There are few universities whose name inspires as much wonder and sparks as many fantasies as the legendary Harvard. Because you might just spend a week, two, or three just a few miles away during your next language study trip to the U.S., LEC has decided to give you a sneak peek at what you need to know about the area.
Harvard, a university based in Cambridge
Ironically enough—and quite delightfully— Harvard was founded in a town named… Cambridge, just like the British university with which it frequently goes head-to-head in rankings of the world’s best universities. But don’t get confused: this isn’t the Cambridge in England, but the one located in Massachusetts, a state you might have the chance to explore during a future language study trip to the USA.
Harvard, a distinguished member of the Ivy League
Cet établissement d’enseignement supérieur naît en 1636 et prend pour nom le patronyme de son premier grand bienfaiteur, John Harvard ; celui-ci disparaitra deux ans seulement après avoir vu éclore l’université. Etablissement privé, Harvard constitue l’un des piliers de l’Ivy League, groupe réunissant huit universités d’excellence dans le nord-est du pays. Parmi les autres membres, citons les non moins prestigieuses Princeton, dans le New Jersey, et Yale, dans le Connecticut.
6,700 students, including a few VIPs…
With some 6,700 students from the United States and elsewhere attending classes there each year, Harvard University has seen many famous figures pass through its halls—people you might hear about during a language study trip to the U. S. Among them are:
- U.S. Presidents John Adams, JFK, Franklin D. Roosevelt, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama
- the actors and actresses Natalie Portman, Tommy Lee Jones, and Matt Damon
- tech and internet tycoons Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg
As you can see, the first step toward getting into Harvard one day is to master the language of Shakespeare…