Can someone answer my questions?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Haverford College
1

<p>I visited Haverford (ish...I didn't have an official campus visit, but I was on campus for about an hour or so) this past spring and immediately made some good and not-so-good assumptions about the school itself based upon my time in the area and a visit to Bryn Mawr. I was wondering if anyone, specifically anyone with insight into life at Haverford itself, could answer a couple of my questions:</p>

<p>-While visitng Bryn Mawr, I got the impression that this was a pretty elite, WASP-y area of town (the boarding/prep schools that are within view of both Haverford and Bryn Mawr plus some weird conversations I overheard during breakfast in town led me to this conclusion). I could be making some gross stereotypical judgement of the student body, but a "preppy" student body isn't something I'm looking for. Is Haverford a lot like this, or is there really a variety of people? I would assume that students are generally wealthy, but is it pervasive?
-Is Haverford a "grind school"? A family friend knows someone at Haverford who is miserable because of the crazy work load.
-Am I going to get any money if I am, by some miracle, accepted at Haverford? I hear that not a lot of money is given out.</p>

<p>I LOVED campus, though; it's easily the most beautiful one I've seen. And my gut reaction to the school was overwhelmingly positive. If someone could just assuage my fears, that would be fabulous.</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

2

<p>-yes, the surrounding area is fairly waspy. well haverford and bryn mawr are, at least. i've heard that the haverford school for boys has a larger endowment than we do. but haverford college is not. the neighborhood does not in any way, shape, or form reflect the student body. in fact, i find it very difficult to describe the student body in a few words since there are so many different kinds of people here. i suppose there are wealthy students, but i wouldn't know; no one really talks about money or whether they came from rich households. and in all honesty, you're probably not going to have much affiliation with the town.. much of what you do will occur on campus or in philly. i've only gone into the surrounding neighborhoods to shop, eat at restaurants occasionally, or run. </p>

<p>i don't think admissions would accept you if they didn't think you could handle the workload. it's all about time management. yes, you'll be busy with the quantity of the work, and you're going to be challenged by the quality of the work. college is hard, whereever you go. but for a tough school, our student body seems to be one of the most relaxed, genuinely happy campus that i've seen.</p>

<p>don't worry so much about the financial aid right now. i'm not sure whether that's true, but i'm receiving financial aid and they seemed to have accomodated my needs pretty well.</p>

3

<p>Thanks for the help!</p>

4

<p>Boy, do I enjoy HC "sub-Urban Legends"!
Actually, the Haverford School has an endowment of $32 million (not $450 million of HC).</p>

<p>I like the other "sub-Urban Legends" around... they reflect HC's quirky geekiness though... like...</p>

<p>The Swat student who lives underneath Magill bridge and who, like a troll in a Grimm's Fairytale, will jump out at nighttime and prevent HC students from going to study in the library unless they can ward it off with the honor code... or...</p>

<p>the student who lost a thesis on a malfunctioning lap top...</p>

<p>the alligator snapping turtle living in the duck pond who will bite off any toes and fingers that carelessly enter the pond's murky depths....</p>

<p>Now, regarding the ? initially posted... One of Hc's strongest features is its fantastic location. If HC was located in the middle of an Iowa alfalfa field, or in "Sticks" VT or "Deliverance" MA, it certainly would be less attractive to applicants such as yourself. HC's prime location is also prime real estate as well. Before 1930's, the Main Line was actually the wealthiest and most prestigious address in the US... ie "The Philadelphia Story" and that girl in Titanic was on her way to get married in front of "Philadelphia Society".</p>

<p>HC can do a better job with financial diversity and tries the best it can with its current endowment. 46% students are on FA, 14% students have Pell Grants which is very comparable to peer institutions...</p>

<p>HC students work very very hard but for the most part don't talk about it too much as that is frowned upon. I remember passing out once in front of a computer monitor while writing a paper and when my friend woke me up, I had a page of "g"s. I was also treated for stress induced "gastritis" while in college. The good news is that if you survive HC, whatever further academic training you later obtain will probably seem like a breeze. Med school was honestly like a vacation for me: never felt stressed (I would study in Central Park under a tree), never pulled an all nighter, would only drink coffee for "fun", had a fantastic social life in Manhattan and was able to publish a few papers, lead a few organizations and do well academically... and many of my friends who went to med/law school had similar experiences.</p>

<p>Lastly, here are some goofy pictures of HC students. I haven't looked thru them, but I imagine they're fun...</p>

<p><a href="http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=haverford%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=haverford&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

5

<p>Are you saying you found medical school easier than Haverford or that Haverford better prepared you for it? For workload, it was a little bit of both for me (no science reqs=good and "reading, writing and research" skills are Haverford's 3 R's). I actually found law school more challenging because the atmosphere seemed more competitive and less collegial on the whole. Some people liked talking in class just to be noticed... or to maybe let some hot air out. And B school... let's just not even bring them in for comparison!</p>

6

<p>Hey Rich</p>

<p>I thought med school was much easier than HC:</p>

<p>1) Med school is not writing intensive</p>

<p>2) I'm a science oriented person, so while freshman organic chem was reasonable for me, I actually struggled with even intro humanities and social science courses my frosh year. I'm grateful that I took them though...</p>

<p>3) Med school is honors, pass, fail... except for Hopkins and Duke which were at least ABCDF when I applied.</p>

<p>4) The last person to graduate (academically) from med school is called a "doctor".</p>

<p>5) Med school is, again, not writing intensive. All exams are multiple choice... or multiple guess depending who you are.</p>

7

<br>


<br>

<p>Don't confuse the town with the gown. The bi-co kids come from all over the country, and they are not all old-money WASPs by a long shot. Most of the kids did not grow up in elegant suburban mansions.</p>

8

<p>Can somebody explain what a WASP is? hehe... :)</p>

9

<p>White Anglo-Saxon Protestant or Wealthy ASP
I think you can infer some of the rest from there :)</p>