Excerpted from Issues to Consider from The Start

"A series of personal visits to college campuses is probably the most important step you can make in the college search process. A series of college visits is a unique and lasting experience because it allows you to get up close and personal with a variety of college campuses. A series of college visits also allows you to compare schools and advance toward the major goal of your search, which is to find a school with a personality that is a good match for your own. A series of college visits is also an opportunity to explore prestigious schools with exotic sounding names and see for yourself how they stack up to other colleges on your list. A series of college visits will take the mystery out of the college search process, and it will allow you to make a rational decision based on your own academic and social interests."

From the college information section

Excerpted from Harvard Narrative

"Harvard is the nation's oldest and grandest undergraduate destination. It is the biggest and most prestigious of the Big Three (Harvard, Yale, Princeton), and most of its features are top-rated. The school boasts a stirringly beautiful campus, and the best adjacent college town on the East Coast. Its faculty is world famous, and its hallowed halls house the largest library collection of any college in America. Residential living is superb, and may actually be the school's strongest selling point.

"But some people think that Harvard is also the nation's most stressful academic environment. And there are serious questions about the school's size, which some experts worry is too large and too heavily laden with graduate students to guarantee every undergraduate a fine liberal arts education.

"For an impossibly elite and insufferably demanding school, Harvard can be surprisingly democratic. Much of its student body is down-to-earth, generous financial aid packages are quite common, and, according to most accounts, neither rich nor poor can claim to have the key to cracking the admissions barrier."

From the travel information section

Excerpted from Harvard by Train

"Train to Boston's South Station. From South Station, take the Red Line subway in the direction of Alewife to Harvard. There are plenty of signs at South Station directing you to the Red Line subway. When you exit the subway at Harvard Station, follow the signs to the Harvard Square exit. Upon exiting the station, you will find yourself in the heart of Cambridge, just across the street from campus. You will see a visitor's information kiosk in the middle of the square. The helpful person inside the kiosk can direct you to your hotel and to the Holyoke Information Center or the Harvard Admissions Office."

Excerpted from Harvard by Car

"For a very pleasant introduction to Cambridge, get on Memorial Drive and motor alongside the Charles River in the direction of MIT. When you get to MIT, you will be able to see Boston University across the river to your right and the skyscrapers of downtown Boston across the river to your left. After you take in the views, circle back to Harvard Square and look for parking. If you have reservations at a Harvard Square hotel, you can drive directly to your lodgings, which should have a guest parking area."

From the evaluation section

Excerpted from Things to See and Do at Harvard

"After getting an official map and taking a guided tour, you should do what you wanted to do in the first place—charge off and explore the campus on your own. It is in fact very important to get beyond the tourist stage when visiting any college campus. There are plenty of things to see and do that are not covered in an official tour, and most of these activities are things you should see and do on every campus you visit. Places you should definitely see at Harvard include the inside of the main library, the inside of the undergraduate library, the inside of campus dining halls, the inside of lounges and student centers, the inside of several freshmen dorms (not all of which are in Harvard Yard), and the inside of several upper-division dorms (called 'Houses' at Harvard). You should also visit as many classes as possible to get a feel for the manner of instruction on campus, and to judge for yourself the quality of teachers and students."