The only pre-orientation program that pays. Make friends, make money, and learn your way around Harvard. Congratulations, Class of 2016!

Fall Clean-Up 2012

Dates: Wednesday, August 22, 2012 – Sunday, August 26, 2012
Arrival days: Monday and Tuesday, August 20 and 21
Regular freshman move-in: Monday, August 27
Hours: 8:00am – 4:30pm, Wednesday – Sunday; Sunday hours vary, but should be at least 6 hours
Pay: 32-40 hrs of work at $12.00/hour (as of 2011)
Housing: Provided
Size: Approximately 350 students, primarily freshmen

Last year’s FCU brochure is available here. More information is also available throughout this website. Just scroll down for more links!

During Fall Clean-Up 2012, accommodations will be made for religious observances for those students who notify us in advance. Please visit this page to register yourself.

Make friends: The work during Fall Clean-Up is demanding, but the camaraderie makes the experience fun. We offer a variety of social events during Fall Clean-Up that provide an opportunity for students to get to know one another before other students arrive in Cambridge. Many students have met some of their closest friends during Fall Clean-Up; everyone gets to know classmates with whom they can enjoy their first meals at Annenberg and attend Freshmen Week activities.

Make money: $12.00 per hour. Fall Clean-Up is the only pre-orientation program in which you can earn a paycheck. Earn the money for your first semester’s book bills before the semester
even begins.

Work hard: Gain skills and experiences that will last a lifetime: From dusting, to mopping, to scrubbing bathrooms top to bottom—we’ll teach you how to clean the right way!

Learn your way around Harvard: In addition to earning money, Fall Clean-Up workers get to know their way around the campus. Dorm Crew workers become familiar with the upperclass houses, freshman dorms, academic buildings, Harvard Yard, and Harvard Square. Freshmen also enjoy the opportunity to meet and talk with upperclassmen about life at Harvard, classes, and the transition to college.

Looking for places to eat in Cambridge? Check out our restaurant list for FCU students (Excel file, updated Fall 2009).

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What Others Have to Say

“The work itself was much harder than I was expecting, but since I had a really great group to work with and music to play, it ended up being a lot of fun.”
— FCU 2010 participant, ’14

“I figured that people who would voluntarily sign up to clean toilets would be nice and awesome, and I was right!”
— FCU 2010 participant, ’14

“I loved the work. It really helped me make new friends and get accustomed to being at Harvard. It truly was team-building.”
— FCU 2010 participant, ’14

“I had a lot of fun at FCU last fall. Cleaning the dorms is hard work, but you get to meet a lot of down to earth people and you have down time in the afternoons to explore the Harvard area before everyone else shows up. By the time the official move in day rolls around, you’ve already learned your way around campus, made some cool friends, and earned several hundred dollars. What could be better than that?”
— Jenny Middleton ’10

“FCU was one of the best experiences I had freshman year. How often do you get the chance to be on campus without having to worry about classes? Dorm Crew is great because you really get to see your progress, and there’s something uniquely satisfying about manual labor that you just can’t get from studying chemistry or English…”
— Robyn Orfitelli ’06

“Fall Clean-Up was the best way for me to ease into college life. I met so many unique and outgoing people and had so much fun participating in activities after work with my new friends. My captain was an amazing role model who was there not only to make sure we got the job done, but also to extend his friendship to us and offer us advice. Fall Clean-Up was one of my most rewarding experiences as a freshman …”
— Rachelle Calixte ’10

“I’m convinced that Fall Clean-Up is the birthplace of successful Harvard students. In my list of top-ten moments from freshman year, one is meeting my future best friends in the Canaday Common Room during Fall Clean-Up. Dorm Crew makes real people: it pares off the pretensions of Harvard freshmen and molds new skills in their place. As somebody who is a veteran trail crew member and chose not to do FOP, who might be secondary-fielding in VES and chose not to do FAP, and who is likely writing a thesis on urban studies and chose not to do FUP, I say with conviction that Dorm Crew is the preorientation program of champions.

Plus there’s always the outside chance that the glass cleaner will give you super powers.”

—Garrett Nelson ’09