The Harvard That TikTok Doesn’t See, According to Our Editors

With titles like “Did I get in??? College Decision Reaction!!!” and “A Day in the Life of a Harvard Student,” social media videos by and about Harvard students have invaded TikTok and YouTube and captured millions of views.

Like all viral content, these videos are guilty of distortion.

Being a Harvard student is worlds apart from waking up at the crack of dawn before embarking on a productive day of curing cancer and saving the world (all while finding time to eat three meals a day, sleep, and exercise).

Don’t think for a second that a teenager in the “How to Get Into Harvard” video has cracked the code on Harvard admissions, either — the secret to success is just as much luck as it is a carefully crafted resume and high SAT score.

Above all, the hype created by influencers has served to deify Harvard and further inflate its already-ballooned brand. As the number of student-influencers among us grows, it becomes equally important to show the people who watch these videos (no shame — we once were all guilty of this) the real Harvard.

So, want to know what Harvard is really like? Hear from our editors below.

What’s one thing you wouldn’t know about Harvard from social media?

Cheap, rough, razor thin, 0.5+0.5 ply toilet paper. Everywhere. An epidemic that goes unmentioned. Where is our embossed Charmin Ultra Soft? All Harvard fangirls and prospective applicants must know the truth.

Now is the time for our esteemed YouTubers to stand up for what is right.

—Matthew E. Nekritz ’25, an Associate Editorial editor, is a double concentrator in YouTube Shorts and TikTok Algorithms in Cabot House.

Harvard Intramurals are actually fun! From classic volleyball and football to inner tube water polo and broomball — think hockey but in tennis shoes — us nerds on campus are not that unathletic.

Who knew we had game? After all, we all ran cross country in high school!

—David I Gonzalez ’25, a Crimson Editorial editor, is a soon-to-be four-time Strauss Cup winning athlete in Kirkland House.

As someone who unabashedly begged students to come to Harvard, I can say two things.

First, both the mainstream media and social media influencers fail to display the quotidian aspects of Harvard — going to class, spending time with friends, hypothetically going to a party.

Second, though, the numbers don’t lie…

—Matthew R. Tobin ’27, a Crimson Editorial editor, lives in Winthrop house.

Despite op-ed upon op-ed describing Harvard’s hustle culture, there are some moments in between, too — between classes and assignments and club meetings and meals. In these moments, you’ll do fun things with friends, or call your mom, or maybe just lay on your bed and watch TikTok.

—McKenna E. McKrell ’26, an Associate Editorial editor, is a Classics concentrator in Adams House.

Fulfilling experiences seldom translate to aesthetic vlogs or flashy lines on a resumé. You can sit on three committees or paint your GCal with board meetings and still not accomplish very much. All my favorite memories stem from pursuits undertaken purely out of love and little else.

—E. Matteo Diaz ’27, a Crimson Editorial Comp Director, lives in Leverett House.

There is an infinite amount of space between promising to see someone and actually seeing them. You will see GCals that look more like a quilted blanket than a scheduling tool.

—Max A. Palys ’26, an Associate Editorial editor, is a double concentrator in Math and East Asian Studies in Currier House.

There are probably just as many mice on campus as there are students. But that is okay because they are our friends and late-night problem set buddies in the dining hall!

—Mukta R. Dharmapurikar ’26, a Crimson Editorial editor, is a double concentrator in Environmental Science and Engineering and Economics in Lowell House.

Capricious Wi-Fi. Mice in the dining hall. Periodically atrocious food. Sound like Harvard?

Those reservations aside, I couldn’t ask for a better home away from home. But what YouTube videos and Instagram reels (and, undoubtedly, TikTok, although I wouldn’t know) miss is what makes Harvard truly special — finding any and every way to procrastinate anything and everything.

—Rohan Nambiar ’27, a Crimson Editorial editor, is an Ethnographic Study of Gen Eds concentrator in Leverett House.

For the low fee of $10,000, you can access my unparalleled knowledge of the admissions process (that I totally didn’t glean from Reddit and repackage in more elaborate diction). You can trust that this is totally legit because, you know, I go to Harvard.

All payments must be in cash.

—Henry P. Moss IV ’26, a Crimson Editorial editor, is a freelance admissions consultant in Eliot House.

Sometimes, the most enthralling learning experience is gabbing and skipping with a friend by the Charles river past midnight — all in the name of procrastinating the completion of your 100 pages of reading and/or problem set.

—Jasmine N. Wynn ’27, Crimson Editorial editor, lives in Winthrop House.

Most everything important I’ve learned, I’ve learned outside of the classroom. Unfortunately, time here outside of the classroom will also run you $80,000 a year.

—Violet T.M. Barron ’26, an Associate Editorial editor, is a Social Studies concentrator in Adams House.

A day in my life. Wake up and think about The Crimson. Go to class and think about The Crimson. Attempt to do readings but pick up my phone every few minutes to send a text about The Crimson. Power off my phone. Eat a quick dinner in Eliot House because it’s closer than Currier to The Crimson. Head, at last, to The Crimson to edit for the night. Spend at least as much time talking as editing. Finish editing. Discover no Bluebikes remain and walk back to the Quad. Avoid Cambridge Common (scary at night). Sleep. Rinse. Repeat.

—Tommy Barone ’25, a Crimson Editorial chair, is a Social Studies concentrator in Currier House