Chance me for Haverford!

o2bdownsouth
Tue, 07 Aug 2018 17:19:51 +0000

If you look at other Haverford strings on this site and on the school’s own site, you are generally in the ball park stats-wise and activity-wise; it also wouldn’t hurt to get your SATs up to the mid-1400s. As has been discussed many times, it is hard to predict because Haverford places a tremendous amount of weight on the essays, interview (not required, but you are shooting yourself in the foot if you don’t have one), and letters of recommendation so as to determine a prospective applicant and the school are a good fit. They are looking for people who will be positive contributors to the campus community.

When my son took his first tour at Haverford, a parent raised the question of legacy preference at the Q&A session. The admissions staffers responded roughly as follows:

1. We have a holistic admissions process that we feel helps us get to know applicants as individuals. We offer admission to those we feel will be positive contributors to the campus community based on their individual merit.

2. While we do have a number of “legacies” – persons who have had a close family member graduate from Haverford – enter each fall, each has been admitted based on individual merit rather than family connection. It’s more of a case of the apple not falling far from the tree than rewarding a large donation: persons who “fit” well at Haverford and graduate could reasonably be expected to raise kids whose own merits make them good fits as well.

Personally, I wouldn’t mention that you have family/friends who have been donors in the past. Most HAverford students are not “hey, look at me!” types and I don’t think that would go over well with the admissions folks. I’ve been led to believe that Haverford’s development folks are less likely swayed by donors than their peers at other schools; if this is true, it would not be a hook for you.

Bottom line: You need to sell yourself and demonstrate why you would be a positive contributor on campus. If it’s your #1 choice, then apply ED1. Talk to the school’s admissions counselors, who are all very approachable, with any questions. While they can’t definitively say whether or not you will get in, they will tell you upfront if there is a significant red flag that might cause you to reconsider applying to Haverford. Best of luck.