September16

What kind of school is this? What types of students are they looking for?

Determind15

liberal arts....

yabeyabe2

Excellent liberal arts school. Beautiful campus. High admissions standards. Strong honor code.

WaitingDad

Nephew goes there...he's very nerdy but seems okay with it because the rest of the kids are like him. Very small school...not any larger than most high schools. Not much of a social scene he claims.

MomofWildChild

I grew up near there. It IS small, but they go to Villanova's parties (and Bryn Mawr). In a very upscale part of suburban Phila with easy train access into the city.

bclintonk

Excellent academics, very strong on science but excellent all-around, and there's tons of cross-registrations, shared curriculum, and joint ECs with Bryn Mawr just a little over a mile away; in some ways the "BiCo" is almost more like two halves of a single school. Kids seem extremely hard-working. It's traditionally a Quaker school but no longer maintains official ties to the Society of Friends. But it still has a strong Quaker-inspired tradition, with an emphasis on personal integrity, mutual respect, cooperation, peaceful resolution of conflicts, and a strong orientation toward social justice. It's famous for its student-created and student-administered honor code which extends not only to academic integrity but also to "social" integrity, meaning essentially all one's interactions with others. Some find that kind of creepy, bordering on totalitarian. Others love it and think it lays the foundation for a unique kind of ethical self-governing community. It matters a great deal to Haverford, which sees its honor code as its central defining characteristic. Every year, the major item on the Haverford Supplement to the Common App is an essay on the honor code. Most kids pretty well know whether they're really the Haverford "type." Many conclude they're not, and don't apply. Some conclude they are, and if they genuinely are, it should come through on their honor code essays. Some are clueless, and that probably comes through, too. I don't imagine many of the latter group are offered admission.

speedo

Great, small liberal arts on the main line just outside of Philly. Students have a "bookish"
reputation but some good sports. Not much off campus action - the bubble. Bryn Mawr is close by and is the "sister" school. regular van service to Swarthmore, which is slightly more
intense academically.

tk21769

I like Haverford. Though I think they make a bit of a fetish out of the honor code. It's not as if kids at other colleges are out looting, burning and pillaging for lack of one.

ilovebagels

^ Clearly you've never been to Penn on a saturday night

bclintonk

LOL. Here's how the former President of Ohio State described the student/fan culture at that august institution:

"When you win a game, you riot. When you lose a game, you riot. When spring comes, you riot. African-American Heritage Festival weekend, you riot," Karen Holbrook said last week during a videotaped interview for the president's job at Florida Gulf Coast University.

She told officials there that she confronted a culture of rioting when she arrived at Ohio State in 2002 and that she witnessed people doing "disgusting things, unbelievable things" on a videotape she ordered made after the Ohio State-Michigan game that year.

"They think it's fun to flip cars, to really have absolute drunken orgies. ... I don't want to be at a place that has this kind of culture as a norm," she said.

Former Ohio State president criticizes fans in job interview, softens stance - College Sports - ESPN

Haverford, anyone?

pierre0913

Haverford College
Academics
"The academic experience is nothing less than stellar" at Haverford. "The classroom is an incredible place where I have been intellectually pushed beyond what I believed possible." The work load can be "intense," but "professors are always available and willing to help," and there is "a support system to help you...composed of students and faculty." Everyone raves about the accessibility of professors. "I have the cell phone number or house number of all my professors. An incredible number of professors live on or within a block of campus and regularly invite students over for tea or dinner." Some students note the lack of research opportunities, but most "love how we have access to Bryn Mawr, Penn, and Swarthmore. The schools really work together to provide a wide range of courses." Haverford is known for its honor code, which "really works, and we actually do have things like closed-book, timed, take-home tests. I honestly don't know of anyone that who ever cheated." The administration also receives high marks. "There is a lot of discourse between the administration and the students," and "the deans...are pretty receptive to student opinions." Though a few students feel "the degree of transparency between the administration and students has dropped in recent years," the "administration does a good job of keeping us informed about important news," and the president holds weekly office hours

Student Body
Many students describe themselves as a little "nerdy" or "quirky," but in the best possible way. "For the most part, Haverfordians are socially awkward, open to new friends, and looking for moral, political, [or] scholarly debate." The honor code draws a particular type of student-"don't choose to go here if you're not dedicated to the ideas of trust, concern, and respect and to making sure we are a well-run community." Most are "liberal-minded" and "intellectual" and "want to save the world after they graduate."

Campus Life
The academic demands of Haverford keep its students focused. "In general, students go to class, participate in extracurriculars, and do homework all day Monday through Thursday." "Students are very active on campus," "with classes, work, on-campus jobs, volunteering, running clubs, and acting on administrative committees." "People are very oriented toward social justice, and overall, our student body is very aware." "Conversations at meals consist of discussions on political issues, scientific breakthroughs, etc." "But that doesn't mean people don't know how to have fun," students assure us. "There are a ton of concerts, a capella shows, student theater, movies, dinners, dances, sponsored events in Philly." "While students here do party," many note and there's no pressure to drink, and plenty of students don't. There is easy access to public transportation, and students say "it's nice to have Philadelphia so close-the music scene is amazing." At the same time, "a lot of people never leave campus because there is so much to do there." Thursday and Saturday are the nights to party, owing to the athletic teams' schedules, and there's not much of a bar scene. Most socializing is on campus, and school-sponsored events are well-attended. "Every weekend night there are at least three options-a music show, an improv show, a movie, or games." It seems Haverford students never really disengage from the classroom, though "Don't be surprised if you witness a discussion about someone's senior thesis next to a keg-stand.

ctyankee

Many liberal arts schools embrace the student-athlete ... I'm not so sure about Haverford after a short discussion with one of their college reps at a college open-house.

Me: Just curious, any idea why Haverford lost their golf team?

Her: No. I had no idea we ever had a golf team.

Me: Yes, you did. It seems to be a pretty low-budget sport from the college perspective as the kids provide their own clubs, fewer than 12 on a squad and most courses donate playing time.

Her: True. And we have so many courses around us. But really, nobody ever goes to Haverford for golf.

Me: (pause). Well, seeing as you don't have golf ...

Her: (interjecting) What I mean is nobody that is serious about golf would come to Haverford.

Me: Well, as you are Division III and don't have athletic scholarships, I guess you could say that about any of your sport programs.

Her: True

Really odd, but I let it go. But my takeaway (at least from this one representative of the school) is that the idea of the student/athlete is not embraced at Haverford.

bclintonk

Oh, I don't know. They claim to have the only varsity cricket team in the U.S. They've got a beautiful cricket pitch close to the center of campus. Problem is there's no domestic intercollegiate competition. . . .

Seriously, though, Haverford has 21 varsity sports teams (including cricket) and claims that over 40% of its students compete on a varsity team. That sounds very much like "the idea of the student/athlete" to me. I have no idea how good their teams are, so I won't speculate. I will say the place doesn't seem to have much of a "jock" vibe in comparison to some other LACs, and my guess is that even among varsity athletes academics come first. As in "student first, athlete second." But that's just my subjective impression.