The Five-and-a-Half Types of Teaching Fellows You’ll Have At Harvard

Remember when you used to dream about going to Harvard? About eating in Annenberg, living in a beautiful, bell-towered House on the river, and learning from Nobel Prize-winning professors? Now that you’ve been here a while, you’ve no doubt learned that (spoiler alert) Annenberg isn’t actually Hogwarts, that the River Houses have cockroaches, and that you’ll spend as much time learning from graduate students as you do from the likes of Karplus and Mankiw. But never fear, Harvard TFs tend to be amazing—and just as diverse as Harvard students. Here are the five-and-a-half types of teaching fellows you’ll have at Harvard:

The one who’s obsessed with his thesis: You thought you were taking an introduction to statistics. But introduction to statistics is boring, isn’t it? Wouldn’t you much rather learn about Asymptotic Properties of the Chi Squared Test? This TF thinks you would. In fact, this TF will spend so much time talking about his thesis that come finals, you’ll accidentally write a paper on it rather than the actual course subject.

The one who’s in love with the professor: This TF is also great, because this is her eighth year serving as a teaching fellow for this course. And no, she’s not just really passionate about introductory economics. What she is really passionate about? Your professor.

The one who’s a better teacher than the teacher: This TF is young, energetic, and can explain string theory in a way that’s almost as entertaining as Breaking Bad. While your professor has a Nobel Prize in Physics, your TF deserves one in communicating to under-rested and over-caffeinated college students.

The one you’re in love with: He wears glasses, has his own apartment, and can recite Rousseau’s Social Contract from memory... in French. What more could a girl ask for? You normally exploit Harvard time, but for this class, you still arrive on the hour to every section just to spend those extra seven heavenly minutes with this TF.

The one who’s younger than you: You’ve heard a lot about young, Harvard prodigies. In fact, you’ve even seen a few on Oprah. Well now, you get the chance to learn from one! Despite being a 22-year-old senior with a job lined up at Bain, you’re about to spend an entire semester learning about economics from a 16-year-old freshman. But hey, nothing like a lesson in humility to send you off into the real world!

The preceptor: This may or may not be a TF. No one’s quite sure.