Hello,
I know both of these schools are great and similar in many ways, but any insight into the differences between them would be very helpful, in particular regarding:
Thank you so much!
I visited both back in 2019 before applications were due. I am currently a first-year student at Haverford and would be glad to offer my experiences at both campuses to all incoming students.
I’ll start with use of the city. I would definitely say students go into the city more at Haverford than Carleton. Haverford is in the tri-college consortium, but also quaker consortium (which includes UPenn). Due to the pandemic, we cannot take classes at UPenn, but I hope to go there once it is permitted. When I visited Carleton, the student guide said that students do not often go off campus to Minneapolis, but that it was a definite possibility for internships and other reasons. From what I am aware of, the public transportation to the cities would also be better at Haverford since we have SEPTA. Regarding cars, first-year students at both institutions are not allowed to have them on campus (Carleton allows for extenuating circumstances): https://apps.carleton.edu/handbook/travel/?policy_id=871670 and Living at Haverford.
At both colleges, you aren’t forced to go to sporting events, and I didn’t see or feel anyone being treated differently. I can’t speak about Carleton, but at Haverford there is a student-athlete divide. While I do not feel the two groups are antagonistic to each other, sometimes they do not really interact with each other. I am not an athlete, but some of my closest friends are athletes. I’ve noticed athletes like to congregate with each other and have parties with each other and that’s fine. Again, I haven’t seen the divide go as far as being openly antagonistc w/ each other, but that is just my experience, and I cannot speak to everyone’s experience.
Regarding school size (I’m assuming you mean # of students), this is a little bit difficult for me to answer. Because of social distancing and COVID, it feels quieter at Haverford, but I cannot confidently say if Carleton is noticeably busier. I visited Carleton during an academic week, but I visited Haverford during Thanksgiving, so the atmosphere and activity were different at the two. Again, I cannot confidently say if the difference in school size was noticeable. Haverford has about 1300-1400 students, whereas Carleton is around 2000 students. Bryn Mawr and Haverford students often take classes with each other, so I am inclined to believe that the difference in school size is not noticeable. In fact, one of my classes at Haverford consists primarily of Bryn Mawr students.
It is also difficult for me to determine the differences in academic rigor and intensity at both institutions. Both are rigorous and students at both mentioned this to me. I’ve been challenged in all my classes at Haverford and have learned far more than I would’ve at a bigger institution. Professors are very understanding; they are here to work with you, not be your enemy or fail you. Haverford offers great academic resources. There are sessions to ask clarifying questions about concepts and Haverford does offer academic tutors and coaching. My science classes have been big, but humanities have never been more than 25 students.
I hope this helps! If you need any clarification or have any additional questions, please don’t hesitate to let me know. Good luck choosing!
Thank you so much! I really appreciate your detailed answer.