In any case, masters' children say, growing up at Harvard has influenced, or in the case of the younger ones, will influence their decisions about where to go to college.

"I was just around it so much that I got really sick of it. I definitely wanted to go away," says Karen Hastings, who graduated from Reed College in Oregon.

"I liked Harvard as a home, but wanted to grow by going to college in a different area," says Carleton graduate Gregory Bossert.

Twelve-year-old Nathaniel Hanson says he has already decided that he definitely does not want to go to Harvard. "When I'm ready to go to college, I'll be ready to get away from home, so my parents can't be checking up on me all the time."

Still, Laura Hastings decided to enroll at Harvard before her parents became North House masters, but says that she might have chosen a different college had she known that her parents were going to accept the position.

"Being the daughter of a master bothered me for two-and-a-half years while I was here," she says. Of her first year she says, "They would call me every once in a while to see how the freshmen felt about a certain issue but they ignored me otherwise because they were so busy."

She says she was insecure and she didn't want most of her friends to know who her parents were. "I didn't want to live in their shadow, but I was very proud of them," she says. "It's better to have people know you and like you for who you are."

Hastings says that although she lived in Leverett House, her her first choice in the housing lottery, housing officials assured her that she would not be put in North House, independent of the results of the lottery.

On the other hand, current junior Christina T. Kiely says she likes knowing she can see her parents any time she pleases.

If Harvard is losing some masters' children, others hope that having grown up here will work in their favor.

"I know I definitely want to go to Harvard. It's the ultimate university," says Laszlo Nagy. "I know you have to be super ultra-smart to go here but I get pretty good grades and plus I'm a faculty brat--that might help."