Residential Life
Walking through the Harvard Business School campus is an experience unlike any other. This stately, elegant 40-acre campus of classic red-brick buildings, tree-lined walkways, and open, grassy courtyards was dedicated in 1927, and is the only top business school in the country with a residential, self-contained campus. The campus design serves to strengthen the sense of community at the School, with the belief that the daily interactions of residential life only increase the potential for learning.
Housing
Several on- and off-campus housing options are available.
We recognize that every student has a unique set of life circumstances and needs: some are single, some are married, some have children, some cherish their privacy and a larger living space, while others want a stronger sense of camaraderie with their fellow students. The MBA experience is more than attending classes—it's about having a sense of community, and feeling that the place where you live for two years is truly your home.
Students can choose from a range of on- and off-campus housing options to satisfy their needs:
On-Campus Housing
More than 80 percent of students live on campus in dorms or affiliated housing through Harvard Real Estate Services (see below). For students who enjoy the convenience of being steps away from any campus activity or resource, HBS offers several on-campus options.
More than one-third of the student body resides in four on-campus residence halls. These residence halls have one-room singles, two-room singles, and three-room singles. The two- and three-room suites are arranged around a lounge/study area, with shared bathroom facilities and a common kitchen area. Dorms also feature high-speed Internet access, dry cleaning and laundry facilities, housekeeping services, and a common lounge with a television; some even have a piano! Housing in residence halls is limited to single students (for housing purposes, you are considered a single student if, regardless of your marital status, you will live alone while at HBS). Because of the very high demand for residence halls, on-campus housing is assigned through a lottery.
Off-Campus Housing
Students who are interested in living outside the Business School campus will find the resources they need to locate an apartment or home through the Harvard University Housing Office. Additionally, the Housing Office can assist students in finding short-term accommodations, including bed and breakfasts in the area.
The following is a more detailed description of the services offered.
Affiliated Housing through Harvard Real Estate Services (HRES): Students will find a selection of Harvard University-affiliated apartments, like Soldiers Field Park (located on the HBS campus), One Western Avenue, and Peabody Terrace. These apartments are open to all students and are popular among those with families who are not eligible for residence halls. HRES offers unfurnished apartments on a fixed-term lease basis and does not require a security deposit or finder's fee. Rental fees include the cost of utilities at complexes, and 24-hour maintenance service is provided.
Private Listings: To help you in your search, the Housing office offers selected listings and referrals to local real estate brokers and landlords, and also maintains listings of apartments, houses, and rooms for rent, as well as houses and condominiums for sale. The office also provides self-service roommate listings.
Harvard University Police Department Clery Act Report
The Harvard University Police Department is committed to assisting all members of the Harvard community in providing for their own safety and security. Harvard's annual security report, prepared in compliance with The Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act (the “Clery Act”), is entitled Playing it Safe , and can be found on the HUPD's Web site at http://www.hupd.harvard.edu/prevention_handbook.php. Playing it Safe includes information about the HUPD, how to report a crime, HUPD's crime prevention programs, substance abuse, sensitive crimes, and other important information about security and HUPD services on campus. It also contains three years of statistics on reported campus or campus-related crimes. A hard copy of Playing it Safe may be obtained by contacting the Harvard University Police Department at 1033 Massachusetts Avenue, 6th floor, Cambridge, MA 02138, (617) 495-1215.
Community Values are a set of guiding principles for all that we do wherever we are and with everyone we meet. Applying these basic values to difficult situations is the best way to demonstrate our character and leadership.
The discussion of race raised in an HBS case was so enlightening that our professor organized further conversation after class to talk about the history of race relations in the United States and what we could do to improve it. I came out of that class and thought, 'Today, my perspective is bigger than it used to be.'
You can't expect to be successful by trying to force others to share your assumptions. Every culture has a different mindset. It's your obligation to understand why they're different.
HBS takes diversity to a different level. In any given class, someone with a background relevant to the case will spontaneously offer intelligent insights about it. During a discussion on a case set in the former Soviet Union, two students who grew up under Communist regimes talked about the experience.
This is a welcoming community. I'm able to be me here.
I knew it would be a lot of hard work, but this is a place that surprises you. The students' diversity of experiences and specialties have really come out in the variety of cases we share. The case method is a model where students become the teachers. It makes students responsible for leading the class. I can't imagine a better way to develop leaders.
HBS is about educating leaders to make a positive difference in the world. To me, one cannot be a leader without espousing the values of respect, integrity, and personal accountability, which stand around us every day as our Community Values. When I arrived as an eager first year, I was excited to take a leadership role in my section, and the Leadership and Values Rep role jumped out to me as a perfect fit. I could practice what I believed and help others feel the same way.
We're most susceptible to failure when we think we have it all figured out. We need to be humble enough to surround ourselves with smart people and solicit ideas from them. And we have to be confident enough to make decisions.
As a college graduate with a nonprofit background, I was concerned that I would not fit in among the high-powered career crowd that I would meet at HBS. Yes, I met the bankers, the consultants, and the techies, but their interests lie far beyond their previous careers.
No matter what your beliefs or struggles are, someone is always there to help you without judging you; this is powerful.
One of the things that impresses me about the HBS experience is how people from myriad different backgrounds, faiths, cultures, and countries come together in a spirit of mutual respect and tolerance. I was skeptical that such community values could exist, but at HBS they are more than an ideal, they are a way of life.
