The Biggest Mistakes I Made at Harvard College | Ahsante Bean | Ahsante the Artist 

Harvard isn’t the only elitist institution out here telling students to use Google when they have questions. A friend of mine went to a career counselor specific to her major asking for help and was told that “Google is a very powerful tool.”

Yeah I really wish I had tried to make friends when college first started. I never really grew super close to anyone since I didn't live on campus and I wish I had more time to build friendships

Those aren't just college lessons, they are life lessons. Very applicable to the corporate and adult life in general.

It is a huge problem at Ivies both that there are no real "intro" classes (there are classes for majors, which assume prior familiarity, and core/gen ed classes that don't even try to get you up to speed), and that a lot of people are coming from these crazy enriched environments where they already took multivariable and linear algebra in high school or whatever. I'm really happy you found your calling by the end of college. I also think it's worth pointing out that one way Ivies recapitulate power structures is by channeling people from typical public schools out of the most competitive (and highly-paid) fields.

Apparently, she did learn alot at Harvard. Just not what she was hoping for.

1:18 This is literally me at Princeton right now 😭. Most clubs are elitist and selective but it’s part of our campus culture to celebrate that

I wish I was wise as you when I was your age. Well, I'm older and this pandemic is making me start all over again in life. I felt very rejected at a young age and it lasted a long long time. Now I'm ready to start life again. Your tips are very enlightening and I'm not letting age stop me!

Such a role model for our young girls! Go you!!! Sending these videos to my daughter who wants to go to Harvard Thanks for your videos

Hi. Thanks Ahsante for your helpful advices. I'm a first year master student at Harvard University. I feel lucky to be able to learn from your experience.

Unfortunately, you’re describing a lot of schools that aren’t named Harvard. This sounds a lot like my former (top tier) law school.

Sometimes it's ok to let the thing that is fighting you win, quit what is no longer serving you, go where the love is ----> extremely helpful advice.

The clique part😂😂 I am in grad school and I’m seeing them form at a rapid speed! Definitely going to jump in now before the train leaves! Thank you for this!

Lesson for me today, if something is not serving me cutt it loose!

Many good lessons here, even if you don't go to Harvard.

i was just talking about cliques this morning! Cambridge can be a rough place to be sometimes, I know Lesley isn't Harvard but the classes function in the same way!

I admire your self knowledge that you realized that you were all great achievers.

Great video Ahsante. Interesting to hear about your experiences with Harvard Computer Science and Applied Maths.

Learned a lot from this video. After too many years, I have worked to fit in and this leads to wasted time. Thank you for being you and sharing this information.

Ahsante, I just want to thank you for your insights on how to better grow in personal development and social awareness. I've watched your two videos on 'Harvard'. I really enjoy your approach to the subjugation and retrospect of all that you did experienced while devoting your life to that demanding and pseudo intellectually hostile environment. There was a time in my life that I dreamed of being a Harvard student who was the most important and outstanding student of them all. I really just needed acceptance, esteemed self awareness, socially and emotional connection with conscious people who validated my efforts, I was in need to become or develop myself into a reasonably healthy and successful, productive and contributing person of rare find. Well, I was never intrested in anything academic or scholastic with endeavor. I have had to come to the awareness of my early years of education being painfully disturbed and riddled with learning disabilities and a yearning for disinterest. So the ballet came to my surprise at an early age. It didn't challenge me, it invited me. It didn't confuse me it would chose and soothe me. It would later become the food for my soul that tamed, claimed, and sustained my life to develop me into an artistic man who is socially and emotionally capable of being self esteemed, self aware, and self giving. That is my strength and confidence streak that none seem to ever win against or go up against. No competition from others indeed. For it is my own life individualism that I compare to be even better than ever I were, nothing else. (No one else) The awareness socially and development of self has been and continues to be made a slow process. However it remains as my own experience to live, learn, and process for personal progress. While in high school I was just unable to be comfortable in that socially awkward landscape. I needed to feel and beco become something greater than my dreams and life goals. So, it seemed quite fitting to indeed drop out of high school, thereby removing myself socially yet improving myself emotionally with full devotion and understanding of my purpose and pursuit of happiness in life. I decided faithfully to achieve a dream and accomplish my life goals. I haven't done everything right. But I have done everything that I can to be the artist and the man that I am today. I stand with that as I am here now to stay. Again, thank you for your brave, transparent, and well accomplished experience(s) that you have shared. Gabriel Corbin, SAG-AFTRA.

Love the thoughts of quitting when something doesn't serve you. I'm facing that right now with Grad School and my transition from Ministry focus towards Science (and taken chem and biochem and genetics) and now I want to talk about my story.

