<p>Hi,
I'm an upcoming senior looking to apply ED to either haverford swarthmore or washington and lee. My ultimate goal is to be a journalist or go to law school so I was wondering if anyone knew which school would be better for that? I'm mainly between swat and haverford right now. I know swat is slightly more prestigious but is it by a lot? Would I be doing myself a disservice by choosing haverford over swat?
One thing I liked about haverford more was it seemed a little less intense and I was also in love with the opportunities through the center for peace and global justice studies. I would really like to utilize that if I was going there. My only concern is that haverford isn't held in the same regard that swat is in general. Any input helps! Thank you!!</p>
<p>When you say “upcoming senior,” do you mean junior or senior? </p>
<p>Sorry I mean I’m a current senior </p>
<p>You will not be “doing yourself a disservice” by attending any of the schools you mention.</p>
<p>Go to the place where you will be the happiest, and don’t concern yourself with someone else’s perceptions of “prestige.”</p>
<p>They all are great schools. Go where you will be happy and you’re more likely to excel.</p>
<p>You can’t make a mistake with that group of schools. If one is more appealing to you and you get in, go there.</p>
<p>I really like and respect W&L, however, Lexington – although lovely – is a small town. I mention this only because media and legal “school year” internship opportunities might be more difficult to find there than in the greater Philadelphia area. With this said, I would opt for W&L; their “culture” is a far better fit with my values than either Haverford’s or Swarthmore’s. </p>
<p>If I had your interests, I would definitely choose Haverford. It is a wonderful institution. However, you must visit the campus and try to spend a couple overnights there. There is a certain kind of Haverford student that all Haverford students find themselves pressed to be (this may be true at Swat, too). Everything you’ve said about yourself says that you may be that kind of student, but some students at Haverford will resent the pressures of conformity. It’s not for everyone, and there’s a certain homogeneity there that can be oppressive to students who’re not the right fit. As I say, when I taught at HC, Swat was known to be just as bad in this regard. I visited Swat a few years ago and it didn’t appear to me that much in this regard had changed–and you’re right that Swat is more intense than HC. Lots of good journalists have come out of HC. The English departments at both Swat and HC are very strong, altho you needn’t major in English to be a journalist. The schools will prepare you for all kinds of careers that have little to do with your major. They are great educators, those schools.</p>
<p>Washington & Lee is a different matter. They recently came across a $50million dollar endowment that has enabled them to attract some of the best students in the nation, particularly kids who otherwise would have gone to emory or UNC-CH. It’s a southern school without the very liberal and Quaker traditions of Swat and HC, but with traditions of its own that are anything but Quaker or liberal. It is the site of the Robert E. Lee family interments–beneath the school chapel. And up until very recently, the War Against Northern Aggression was honored (celebrated?) in part by hanging in the chapel Confederate flags that had been part of Lee’s army. For a long time the school admin resisted attempts, including those by its own Black students, to remove the flags from the chapel and to admit that indeed at one time the school itself owned slaves (as did a few schools we don’t usually associate with the Confederacy). I think you can get a very good education at W&L, and certainly a lively one if you’re a quaker or politically very liberal, but the school lacks the long tradition of excellence and national reputation that Swat and HC have.</p>
<p>Now, how are you going to pay for any of these schools? Is the great scholarship opportunity at W&L what attracts you there? It did me, too, when I was looking for schools for my kids.</p>
<p>All good schools, but you need to decide which is the best fit for you, not which is the most prestigious. For instance, I can’t imagine anyone being equally happy at both Swarthmore and W&L - they are polar opposites politically and culturally. You really need to understand that before you commit to either one. It’s not too far off to mark to think that a large part of the Swarthmore student body thinks W&L is full of white racist sexist fascists and the W&L student body thinks that Swarthmore is full of politically correct man-hating communist traitors.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone for your replies! I’m leaving toward haverford right now. Just a few more questions…does anyone know if the sorority life at W&L is stereotypical? I’ve always been against sororities because I do not fit into a sorority stereotype and I don’t like the exclusiveness of it but I’m open to hearing about why they’re good. Also- how is the social scene at Haverford? Is there something to do every weekend or is it boring? Thanks again! </p>