Confi Guide Special: Understanding the Bureau of Study Counsel

Located in a gray house down Linden Street, the Bureau of Study Council (BSC) straddles two purposes: to help students adjust to college work and to counsel students adjusting to college life. Given its dual mission, programs through the BSC can seem like a combination of Positive Psych section and a “How to Live Your Best Life” Oprah segment. But for students looking for understanding adults and a mix of undergraduates and grad students to talk to, the BSC can feel homey.

Students needing a tutor can get one through the BSC, but with a $4/hr. fee, they might be better off going more frequently to their TFs (free) office hours instead. Otherwise, tutors are generally pretty helpful, though it can be uncomfortable for one Harvard student to go to another for help.

Workshops offered by the BSC cover the gamut, from the academically-oriented “Making the Best Use of Reading Period” to the more personal “Lust, Trust, and True Love.” BSC counselors will also meet individually with students—a good option for students looking for someone to talk to without visiting a counselor at UHS—and the staff members all genuinely seem to care about students.

The BSC also likes to herald its 60+-year-old Course in Reading and Study Strategies (“the longest continuously running course at Harvard,” it boasts on its web site). The course is 14 sessions of speed-reading exercises and presentations on pseudo-topics such as “morality and reading.” Copious handouts are also given out, perhaps to compensate for the course’s $25 fee. The course isn’t as helpful as it’s cracked up to be, though it could be helpful for first-years who haven’t yet figured out that tried-and-true skill of Harvard students: skimming.

While some students might spend their four years at Harvard without ever setting foot in the BSC, those who do leave happy they did. Harvard can be a cold, imposing place; the BSC makes it a little friendlier.