Campus Vibe?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Haverford College
1

<p>One of my summer projects, I guess, is to research potential schools I might be interested in, so I can save a lot of stress come junior year. It might change, of course; Haverford is presently one of those schools.</p>

<p>Can anybody give me a description of the campus vibe? How dominant is partying? How rigorous are the academics? Just things like that. Is the student body fairly accepting? I've heard that the students are generally "preppier" (as in classical East Coast kinda way, not Abercrombie and Fitch). How often do students visit Philadelphia? What other schools have Haverford students also considered?</p>

2

<p>This is from collegeboard.com (the SAT website).</p>

<p>Students who viewed the profile for Haverford College on collegeboard.com also looked at these schools. We’ve listed the 20 most “also viewed” in descending order of overlap popularity. </p>

<p>Brown University
Providence, Rhode Island
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<p>Cornell University
Ithaca, New York
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<p>Swarthmore College
Swarthmore, Pennsylvania
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<p>Boston University
Boston, Massachusetts
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<p>New York University
New York, New York
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<p>University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
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<p>Tufts University
Medford, Massachusetts
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<p>Vassar College
Poughkeepsie, New York
See Profile </p>

<p>Columbia University
New York, New York
See Profile </p>

<p>Boston College
Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts
See Profile </p>

<p>Wesleyan University
Middletown, Connecticut
See Profile </p>

<p>Amherst College
Amherst, Massachusetts
See Profile </p>

<p>Harvard College
Cambridge, Massachusetts
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<p>Dartmouth College
Hanover, New Hampshire
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<p>Georgetown University
Washington, District of Columbia
See Profile</p>

3

<p>I’m a somewhat recent alumnus who is bored, so here you go. </p>

<p>How dominant is partying? </p>

<p>Students study a lot and enjoy doing so, but most also go out to some sort of party on Fridays and Saturdays (and I suppose Thursdays instead if you play a sport). There’s a non-trivial portion that likes to stay in, too. Whatever floats your boat–people are cool with it.</p>

<p>How rigorous are the academics? </p>

<p>Some I took were extremely challenging, but a couple I took seemed like a joke. Overall, a solid challenge and the College prides itself on that. The average reported GPA is somewhere around 3.4 because we don’t inflate grades. Often times people will enroll in classes at Bryn Mawr for an easier class. Sometimes people take classes at Swarthmore (sometimes even majoring there for obscure studies) for an interesting class, but it’s going to be challenging as well.</p>

<p>Is the student body fairly accepting? </p>

<p>It’s a very open and accepting community. All students with a meal plan eat together in the same hall. If something happens to someone in the community, we all feel bad about it. We draft and vote together on resolutions to persuade the administration to make changes that would improve the College. When I attended, you could leave your things around campus overnight and nobody would even think about touching it.</p>

<p>I’ve heard that the students are generally “preppier” (as in classical East Coast kinda way, not Abercrombie and Fitch). </p>

<p>I’m not sure I understand. Most Haverford students just dress as college students. It’s a private school, so of course some students will be better dressed. Haverford students are typically just down to Earth, brilliant people. Well groomed, average preppiness. People will probably notice briefly if you’re dressed nicely or shabbily, but not think much of it.</p>

<p>How often do students visit Philadelphia? </p>

<p>The College has things to do every weekend, so we don’t need to go to Philly for a fun time. But it wouldn’t be unusual for a group to go every other weekend for cheesesteaks or whatnot. It depends whom you choose to hang out with most! The College also has a student group that buys theater and other performance tickets (and provides transportation to get there, all for free). I’ve gone and seen ballets and musicals (like the Nutcracker or the Lion King) for free, and it was awesome.</p>

4

<p>Thank you so much! This was really helpful. I had searched around the web, trying to get answers, to no avail. I’ll definitely be considering Haverford when it is time for me to apply.</p>