As an introvert, the advice to mingle EARLY cannot be understated!!! I was in a programming bootcamp and the sole woman in the outgoing cohort told me: "Make sure you get to know everyone. If not, they'll shut you out and you won't have a chance." That that thought had never occurred to me. I'm good company to myself and meeting people is draining (imo). Still, I did what she said and it certainly worked in my favor. I'm now at a multinational corporation working remotely, and maintaining the importance of "meet and greets" has been a lifesaver. Introducing myself and understanding the goals of my peers and leadership and finding ways to help them meet their goals has helped me meet my own.

Wow. This makes me appreciate my 'state college' experience even more and it was heaven in every way.

woahhh i've been wanting to get into harvard ever since 6th grade and i've been researching clubs/orgs in harvard to see if there were ones i'd resonate with and if i could see myself being a part of in the future. i really vibed with HCFA because they seemed real geniune and just pretty nice overall. but when you started talking about your negative experiences with harvard cliques i worried if HCFA would really be as good as I thought they were. but hey, if you liked them, then i guess i would too. thank you for this.

When I first applied to go to University here in the U.K. I was in my mid thirties and I’d left school at 16 to become a chef. They asked me why I wanted to go to Uni and I told the truth that I was a year into my recovery as an alcoholic. Then they asked me what I wanted to study and I said law, because it sounded interesting. When they finally stopped laughing they said ''No, no, no, that would be impossible, not with YOUR history.'' Through a series of events I did get onto a single honours law degree. However, I knew half way through that I didn’t want to be a lawyer and I was too bloody minded to change course. I got my degree at a decent level, but if I was given the opportunity again I would have chosen a totally different subject. I've had my degree now for over 20 years and though the careers I’ve had had elements of law involved I've never been a lawyer in pure sense. If your doing a degree go with your passions rather than something that "…sounds interesting."

A wise young woman. You learned the most important lessons at Harvard, but they weren't on the syllabus;)

I didn’t go to Harvard but I got into one of the living learning communities on my campus for lgbt students and that really helped me make friends. The dorm was smaller too, which really helped with my anxiety

Hey Queen 👸🏾, 20/20 hindsight, but now you know. Proud of you. ✊🏾✊🏾 💯💯💯

… I am learning to just not have any expectation, prior to clicking your content…. Wait for it: Just blown away… from outset, with every shared word… thank you.

The environment Is extremely toxic. Almost all members are super achievers but full of ego and self centered mentality.

I have a Bioinformatics degree from a European University - I think you ran into a classic computer problem (I did, too, in first semester). In Computer Science, it is still mostly assumed by the professors, even in first semester, that you already have at least basic programming skills, and textbooks get old really fast, so they are hardly used at all, especially during the first 2 years or so. Might have been different in a different course, but for computer science, this is pretty normal.

Love this woman 👩 ❤

I hope to share this with my daughter someday 💗

Harvard sounds painful.

Enjoyed this video and love those earrings 😎

Great channel. Keep it up

I love these videos, these are so inspirational. IMO, something perfectionists have to learn how to do as a young adult (upon reflecting upon my own young adulthood!) is HOW TO QUIT and your video got me thinking about this. Age 18 - 23, soooo many changes: trying to figure out one's academic path, financial path (different colleges/schools cost radically different amts obviously), relationship path - esp those of us who have strained relationships with our families, you know... If something isn't working out, it's ingrained in me to *keep forging ahead* a.k.a., not quit an academic program, or not drop out of college....why?? LOL. One of the most successful people I know took 7-and-a-half years to graduate from state school. she just didn't know what she wanted to do, and so she just kept dropping out and taking time off. There's such a stigma on "dropping out" but why not? It's the right decision for some people!

1:56 This inspires me something, because I am fine with debugging code. But I don’t love office politics, this is where I failed 😞. I think I should try again debugging code just for the L, without necessarily applying for computer jobs, but just for the sake of building confidence.

First, _cliques?_ In _college?_ Harvard students aren't people who outgrow that sort of thing in _high_ school? Yuck! No, thank you! Second, _"Google_ it?" Do these professors not know how to do their _jobs?_ Harvard is _Ivy League!_ That means you're supposed to _pride_ yourself on having _answers!_ That's how you teach your _students_ to have answers. That's how it's supposed to _justify_ how much it _costs!_

Same I wished I switched the art programs, I could have been an art director by now.

What was the reason you didn’t attend an HBCU and were your family members that attended feel a ways about it?

