Haverford vs. Barnard vs Smith

EyeVeee
Mon, 10 Apr 2017 15:03:34 +0000

@ jennisgarden. I personally would not visit waitlist schools. Why make a complicated decision more complicated with factors that may not matter? If the status of a WL school changes, then you can consider.

I find this thread very interesting, mostly because of the Barnard feedback. Barnard is a great school in a city that millions of kids would like to study in. NY is great. I would suggest to you that the acceptance rate for Barnard is a combination of NY and the association with an Ivy. Yes they are related, but when Columbia has a 6% acceptance rate, there are many good students who will apply to Barnard as either Plan B or as a side door to an Ivy (completely reasonable strategy). I would suggest that the honor code keeps a lot of “what the hell” Common App submissions down at Haverford. I haven’t asked / studied this, but it feels odd that Swarthmore would have a 10% acceptance rate while Haverford’s is nearly double (19%). They are similar is look and feel, with Engineering being the one major academic difference. I suspect the Honor Code scares some folks off, which arguably makes it that more valuable.

The comments (including yours at #15) state that Barnard is the most well known and prestigious. If you have daughters that have been academically successful who might consider NY for college, Barnard (and Smith) comes onto your radar. If you have boys…unless you looked as a woman when you were younger…you wouldn’t know Barnard at all. Haverford definitely isn’t a household name brand, but it has almost fanatical support from those who attended or know of it. In the general population (especially outside the Northeast), neither carries much of a brand.

Statistically Haverford is the more difficult school to gain admission. Ignore acceptance rate (as you suggest). One poster noted that her daughters ACT was horrible (27). At Barnard, that score is 1 point below the 25th percentile, meaning it’s absolutely in the range. At Haverford, it’s 4 points below the 25th percentile, placing it outside the range.

Please post an update after the visits.