<p>I was just talking to a parent who had a daughter who went to Haverford. She was saying how her daughter had made the right decision because Haverford is less intra-competative than Swarthmore is. How true is this statement? I know Swarthmore says that its student are not competative with each other, just self-driven to do well. I think I'm safe to assume Haverford's students are very self-driven as well, but maybe as intensely as Swarthmore students (I'm going out on a limb here). In comparing the student body's personality, how are Haverford and Swarthmore different? the same?
Then this question is kind of random... how easy is it to study abroad at Haverford? Are there opportunities to get college credit while studying abroad in the summer?</p>
<p>yeah i was debating between the two, but i'm glad i chose haverford. i didn't really feel comfortable socially at swarthmore. haverford ultimately retains more of its quaker principles than swarthmore, so there's less immediacy of competition within the classroom (though I would say that students are still very competitive with themselves, as with all other good schools). since i don't hang out with swarthmore kids i can't really make a fair assessment, but it's been said that swat kids are more openly quirky and yet more diverse.. haverford kids are more "mainstream" and yet closet-dorks. haverford's a bit "jockier".. though swarthmore has a few good varsity teams (men's tennis). both schools' priorities are academia.. honestly you can't go wrong with either, but you should have a pretty good idea which you fit in better at when you visit both campuses. i know haverford students who chose not to go to swarthmore, and vice versa. </p>
<p>my major makes it fairly difficult to study abroad because of the junior seminar, although there are two english majors in my class who are going to oxford for the whole year. i chose to do a summer abroad instead. the only other difficulty i would see is with the pre-med kids, but again some do go abroad as far as i know. other than that i think it's popular and easy to do at haverford. you can get credits to fulfill requirements as long as they don't count towards your major.</p>
<p>Swat and Haverford are pretty similar schools. I applied to and was accepted at both, so I had to make that decision so many years ago. Do an overnight stay and talk to some students, sit it on classes. I found I meshed better with Haverford students than I did with Swatties. I can't say which would be best for you. As for the environment, Haverford tends to be very non-competitive. We have a very well established Honor Code that permeates with Quaker ideals. People just generally don't talk about grades or act boisterously about their accomplishments. People are genuine about their interests and endeavors, rather than motivated to do things to impress others. Believe me, that environment is so much different than almost any other university in the country. I found that out pretty quickly from the students I met when I studied abroad. (And yes, study abroad is easy and encouraged by the school and just about any student you'll meet at Haverford who has spent a summer, term or year overseas. Do it, regardless of your major or career intentions. You won't have another time in your life to have the same experience. And it shall be wonderful)</p>