I appreciate the work that you're doing to me it it opens the doors for you to do a documentaries he certainly have the talent for it I think it's important for young black adults or any child of color to realize it takes more than Insurance a strong will you have to be emotionally strong I think we produced some children in 2000 that they always have to win even the losers win and that's not realistic in life there is losers even when you do your very best somebody else takes a credit for all your work and doesn't even acknowledge you While the criticizing you for the very good work that you just did that's reality and young black people need to understand this white kids I don't know I feel sorry for them if they're always thinking that they're automatically winners just because of the white skin and maybe they are I have no idea All I know is I'm thankful for the work that you're doing because our children have to be more enduring more with a tougher skin it's not enough just to be book smart

Curious to learn more about why u weren't more embraced by the black student body at Harvard and the black community off campus. What's up with that?

I'm not sure I agree that it's a good idea to buddy up right away. From what I've seen after a semester here, people's desperate desire to have a "squad" mostly leads them into "friend" groups they don't like and puts them in messy social situations. I think just letting oneself make friends one likes naturally is the best approach, even if it can be a frustratingly slow one.

Beautiful

What to do if I get left out?? I made a huge mistake ignoring social life at the beginning and I’m completely alone

I did meet my husband in college but we didn't start dating till after we graduated. I don't have any close college friends at all. I worked part time so my friends were at my job. So interesting 🤔

I also made similar mistakes when I was in DU.

I’m a loner and introverted and lived off campus so I never made friends or connections on campus

This is a silly question, but are considering doing a video on the schooling system? I kinda think school is terrible (haha) and needs to be cut down on a tinyyyy bit.⁶ College prices are literally inflating worse than our economy! - Learning v.s. schooling = asset v.s. buisness?? Just because it's always been there doesn't mean it doesn't need to be changed! I'm a "good student" but I hate having to be forced into the mold they're pushing me into. I think you might understand this. Thank you so much! Have a nice day! 😊

I am white and in the uk, and what you said is a carbon copy of what happened to me at university, obviously not the minority stuff, But with the University clubs they were just glad you turned up and participated so obviously a lot more fun. I just like to say obviously in the US is very different within the UK as a white person at university that had non-white students there and a large number of foreign students I honestly didn’t care what colour someone’s skin was and still don’t, and I wish you well and a successful life

I feel yah

Smart

Your name translates "Thank you" in my language

You can't make friend unless you are a good looking person. I found out real quick that if you're not a good looking person she won't look or talk to you after you speak to that person. That's why I stay to myself and don't try to make friends.

What does it feel like to graduate from Harvard???

Oh GOD!! I'm glad I didn't go to that school!! Need to know someone to get into a club!? In college!? That's not cool AT ALL!! No one should be worried about being part of a group or a click of ppl, unless networking for a career. Geesh! Sounds like a stressful school...#TEAMHBCU

🌹

I watched two Ads for you

All my god... haha lol. You're so right.... haha

My youngest blood sibling is David Shands founder of Sleep is For Sucker's. There are tons of African American elite self starters who get together and generate ideas and listen to sound financial literacy advice with his podcast. Check him out on Yu-Tube, when you get a chance. I myself, graduated from Girls High of Philadelphia. I am a certified Cosmetologist, Optician and Paralegal graduate. One of my sons and myself attend Harvard's Free Business online classes. He's still in highschool in a gifted program. Enjoy your weekend ! 😷

Can you get into Harvard without honors awards or any competition recognition?

Do you think having a boyfriend in college would have helped?

Get a grade that you can use

It sounds like you would have been happier going to one the best Art institutes

If you want to make friends, community colleges are much better. Most students come from working-class or lower-middle-class backgrounds and value relationships more.

Ahsante is still young. She could still enroll at a community college, study computer science or whatever she wants to study, and make more friends.

Sounds like u didn't like it

Aspiring Ivy League students........DON"T go ....go to your local community college, live at home for two years..then transfer to your best state university Be sure NOT to major in meaningless studies such as Psychology, Communications, History, or anything ending in "........studies"

If google is available then excuse me while i use google instead of spending 100K on college education

Get on outta there.. lol

Like.. Oh sure.. She went to Harvard..

College is such B.S.

🤦‍♂️

So, let me get this straight, you are smart enough to get into Harvard, but you didn't realize that you should try to make friends when you started school?

So Harvard didn’t teach you anything? 😳They just good at giving you tests? For the prestige sake of it?

Faith and Action???... but you are not straight.

Translation she is here because she has no actual career! A Harvard degree does not mean that you don’t end up working at Starbucks or doing YT with few subscribers.

Ashanti - You'll never be happy.

Thinking your biggest mistake was going into Harvard. Sounds like you were very unprepared for the reality of Harvard.