24 Harvard Vocab Words for the Class of '24

Vistas is usually a great time to become acquainted with the acronyms and names that make Harvard what it is, so why should Virtual Visitas be any different? If you’ve been confused about what the Q Guide is or what a Proctor does (and haven’t wanted to ask in the Groupme), read this guide to discover Harvard specific vocab to throw in during Zooms.

Residential Life

The River / The Quad / The Yard

The Yard is home to most of the freshman dorms. Most upperclassmen live in either one of the nine River houses or the three Quad houses, which Quadlings will tell you is not that far away.

Pfoho /foh-hoe/

Shorthand for Pforzheimer House, one of the Quad houses and home to the Igloo (see below).

Berg /berg/

Known as Berg for when you’re too lazy to say three syllables (Annenberg), the first-year dining hall (or d-hall) will be your heaven during brunch and your hell when you’re trying to finish an assignment during Brain Break, a snack break hosted every night by the lovely dining staff.

Flyby vs FlyBy

Flyby is one of the most honorable, charming, cherished, and did we mention, hilarious publications on campus, which brings this article to you, as well as many more here. When they’re on the go, upperclassmen have the option to eat at FlyBy, located under Berg, when they’re unable to make it to their Houses to grab a bite.

Entryway

A tightly knit community of around 30 people living in the same dorm with the same proctor/tutor (see below), and where you’ll meet some of your first friends.

Proctor/Tutor

Your guardian-not-parent who is an amazing resource for any and all concerns, from residential life to navigating the social scene to balancing extracurriculars and academics. Not only does your proctor have a wealth of information, but they also have lots of snacks.

PAF /paff/

A Peer Advising Fellow, or an upperclassman who is there to give advice from a student’s perspective. Every freshman is assigned a PAF who is also part of the entryway community. Plus, they’ll take you out to coffee and throw study breaks with free food. (If you can’t tell, Harvard students are primarily motivated by – you guessed it: free food)

Academics

Concentration, secondary, citation

Concentration and secondary are the Harvard vernacular for “major” and “minor.” You can earn a foreign language citation by taking four courses of a language beyond an introductory level.

Shopping Week

The most chaotic week of the semester. During this time students sample or “shop” classes they are interested in taking. Don’t worry if you still have four extra courses by the end of shopping week – we’ve all been there before, and that is exactly what the Q guide is for.

Q guide /cue-guyd/

If shopping week is a treacherous mountain terrain, the Q guide is the map with all of the safety hazards written on it. The Q guide is a compilation of the rankings for each course on a 5-point scale (1-worst, 5-best) and advice from students who have taken the course before. This is a great way to find gems – a class with a high rating and little work.

TF /tee-eff/

Teaching fellow. Typically a graduate student that helps out with the course and will lead smaller discussion sections outside of lecture. The Harvard word for TA.

Pset / MQC / OH

Psets, or problem sets are a collection of questions assigned most commonly by STEM classes. Luckily, Harvard provides great resources when you just can’t get a problem or have questions about a topic. The Math Question Center (MQC) along with office hours (OH), which are available in every course (even the humanities!), are frequently packed with students seeking help.

PSL / CA

Peer Study Leaders and Course Assistants are undergrads who have previously done well in the course and help current students with the course assignments in office hours.

The Writing Center and The Writing Program

At some point, your Expository 20 (Expos) requirements will take you to one or both of these locations. The Writing Center, staffed with trained undergraduate tutors, is located in the Barker Center and is a great way to get extra help on your essays. Make sure to schedule in advance. The Writing Program, at One Bow Street, is where the Expos preceptor’s offices are located and where their OHs will typically be held.

Libraries

Every Harvard student’s second home; a perfect place for hardcore grinding or “studying” with friends. Each library has their own vibe, so here is some key info:

Cabot vs Cabot

Cabot Science Library is a collaborative library in the Science Center; Cabot House is an upperclassman house in the Quad. So if your friend texts you to come to Cabot Library, don’t take the Quad shuttle to get there.

Lam Caf, Lamonster

Lamont Cafe, affectionately known as Lam Caf, is open until 2 A.M. in the 24/7 Lamont Library and will be the home of many late night study sessions. Students who carry a toothbrush around Lamont with them and only venture out to get food are less affectionately known as Lamonsters.

Extracurriculars / For Fun

Comp

Comping is the process of joining a club. Some clubs are “competition” based which includes applications and/or interviews, while others are “completion” based that focus on you completing tasks over a given period, anod some clubs have no comp process at all! Each club is different and all are worth checking out at the club fair.

The Aquarium

Located in Cabot (House), the Aquarium is a party space that you’ll probably frequent. And no, it does not have fish tanks.

The Igloo

Pfoho’s party space. Despite its incredibly misleading name, you’ll be lucky if you can get any ice when you’ve been sweating through your shirt for the past two hours.

Boardplus vs Crimson Cash

BoardPlus: $65 (for free!) that Harvard gives you every semester to spend at the Harvard-operated cafés and grilles. It rolls over into the next semester but not the next year, so make sure you spend it all before May. Or before you get kicked off campus because of coronavirus. Whatever works.

Crimson Cash: This is YOUR OWN MONEY. Crimson Cash is commonly used for laundry, printing, and coffee at Café Gato Rojo.

Bump

A passive aggressive way to say, “Respond to my email!!”. You’ll get this one about a thousand-and-one times when you’re here.

The T /thuh tee/

The Boston subway system; no one is trying to spill tea when they say this to you.

Quoffice /kwah-fiss/

Located in the Grays basement, the Office of BGLTQ Student Life is known among students as the “Quoffice”. Come here for support, resources, and conversations on queer and trans student life at Harvard!

Datamatch

Your only opportunity to find love. Ever.

Just kidding. Datamatch is “a free matchmaking service created for college students by college students to find true love.” Usually it means you take a quirky survey, and try to swindle as much free food as possible out of the Datamatch-partnered locations.

Yardfest

A school sponsored concert in April that Harvard throws in the Yard. There may be ex-Coachella performers, there may be an ungodly amount of mud, but there will definitely be fun.