How to Harvard
Professor Email Parlance 101
So, it’s time to learn from the professionals. Say what you will about campaign fundraisers, but their emails get opened. And the tactics transfer beautifully to asking for an extension, or even just a reply. Here’s a three-step strategy, inspired by our favorite political figures, for writing emails your professor will surely at least open, even if they never respond.
How To: Cope with Being Cut from Comp
This public service announcement may find you during a vulnerable time, a.k.a. the post-comp period. And, if that’s the case, I’m here to tell you that everything will be okay. My qualifications? Other than having also been weeded out from comps each semester and being a year older than those of you who are freshmen, nothing! However, considering I’m pretty good at giving relationship advice (at least that’s what I’d like to believe…) as someone who has been single for all her life, I’m guessing the same logic could apply here.
How To: Stay Distracted in Class
Have you had to put away your laptop while your professor still presents off their own screen? The anti-technology epidemic is surfacing, but I refuse to let it stop me. Find ways to combat in-class boredom without ever being accused of touching your phone!
How To: Make the Most of Your September Freedom
It’s safe to say that I will greatly miss the live-laugh-love version of myself that only comes out during this final weekend of September freedom. As a new weekend rolls around, I can only hope that my STEM classes push me to reinvest in my whimsy, spark conversation about my thrifted pieces and specialty coffee, and allow me enough time to sleep (even when solo cups are involved). Here’s to counting down the days until our next break!
Things You Probably Forgot to Add to Your Senior Bucket List
It’s easy to get caught up in the Class Marshal talk, raps, and discarded pies of it all and forget that we have an expiration date looming over our heads: Thursday, May 27, 2027. Bonus points if you’re a thesis-ing senior who is already stressing over their mid-March deadline, struggling to plan out last-minute editing sessions in between visits to museums and local beaches in whatever city your spreak will take you to (don’t be basic and go to Cancun, please). But instead of continuing to prematurely spiral, it’s time to be a bit more glass-half-full. In an effort to practice what I preach and not measure our last year on campus in GCal deadlines and weekly Grensdays, here’s a round-up of the senior bucket list items I think we should all partake in to hold onto the whimsy and joy we will inevitably begin losing as the semester goes on…
POV: You’re the Love Island Cast on Sophomore Declaration Day
There are a myriad of lessons we can take with us from the Love Island cast as we transition into a new semester. Now, we can only wait for one, or many, of their appearances at Harvard Business School for further words of wisdom (writing this to manifest it). Or, for any of you lucky sophomores reading this, a serendipitous scroll through Harvard Yard on Friday, October 9th. I hope you all have this date GCal-ed…
Flyby Investigates: Can Harvard Teach Me How to Swim?
Welcome back, folks! You’re all tanner and more well-rested than ever before. But while some of you were jetting off to Bora Bora and Cancun (#boring), I went on my own all-inclusive vacation. I’m talking about a 25-yard private island with water as far as the eye can see. Yup, this summer I ventured to the one and only Malkin Athletic Center.
How to Survive a Lamont All-Nighter
All-nighters are where undergrads become champions, but don’t let being ill-prepared ruin your academic weapon status. So use these tried-and-true tips to make it through the night, and may the Lamont odds be ever in your favor.
How to Get a Fête Plus One
If you’re not one of the lucky few in Eliot, you’ve probably been scheming since last spring to secure a coveted plus one to Fête… and now it’s four days out, and you still don’t have a ticket. The good news? Flyby, as always, is here to help. Here are ten methods you can try to win yourself a spot at this *elite* black-tie affair.
Reading Period Affirmations
As we binge hours of Panopto lectures, abuse all of Canvas’s possible features, and leave scathing QGuide reviews, here are a few affirmations to help make this unbearable season just a little less miserable.
Flyby Tries: Letting ChatGPT Determine My Finals Study Schedule
And as final exams roll around (they’re in a week, people: insanity), I have found myself without a study schedule for my exams. Being resourceful, I had ChatGPT do it for me.
Things to NOT Bring to Harvard
This one’s for our incoming prefrosh — the Class of 2025 may not ever meet you because we are old, but I hope my senior wisdom will stay with you until Commencement Day 2029. Let’s get packing…
How To Enjoy the Semi-Nice Weather
If April showers bring May flowers, what should Harvard students do in the meantime?
Better Ways to Pick Who Gets to See Joe Biden
Around 50 students had the opportunity to see former President Joe Biden talk last week, while hundreds of others took to Sidechat to voice their complaints. The decision process was confusing at best, so we decided to take the liberty of proposing better — and more fun — ways to decide on the shortlist for meeting the former President next time.
Confessions of a Senior Thesis Writer
As an aging senior who survived the senior thesis slump, one of our writers could think of no better parting gift to the lovely readers of this blog than sharing everything that she wishes she knew before thesising.
Fear Not, Harvard: Here’s Where You Can Cut $9B From the Budget
The White House is threatening to take away more than $8 billion in our federal funding. But don’t worry, Alan! Flyby has spent all weekend crunching some numbers, and we figured out where Harvard can trim the fat in its budget to take these funding cuts in stride.
The Five Stages of Realizing You Have to Start Your Final Paper
Realizing that paper still exists and needs to be written can feel like being dunked in cold water, but never fear! Here at Flyby, we’ll be right by your side as you go through the five stages of realizing you have to start your final paper.
Demolishing the Mid-Semester Slump
Only three days in, and there’s already a month’s worth of work to be done. Keep your chin up, though; these past Flyby articles are there to hold your hand along the way.
How to Pretend You’re Still on Spring Break
Life’s a beach. Spring break is a mentality. You may have made some of the best memories of your life this past week, but just because you’re back on campus doesn’t mean that it has to end. Here’s how to keep the spring break glow alive, even when you’re walking to lecture and not behind the DJ booth in Miami.
Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve: Blocking Group Names
With blocking groups finalized last week (or many moons ago, if you’re an upperclassman), you probably thought that that chapter of your life was over. Well, you were wrong: now, it’s time for regrets — not your choice of blockmates but your choice of blocking group name.
Flyby Tries: Taking the New SAT
On a typical Saturday night, a Flyby writer decided to take the new SAT and see if she really peaked in high school. Spoiler alert — she probably did — but that’s okay!
Top Ten Things to Door Drop
Courtesy of the Salient’s complaints, we’re all going to get boxes on our doors to make it easier to distribute things to us that we did not request nor want. If you’re at a loss as to how to take advantage of the door mailboxes that we’ll surely see any day now, feel free to take inspiration from our list!
Ways to Rig the Blocking System
As the blocking form opens, we just know our freshmen readers are desperate to know how to outsmart the Housing lottery gods. So, Flyby’s put together this quick list of ways you can rig the blocking system and guarantee yourself the house of your dreams for the next three years!
Presidential Romance: A Valentine’s Day Date with Harvard’s Finest
Ever imagined what it would be like to date a former U.S. president? No? Well, we did it for you anyway. This year, Valentine’s Day just so happens to fall on Presidents’ Day weekend, so why not combine love with a little bit of history? It’s like dating an IOP kid who swears they’re going to be president — except these guys actually made it.
How To Live Without TikTok
If you’re still recovering from the temporary TikTok ban and feeling a bit put-off by the on-again-off-again nature of the app (it’s giving toxic situationship energy), we’ve got just the cure for you: a curated list of hobbies to entertain yourself that don’t involve swiping, liking, commenting, or reposting. Enjoy!
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