Hello! I’m a graduating senior, and have to enroll in a college by tomorrow. I’ve narrowed it down between Barnard and Haverford, but am still really ambivalent. I’m super shy and timid, but have spent the past four years at a boarding school, so I’m used to living on dorms and I really like the city. I’ve heard that Barnard can be very intense, and that there isn’t very much of a community on-campus. Will people who aren’t bold and outspoken fit in? Or are there other quiet girls as well? I really like Haverford’s community, but I worry that it is in such a suburban area, and has fewer intern opportunities. Is this a valid concern? Any help or input would be so helpful!
Most students don’t pursue important internships during the academic year because they are too busy. But if you are interested in that kind of thing, you need to remember that the train station is a short walk from the Haverford campus, and you can be in downtown Philly in about half an hour.
They are both excellent choices. Hopefully you have visited them if you had the opportunity. I would probably suggest Haverford in your case, as it is known for a supportive, welcoming environment. But I could see a shy student also benefitting from the Barnard experience – the city and the setting can be what you make of it, e.g. keep to yourself when you feel like it, and participate when you feel like it. Whichever you choose, you will probably be happy in the end.
Both wonderful options.
I would suggest that Haverford, with the Honor Code, is quite intentional about creating a community, and it is very much a cooperative rather than competitive environment.
Haverford, as a town, is on the Main Line, and a 20 minute train ride to the city (the station is just a short walk from campus). While internships, museums, ballet, symphony etc. are in Philly, there is plenty of local business to support a college student’s needs outside campus-- pizza, CVZ/Walgreen’s, clothes shopping. It is not isolated at all, campus feels like this wonderful place of calm, while the bustle of Main Line life goes on around it.
Really can’t go wrong – there is always the tried and true coin toss, not to actually decide, but to gauge your initial reaction when the coin comes down “Barnard” or “Haverford” – are you excited, relieved, disappointed? That can be a way to strip away all the lists of pros and cons and figure out your instinct.