Hartfeld University is one of North America's most elite academic institutions. It is the primary setting of The Freshman series, The Sophomore series, The Junior series and The Senior series respectively. The main characters of The Haunting of Braidwood Manor and Endless Summer are also Hartfeld students, while several characters in other books like Bachelorette Party and Veil of Secrets are alumni of the college. In addition, Your Character from The Elementalists series drops out from Hartfeld.
Hartfeld University may be specifically located in Massachusetts (in New England), near Northbridge (it was confirmed in The Freshman, Book 1, Chapter 17 that Hartfeld itself is a town). At first, many thought it was located in New York City, but that was proven to be untrue when James Ashton's parents, who live in New York City, visited James at Hartfeld. Gabriela Vasquez is from Greenfield, Massachusetts, and James mentioned it was an hour away from Hartfeld, so it can be inferred that Hartfeld University is either in Massachusetts or in Connecticut.
During the event in Endless Summer, Book 2, Chapter 14, it is revealed that Hartfeld was destroyed due to the events of Raan'losti and all the students and staff are presumed deceased.
Known Students
- Your Character (The Freshman) (Graduated in The Senior)
- Christopher Powell (Graduated in The Senior)
- James Ashton (Graduated in The Sophomore, Book 1)
- Kaitlyn Liao (Graduated in The Senior)
- Zack Zilberg (Graduated in The Senior)
- Tyler Alan (Graduated in The Senior)
- Abbie Bishop (Graduated in The Senior)
- Rebecca Davenport (Graduated in The Sophomore, Book 2)
- Madison Eckhart (Graduated in The Sophomore, Book 2, Returned to pursue her Master's Degree in The Junior, Book 1)
- Darren Taylor (Graduated in The Freshman, Book 3)
- Logan (Graduated in The Freshman, Book 3)
- Brandon
- Edgar Lucas (Graduated in The Senior)
- Tripp (Graduated in The Sophomore, Book 2)
- Leila
- Arjun (As of The Freshman, Book 2)
- Sebastian Delacroix
- Natasha
- Amara Butler (Graduated in The Sophomore, Book 2)
- Rachel Winthrop (Graduated in The Senior)
- Russell Thibbs (Graduated)
- Annisa
- Emmanuel De La Cruz (Formerly, Transferred to another school in The Junior, Book 1)
- Chelsea McIntyre
- Claire Pierce (as of The Sophomore, Book 1)
- Zigmund Ortega (as of The Sophomore, Book 1, Graduated in The Senior)
- Aaron
- Grant
- Reggie (Mentioned in The Sophomore, Book 2)
- Helen Twombly (Graduated)
- Your Character (The Haunting of Braidwood Manor)
- Victor
- Eleanor Waverley (Determinant)
- Your Character (Endless Summer) (Determinant)
- Diego Ricardo Ortiz Soto
- Sean Marcus Gayle
- Quinn Erin Kelly
- Estela Montoya
- Kuan-yu Craig Hsiao
- Zahra Yasmin Namazi
- Grace Tamara Hall
- Everett Aleister Rourke II
- Raj Aditya Bhandarkar
- Michelle Thuy Nguyen
- Scott (Graduated)
- Sophie Ortega (as of The Junior, Book 1)
- Ryan Summers (Graduated)
- Nathan Sterling (Formerly; Incarcerated at the end of The Junior, Book 1)
- Kassidy Marquez (Formerly; Dropped Out or Incarcerated at the end of The Junior, Book 1)
- Beau Han (Formerly; Dropped out or Incarcerated at the end of The Junior, Book 1)
- Nathan Sterling II (Formerly, mentioned in The Junior, Book 1)
- Sam Regal (Formerly, mentioned in The Junior, Book 1)
- Axel Johnson (Formerly, mentioned in The Junior, Book 1)
- Your Character (Veil of Secrets) (Graduated)
- Katherine O'Malley (Graduated)
- Dorian Delacroix (Graduated)
- Heather Sinclair (first mentioned in The Freshman, Book 3)
- Sofia (mentioned in The Freshman: Game of Love)
- Anne (mentioned in The Freshman: Game of Love)
- Richard (mentioned in The Freshman: Game of Love)
- Trixie Cartwright (Formerly, first mentioned in The Freshman, Book 1)
