Can I have some candid advice from current/past Haverford students?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Haverford College
1

<p>(I already posted this on the College Search forum, but I was deferred to this forum)</p>

<p>I visited the school and interviewed, and for the most part, I liked it. I do have some questions, though, some of which weren't exactly appropriate to ask during an interview or at the information session, so here goes.</p>

<ol>
<li><p>How's the Anthropology department? In terms of variety of courses, quality of professors, courses that can be taken at Swarthmore/Bryn Mawr, etc. Are there lots of opportunities for study abroad/internships? How are foreign language classes?</p></li>
<li><p>How would you describe the typical Haverford student? (Feel free to use a stereotype like prep, hipster, jock, etc. I just want to get a sense of what kind of students the college tends to attract.)</p></li>
<li><p>How much work do/did you have to do each day? How intense would you say the environment is? I want a school where the students are interested in learning for learning's sake (as opposed to just getting a fancy degree), but I also don't want to work myself to insanity. </p></li>
<li><p>How's the party scene? I mean, do students do that kind of thing much? I'm not into big, raging parties like you see in all those terrible movies, but I certainly like to have some drinks with friends on weekends. </p></li>
<li><p>What's the drug scene like? Is weed popular amongst students? What about psychedelics? (For the record, I'm pretty into that sort of thing and, for me, they go hand-in-hand with learning about things that interest me. I'm the type who gets kinda annoyed when heavy drinkers refer contemptuously to marijuana as 'drugs')</p></li>
<li><p>About taking classes at other colleges: Is it easy to manage? UPenn offers a huge selection of foreign languages, and I love the idea of being able to study an infrequently taught language (like universities offer) while still having the LAC experience. I guess what I'm trying to say is, is it a pain to move around from school to school several times a week in order to get to your classes? </p></li>
<li><p>Double majoring: Is it doable? Would the workload be too insane? </p></li>
</ol>

<p>Long post, I know. Would love some honest advice though. Thanks in advance.</p>

2

<p>Since I’m just a parent of a Ford, I can only answer some of your questions, but I thought it might help a little.</p>

<p>I can’t answer #1, but I’m pretty certain that the Anthropology department is specialized in one type and area. I don’t remember it being very diverse. Check the course schedule for available classes.</p>

<p>The typical student would be someone who is open-minded, intelligent, and interested in getting a great education in a very small close-knit community. They’re definitely not preppy, and although there are athletes and varsity sports, I don’t think athletics are a very big part of college life there. It’s not like you’ll be going to football on Saturday!</p>

<p>The workload is doable, although it can get heavy at times. They tell students not to take more than 4 courses for a reason. Those kids are definitely there to learn, but they do enjoy their down time as well.</p>

<p>There is a party scene, but it’s certainly not a party school. There are many students who like to party on the weekends, but there are just as many who either don’t drink or keep it to a respectable level.</p>

<p>I assume the drug scene is much like the party scene. You’ll have all kinds of people there. However, I can’t really answer this one for you.</p>

<p>You can take classes at other colleges, although it’s more difficult at Swarthmore and Penn, not only because of the distance, but because of scheduling conflicts. Bryn Mawr and Haverford work more closely and run similar schedules with frequent bus trips, so it’s easier to go between those two schools. That being said, you’ll need to figure out a schedule that will allow you time to go back and forth. I also think that it’s more difficult to take classes at U Penn because you have to get permission, and you can only take classes there that are not taught at the others, but I could be wrong about that. They do have some special ties with Penn, however, like the engineering program where you can get a Master’s degree in one year after four years at Haverford.</p>

<p>Double majoring is doable as long as you can manage to fulfill requirements in both majors, which could be a lot of work. You’ll have an easier time, of course, if both the majors are similar and share some of the same requirements. It would be more difficult in majors that are less related, but that would be true at any college. You’ll also have less time to explore other interests, either academically or socially. I don’t think the workload would be insane, but I think it might limit you elsewhere. I’m sure a student could answer this better than I could.</p>

<p>Hopefully this helped a little.</p>

3

<p>I’m HC 2017 and I’ve been here for 3 weeks, here is what I can tell you. If you wanna talk more in depth, PM me.</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Anthro is solid but one of the harder majors on campus</p></li>
<li><p>Typical HC student? There isn’t one. Everyone is different for the most part. Pretty everyone is awkward as hell though, and that’s chill. We are all pretty intelligent, but as you can see from this post, it’s not something we show off all the time.</p></li>
<li><p>I went to university at 16, and I can say HC is much more intense than my state flagship. It’s doable, but you’re going to hate life for a long time.</p></li>
<li><p>I am a casual drinker. Parties are pretty big in some places. First couple parties are horrible but eventually get good. Sometimes I’ll get free booze from parties and just bring it back to the dorm and drink with my friends.</p></li>
<li><p>Almost everyone I know does weed here. Those who hadn’t have tried it since being here. There’s no pressure, someone may ask and try to convince, but they won’t push it. Shrooms are pretty popular I’ve heard, I don’t mess with that.</p></li>
<li><p>UPenn is a pain in the ass to get to. I wouldn’t recommend it at all. Bryn Mawr is easy and Swat is somewhat difficult though.</p></li>
<li><p>I’m a double major and I manage. Depends on your subjects really.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Hit me up with any questions, and if you visit again you should stop by my apartment.</p>

<ul>
<li>Luke</li>
</ul>

4

<p>I am parent of an applicant, my daughter and I are both very interested in 4+1 program with UPenn. We want to know if it is difficult to keep a high GPA to apply for this program in HC? what is the average GPA in HC?</p>

<p>What the meaning of “UPenn is a pain in the ass to get to” ?</p>

5

<p>Penn is “a pain” to get to because of getting from Haverford – which is a lovely suburb of Philly, into Philly. Students would generally take the Paoli local train to 30th st – about a 20 minute ride - then hoof it to U Penn. Unlike hopping the blue bus between Bryn Mawr and Haverford, getting into Penn just takes more planning and attention to when the trains run etc. As the Paoli local is primarily a commuter line, the trains run less frequently mid-day and later in the evening. </p>

<p>As students, we all had tales of desperately running to catch last train out of Philly to H’ford/Bryn Mawr on a weekend night, for fear there would be no way home after that. Of course, we could have taken a cab, I suppose, but it would have been expensive and we were all too cheap for that.</p>

6

<p>Re getting to Penn from Haverford, you also have the option of taking the Norristown High Speed line, which has a station just off campus, to 69th street and then transferring to the Market-Frankford Line (“The El”) to University City. Much less expensive and the trains run much more frequently. I wouldn’t recommend doing this late at night, but it’s a common commuter route for tons of people commuting into the city from Philly’s Western suburbs.</p>

<p>[SEPTA</a> | Haverford Station](<a href=“Stops – Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority”>Stops – Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority)
[SEPTA</a> | Norristown High Speed Line](<a href=“Routes – Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority”>Routes – Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority)
[SEPTA</a> | 69th Street Transportation Center](<a href=“Stations & Stops | SEPTA”>Stations & Stops | SEPTA)</p>

7

<p>I’m an upperclassman who appreciates a good drug every now and then, and anything harder than weed is very difficult to procure here. I was also surprised with how few people smoke in the first place here–while it’s a good chunk of the student body, it’s less than the typical liberal arts school.
Parties are typically only every Saturday, sometimes Thursdays. People try to make Fridays happen but it usually sucks. they’re thrown by athletic teams.
Double majoring happens, but you will have to write two thesis–which is a **** ton. A lot of my friends have taken languages at Penn–it’s about a 15 minute SEPTA away and isn’t too bad.</p>