Hey everybody! I am down to my last week to make a decision, and I really can’t choose between Haverford and Amherst. I also loved Wesleyan, Grinnell, and Reed, but their financial packages weren’t as generous. I’m also on the waitlist at Swat, UChicago, and MIT, so feel free to weigh in on these as well. Here are my priorities, in no particular order:
Culture--- I'm from Portland, Oregon, and I love it, so I'm looking for quirky/intellectual/intense/hipstery/unpretentious/non-sports-oriented campuses. I also don't party much at all--- I'm fine if others do, as long as there's a significant "hang around and talk about social justice while watching Monty Python and/or Mean Girls" contingent. If it helps, I was admitted to Johns Hopkins, visited campus, and hated it because everybody was pre-professional and didn't seem to care about learning for the sake of learning at all.
Academics--- I want as intellectually intense as I can get without being super competitive. I'm smart and bored in school and I want that to change.
Food/dorms. I really didn't like the food at Haverford when I visited; I can't visit Amherst before making a decision (West Coast FTW) so could somebody weigh in on the food/dorm situation?
Astrophysics research--- Research is a priority for me, and physics is my passion. Amherst seems to have a stronger program, but Haverford's faculty seems to have interests that line up better with mine.
Thanks, everybody! I know they’re two really great colleges, thanks for helping me choose
I believe Amherst is slightly more sports-oriented and Haverford is the non-jock school but I could be off. If I am, anyone, feel free to correct me. I think both schools have quirky campuses and are academically intense so you don’t have to worry about that. I think it’s better that the faculty has similar interests with you–is the food a deal breaker for you? Haverford is probably the better fit.
Amherst, historically, was the gold-standard among LACs (now Top 3). It has the prestige (and a touch of arrogance), is academically very strong, but is decidedly more mainstream. Haverford has a strong intellectual vibe, is academically the equal of Amherst (but, generally, less well known - although very well known to top graduate schools), is decidedly more quirky than Amherst, is not as far to the left or as quirky as its Quaker relative (Swarthmore), has a very cooperative and intimate environment (excellent student-professor relationships), and is unpretentious. Because both are relatively small schools and have to field numerous teams, both have a substantial number of students that play D3 sports. However, at Amherst the teams are extremely competitive (within a D3 context) while at Haverford they more closely reflect the student-athlete ideal (academics clearly first with sports to become healthier and more well rounded - not that they don’t also want to win - particularly against Swarthmore).
Given how you describe yourself, Haverford is the better fit (and hopefully you caught the cafeteria on a bad day). If you come off the waitlist at Swarthmore, it would probably provide the best fit culturally (and top-notch academics). My guess is MIT (and maybe UChicago) might provide a more sophisticated research environment (I am out of my depth when it comes to relative strength of astrophysics training and research).
Those are two really good schools but I don’t know enough about Haverford… I You aren’t going to grad school now so I don’t know if you should be basing anything off faculty interests at this time as you need a broad foundation. Is Wes out of the question? I know they won a undergraduate research award in 2 recent years for Physics and they were put in the University category with all the big schools and not the LAC category because of the grad schools.Also the Astronomy dept has been given some research awards from NASA. It just seems a better personal fit for you from the social and cultural side.
You sound more like a Haverford than an Amherst. I don’t know much about physics at Haverford, but I think of it as a friendly, collaborative and supportive place with thoughtful, kind and friendly students.
Just out of interest what is the cost difference for Wesleyan, Grinnell or Reed? Among these I would give the edge to Wesleyan for quirky and physics, with the others at a close second. Have you asked the other schools if they would match your packages at Haverford and Amherst?
Swarthmore, Reed and MIT may be more intense than you’d like, but you can cross that bridge if you get off the waitlist.
They are both excellent schools. Neither of them strike me as particularly “quirky/intellectual/intense/hipstery/unpretentious/non-sports-oriented” in the way that Wesleyan can be described as in those terms. I also think that Wesleyan’s science in general and physics in particular may be a bit stronger/broader so is it possible to go back to Wesleyan and see if they would match the financial package from Amherst and Haverford. I do know some quirky and intellectual kids at Amherst but there is a pretty large preppy/jock scene there too. I don’t know any kids at Haverford but I think that consortium (with Swarthmore, Bryn Mawr and Penn) might be more in tune with your academic interests than the 5 college consortium in the Connecticut River Valley. For what it is worth, I think Swarthmore has the “quirky/intellectual/intense/hipstery” thing down too and they have an engineering major which is quite rare in a LAC.
Haverford’s food service is fairly mediocre but so is the food at Amherst. Neither school is known for top notch dining halls so food is probably a wash in the decision-making process. After your first year, you can choose housing options that will allow you to get off the food plan if its something you no longer want to partake in.
Congrats on 2 great choices. Either way, you can’t go wrong.
In case you missed it, a similar question was posed in the Haverford forum. The OP made their decision and reported back (I won’t spoil it for). Your criteria may be different, but some of the comments may still be helpful.
These two colleges are too close for me to offer a strong opinion. You do basically describe yourself as being a Haverford type. However, nothing would prevent you from being a Haverford type who happens to attend Amherst.
Hey all! I just emailed the Wesleyan financial aid office about re-evaluating financial aid. The difference between Haverford/Amherst and Wes was quite significant— I would graduate completely debt free at Amherst or Haverford compared to ~$15-20,000 in loans by the end (I believe they frontload loans at Wes?) at Wesleyan.
You guys have convinced me (along with some chats I’ve had with prospies/students) that Amherst is probably not the best fit. I think I’m going to Haverford, unless Wes makes me a better offer…in which case I don’t know what the #^@% I’ll do. I visited Wes and Haverford both though, and the physics majors at Wes were definitely less geekey/more socially astute…but it seemed more intense at Haverford. And I’m not going to even worry about waitlists unless I get off one. Thank you all for the input, it was really helpful!
If everything else is equal, no debt is better than any debt, but if you feel strongly about Wesleyan, then you shouldn’t necessarily fear absorbing a $15-20,000 debt. ($60-80,000 would be a different situation.) It could well be that you’d be equally happy and successful at Haverford as at Wesleyan, but in making your decision it’s important to keep the amount of potential debt in perspective.
It was about $2500 in loans for year 1, but I’ve heard that they frontload loans, and as I’m going to graduate school right out of undergrad most likely, loans really aren’t something I want to deal with. I don’t think I’d be significantly happier/more successful at Wesleyan (heck, I’d probably be very happy at Johns Hopkins if it came to that), so if I can graduate debt-free, I am definitely going to do so.
As long as we’re putting on the green eyeshades, here, if you factor in the possibility of a “free” fifth year and masters degree, that $15,000 loan works out to a $45,000 discount in COA.
Hey all! Wesleyan was not able to offer me a better offer, so it looks like I’m headed to Haverford next year (!!!) unless I get off the Swat/MIT waitlists. Thank you all for your inputs! I’m really excited for next year.
Haverford is probably the better fit.