FAQ

No. Unfortunately, we will not be able to welcome or look after FIPpers before arrival day (TBD). If you feel like you have an insurmountable logistical problem regarding your travel, please contact your admissions officer or the Harvard International Office to try and resolve the situation.  Please email fip@fas.harvard.edu if the situation persists.

You may not participate in any other pre-orientation program nor work opportunity, since they all take place at the same time. If you are torn and have questions about whether FIP is the right program for you, please feel free to reach out to us at fip@fas.harvard.edu!

In FIP, we use a kinship system. There are about three upperclass leaders to every ten FIPers, and we call these groups "families." We mean that pretty literally; FIP families are all about care, nurturing, support, and connection, and your FIP "parents" are going to be looking out for you (even after FIP is over!). During FIP, you will do a lot of activities with your family and throughout everything your FIP parents will be your rock. The other leaders will be just as open to helping and supporting you, but of course they will have their own families.

As you might have guessed, FIP leaders/parents were FIPers themselves not long ago, and eventually you'll also have the chance to apply to be a leader if you so choose. 

You have a few options here. You can get a car service like Lyft or Uber, a taxi, or you can take public transportation. If you are travelling alone, you can request that a FIP leader greet you at the airport and take a bus and the T (the subway) with you back to Harvard. If this feels like the best option for you, we will send out a form later in the summer where you can indicate this.

MBTA From Logan Airport

From Logan Airport, board the MBTA (known as the "T") Silver Line bus inbound to South Station. The T is free from the airport to South Station. At South Station, transfer to the Red Line train inbound towards Alewife. Take the Red Line six stops to Harvard Square. It takes a while; be patient. For a rapid transit map, visit www.mbta.com.

Driving from Logan Airport (Taxi, Uber, Lyft, or other car)

If you are taking a taxi, tell the driver to drop you off at the Johnston Gate in Harvard Square. A trip from the airport usually costs between $25 and $40.

For Uber or Lyft, follow signs in the airport to the special designated area for car service pick ups. On your app, select "Harvard University" as your desitination. Ideally, you want to get to Johnston Gate. That destination pops up on Google Maps as "1465-1483 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA 02138."

Driving from South of Boston: Take I-93 North to exit 26 (Cambridge/Storrow Drive). The exit ramp merges with traffic on Storrow Drive from the left. Move to one of the right lanes and continue on Storrow Drive approximately 4 miles to Cambridge/Allston. After a Doubletree Guest Quarters Hotel, take the right-hand exit to “Harvard Square - Cambridge.” Turn right at end of the ramp onto John F. Kennedy Street. Harvard Square is approximately 1/2 mile straight ahead.

Driving from North of Boston: Take I-93 South to exit 26A (Storrow Drive/North Station). Keep left and take the underpass to Storrow Drive. Continue on Storrow Drive approximately 4 miles to Cambridge/Allston. After a Doubletree Guest Quarters Hotel, take the right-hand exit to “Harvard Square - Cambridge.” Turn right at end of ramp onto John F. Kennedy Street. Harvard Square is approximately 1/2 mile straight ahead.

Driving from West of Boston: Take I-90 East (Mass Turnpike) to exit 18 (Cambridge/Allston). Bear right after the toll booth at the end of the exit ramp. Turn left after lights (before the bridge) onto Storrow Drive. Take Cambridge/Allston exit (1/2 mile ahead) and turn right at end of ramp onto John F. Kennedy Street. Harvard Square is approximately 1/2 mile straight ahead.

Registration will open during the Summer. Please watch this page for updates about when the form will go live!

Unfortuantely, no. A huge part of FIP is the relationships that form among the FIPers; therefore, we want incoming students to be with each other, without their parents, for as much time as possible. The best thing your parents can do is let you enjoy FIP, unfettered, while they explore Harvard Square, Cambridge, and Boston. If you begin to miss them, encourage them to help you pack up your FIP room, load the moving trucks and unpack into your term-time room on move-in day!

While FIP is for students, the FIP leadership team love meeting parents and family and hope to develop more parents' events during FIP (early on in the program). We've found that the parents themselves very much enjoy meeting each other, and we want to facilitate this as much as we can. Information for parents can be found on the website here.

If you are travelling alone to Boston/Harvard, yes, you should bring everything. However, if there is somewhere you can keep some of your stuff during FIP (with family or friends) that's great, too, especially if you have a huge amount of things. You will be loading and unloading your things on and off of trucks that we use at the end of FIP, so it will be a lot of carrying for you.