<p>Sisixue- I went to Haverford, and absolutely loved it. That said, Haverford is a very unique community and I don’t think it’s right for everyone. From what you’re saying, it sounds like you’re much more excited about Rice. If that’s the case, then you should go there.</p>
<p>It sounds like you’re mostly still thinking about Haverford because your friends think you should go there (“Many of my friends told me Haverford is a great college and I shouldnt miss it and Haverford students can take classes at upenn and Swarthmore, but I am afraid the school is too small and meeting the same face everyday would make me feel depressed.”) … you don’t sound excited about Haverford. You’re not a big fan of Philly, and, honestly, if you don’t want to go to a small school, you shouldn’t go to Haverford. Yes, you will see the same faces everyday. For a lot of people this is a positive thing because it’s a close community. For others, it’s not what they want. Yes, we can branch out and go to BMC or Swat or Penn, but I think those should be seen more as “I love my small school but i need a break from it sometimes” options rather than “I don’t want to go to a small school but this will make it better” options. If you’re using “depressed” and “Haverford” in the same sentence, it’s not the school for you. You should be excited about where you’re going.</p>
<p>It DOES sound like you’re excited about Rice: “I have never been to Houston before but based on the information I found, I really love this city! Houston is very modern but clean, different from other big cities like New York. … To be honest, I didnt know much about Rice before until I was accepted, but the more I know about Rice, the more I love Rice! Everything looks amazing: the beautiful campus, the easy access to the city, the small classes, the professors who know the names of every students, the delicious food, the museums near campus…Rice really seems like the perfect match for me. Now I understand that there is a reason why I chose Rice and Rice chose me.” Do you see the difference in tone? Go with your gut on this one. I will defend Haverford to the end of the world if the match is right, but it doesn’t sound like it’s right for you, and you shouldn’t force it.</p>
<p>A few more quick things:
- Philly is great, but I certainly wouldn’t call Philly either “modern” or “clean” … I’d call it “quirky” and “diverse” and “artsy” and “low-key” and “endearingly grungy” … so I don’t know that it fits your bill of what you want in a city.
- You can double major in anthro and econ at either Haverford or Rice, and while it’s true that Haverford might have better classes across the board than Rice does, that doesn’t mean you can’t get a great education at Rice. You might have to be more deliberate about it, but it sounds like you’re driven enough to do that. So I wouldn’t worry about that too much. I’d just befriend an older student majoring in those subjects and get their advice early on about classes and profs. You’ll be fine.
- “My only concern is that Rice is famous for engineering and doesnt have a business school for undergraduate. If I want to learn sth about business, is economy the only major I can choose?” Ok, if this is your concern, then you REALLY shouldn’t go to Haverford. We certainly don’t have a business school for undergrads. Yes, we can take classes at Wharton, but realistically you’re not going to take very many just because of time. At least at Rice you’d have a business school on campus, so you might be able to talk your way into some other classes later in your time at college. And econ is not a bad major, anyway.</p>