<p>I’ll admit right off the bat that I haven’t read this entire thread; I’ve just skimmed it. But I think that different kinds of people go to Haverford than those who attend Swat. I don’t know if I would necessarily go as far to say that Swarthmore is for “more intelligent” students, but rather it seems to be for different kinds of students. There’s a girl in one of my Haverford classes from Swarthmore (who I noticed is very smart but modest, contrary to the claim that all Swat kids like to talk about grades). I asked her what she thought was the main difference between the two schools; she replied that it seemed to her as though Swarthmore professors hold their students to almost unattainable, “impossible” standards for the purpose of keeping them from settling for average work. Thus, this would probably result in a stressful, pressure-cooker environment that the students actually create for themselves because they want to do well and were the type of students in high school that did, in fact, do well. This of course, is not to say that Haverford students are slackers or underachievers. On the contrary, I think what has been said (but perhaps in the wrong words) is that Haverford students strive to be PARTICULARLY modest about grades due to the honor code and the intensified, hit-over-the-head pressure to be careful about students treat each other as human beings. There also seems to be more of a social presence at Haverford (this is not to say that Swarthmore students don’t socialize, just the degree to which they do is not as great as at Haverford). So perhaps this explains why it seems as though Haverford students don’t “work as much” - because they’re spreading their time more evenly between academics and other things than maybe a Swarthmore student, who prefers to focus more heavily on academics. And of course, this is not to generalize both of the schools as a whole- you’ll find Haverford students that never leave the library and Swat students that maybe don’t fit the typical stereotype of workaholics. In the end, I think Haverford students can do just as well as Swarthmore students (and they do). Rankings are absurd, really. Quoting my algebra teacher from middle school, “It’s like comparing apples with oranges.” I personally was debating between the two colleges in my own college selection process; it just seems that Haverford presents a different approach of educating its students than that of Swarthmore. Naturally, for one type of person, a Swarthmore education would deem as better for what they personally need; but others might learn better in the type of environment that Haverford provides. I refuse to believe that Swarthmore students are lightyears ahead of Haverford students in intelligence or work ethic. So for some, Swarthmore is a better school; for others, Haverford is a better school. End of story.</p>