- Enrique Vasquez (Graduated)
- Eliana Vera (Graduated)
- Your Character (The Elementalists) (freshman; Presumed to have dropped out as of Chapter 1 of The Elementalists, Book 1)
- Heath (mentioned in The Junior, Book 1)
- Sandy (mentioned in The Junior, Book 1)
- Tomoichi Sato (Dropped out prior to It Lives Beneath, Re-enroll as of ILB, Ch.17; Determinant)
- Your Character (Passport to Romance) (Graduated prior to Passport to Romance)
- Alison (mentioned in The Freshman, Book 3)
- Alice Balewa (Graduated)
- Main Character (Bachelorette Party) (Graduated prior to Bachelorette Party)
- Courtney Van Ness (Graduated prior to Bachelorette Party)
- Aisha Bhatt (Graduated prior to Bachelorette Party)
- Diana (Graduated prior to Bachelorette Party)
- Heath (Graduated)
Staff & Workers
- Professor Enrique Vasquez (Formerly; deceased)
- Miss Helen Twombly
- Professor Atiyah
- Dean Martin Stafford
- Brandon (Barista; formerly)
- Victor (Barista; currently)
- Zig Ortega (Barista; formerly)
- Isa (Formerly; under the alias Alexia Safar)
- Professor Alice Balewa
- Ms. Robertson (Academic Advisor; currently)
- Professor McCarty (mentioned in Raj's Catalyst Idol of Endless Summer, Book 2)
- Ms. Beach (Librarian mentioned in The Freshman, Book 3)
- Professor O'Keeffe (Irish Literature, mentioned in The Sophomore, Book 2)
- Professor Stein (Formerly, mentioned in premium scene of The Junior, Book 1)
- Unnamed Yoga Instructor (mentioned in Chapter 6 of The Elementalists, Book 1)
Gallery
Exterior
Places
Others
The Knightly News
Memorable Awards
In The Event of the Endless Summer series
Trivia
- In a premium flashback scene of LoveHacks, Book 1, Main Character and Mark can think back to their first meeting which happened at college using the Hartfeld classroom. MC and Mark both attended the American Literature class by Vasquez but Mark had previously lost a bet at a sorority party and therefore had to streak together with other unseen guys. Mark tried to stay in a back row to sign the attendance sheet as he didn't want to fail the class but Vasquez still saw him and sent him out.
- In High School Story, Book 1, Chapter 6, if you decide to go to the LAN party with Nishan, Sakura, Luis, and Myra, they will be playing against a team called "Team Heartfelt"; which means that the team could be made up of students attending Hartfeld. Another idea that strengthens this is that there are players called "KappaKutie12345" (who appears to be Madison Eckhart) and "Trippinator" (who appears to be Tripp).
- In The Junior, Book 1, it is revealed by Nathan Sterling that the "Alphas" funded the English building back then when his father and uncle were part of the fratority.
- The east wing of the building is therefore called Sterling Hall.
- The west wing of the English building is named Regal Hall after another prominent Alpha Theta Mu family. One of its members is called Sam Regal who still donates.
- In Chapter 6 of The Elementalists, Your Character (The Elementalists) reveals to Aster that he/she met a yoga instructor during welcome week at Hartfeld.
- In a premium scene in Chapter 4 of High School Story: Class Act, Book 1, Luis may mention to Emma that Hartfeld has one of the best creative writing programs in the nation.
- On December 17, 2018, PB did a livestream where they revealed that while The Senior is the last of the Freshman series, this may not be the last college-based series PB does.
- They also hinted at Hartfeld possibly being the setting of this potentially future other college-based series.
- The university shares the same name as the place it is located in. In Chapter 5 of Wishful Thinking, it is mentioned there is a local wildlife reserve somewhere in Hartfeld.