our Family Connection newsletter twice in the fall semester and twice in the spring semester along with invitations to our Family Weekend events. Copies of our newsletter are posted to our website as soon as we send them. 

Depending on the specific semester, you may also receive important updates from Harvard College leadership, including Danoff Dean of Harvard College, Rakesh Khurana; Dean of Students, Tom Dunne and Dean of Undergraduate Education, Amanda Claybaugh. For example, you may receive communications if there is a change to the curriculum or a change in leadership in the College. 

If you are not receiving our communications, learn how your student can sign you up to receive them. 

 

Sample Harvard College Communications Timeline for Families

Here is a sample schedule of communications you may receive from Harvard College. Please note that this is schedule is subject to change and is included to help you anticipate how frequently we may communicate with you:

Summer (Incoming Families of First-Year Students Only)

• June: Summer Family Letter

• July-August: Summer Webinar Series

   

Fall Semester Email Messages

• September: Family Connection Newsletter 1, Save the Date for First-Year and Junior Family Weekend
• October: First-Year and Junior Family Weekend
• November: Family Weekend Recap

• December: Family Connection Newsletter 2

   

Spring Semester Email Messages

• January: Family Connection Newsletter 3
• February-April: Family Webinar Series

• May: Family Connection Newsletter 4

   

Communications from Harvard University

Outside of our office, you may also receive communications from our partners across Harvard University including the Harvard College Fund. You can also subscribe to the Harvard Gazette, which provides a daily roundup of the latest stories, news, and research at Harvard University, and Harvard Magazine, the independent source for Harvard news since 1898.

 

Social Media

Whether you want to informally connect with other Harvard College families or get an inside look at the student experience, there are a variety of social media channels to help you keep up with everything at Harvard. 

We ask students to add their family members to our system as a privacy measure.

Please check in with your student to make sure that your information is added to my.harvard (our Student Information System) via the Family Information Form. Note that the information added to the Family Information Form is different from the information in your student's emergency contacts. Your student should check their account in my.harvard to make sure they have added your information to the Family Information Form in addition to their Emergency Contacts. 

Family information form instructions

If your student is having difficulty with the Family Information Form after reviewing the above instructions, please ask them to contact their Resident Dean. 
 

Please add us to your safe sender list.

If your student has added you to our system via the Family Information Form and you are still not receiving our emails, please make sure you have added parents@fas.harvard.edu to your safe sender email list and check your spam folder.