<p>Is there any major difference between these two schools? From what I understand, they are practically identical. I mean, they're even in basically the same area. Are they in fact one in the same?!?!?</p>
<p>Swarthmore is much more hardcore.</p>
<p>How so? I thought they were equal, academically.</p>
<p>Haverford is a challenging school, and on about the same tier, academically, but Swarthmore has a more intense vibe.</p>
<p>Makes sense. Princeton Review gave Haverford to me as a match and Swarthmore as a reach. It confused me since I'd always assumed they were like identical sisters.</p>
<p>They are more different than one would think...</p>
<p>Both are in the Quaker Consortium (Swarthmore + Haverford + Bryn Mawr + Penn) which means they can all enroll in each others' classes.</p>
<p>From the Penn point of view, we'd only consider Swarthmore kids to be our peers.</p>
<p>Keep in mind that saying Swarthmore is more harcore/intense than Haverford isn't really saying it's inherently a better education. It's more like saying that UChicago is more hardcore/intense than, say, Northweastern, or possibly even Harvard--it has to do with the acedemic culture and mindset of the students, not the "quality" of the acedemics or students. </p>
<p>They are simular schools, but from my visits to each, I got a very different vibe--Haverford was more laid back, which some people (myself included) might like better. Like UChicago, I think it takes a certain type of student to really love Swarthmore, moreso than at most schools.</p>
<p>leviatone </p>
<p>go to College Confidential and look up a poster listed as interesteddad (you find him on the Swarthmore site) he has posted a lot of very good information on Swarthmore……</p>
<p>They're very different vibes.</p>
<p>Haverford is chill. Kids play lots of ultimate frisbee, etc.</p>
<p>Swarthmore is well way less chill. When asked what kids did for fun, an admissions officer there told me that they didn't really do a lot more than study. And this is coming from a guy who's trying to sell the school.</p>
<p>Personally, I think Haverford would be a better fit for most people. I wanted a really intense academic atmosphere, but Swarthmore is tiny and the students that I met were on the whole socially inept/dull. You'd get just as good of an education at Haverford, but you'd have a more typical college experience.</p>
<p>Weskid: is it true that Haverford is considering co-ed dorms by room? I'm dragging my feet about it since I heard that rumor. Did you discuss this on your tour?</p>
<p>swarthmore is tiny? haverford has an even smaller amount of undergraduates. and the campus is smaller as well in terms of acreage.</p>
<p>yes there are a group of students at swarthmore who do study. all the time. as a current student at swat, i can also tell you that there are many people who DO have social lives, believe it or not.</p>
<p>i would also say i thought that haverford kids tend to be more "preppy"</p>
<p>they're different in a quite a few ways. academically, they're somewhat similar, but they differ a bit as well. they offer different programs. in terms of intensity, i would agree that swat is probably a bit more intense.</p>
<p>fencersmother: Hmmm...I don't really remember (also, I visited two years ago, so it might have been different then). When you say coed by room, do you mean like, have a room with boys next to a room with girls, or having a double with a guy and a girl, BTW? Because I don't remember anything about the latter, but a lot of schools I visited (including the one I attend) have the former, so it wouldn't suprise me if Haverford would consider it.</p>
<p>"From the Penn point of view, we'd only consider Swarthmore kids to be our peers."</p>
<p>Funny, I still remember from D1's tour of Philly area schools, basically none of these people seemed to think too much of Penn. Said they were discouraged from taking courses at Penn because similar courses at Penn were easier than the equivalent at their schools.</p>
<p>Penn gave the appearance of having an overwhelmingly pre-professional vibe that was diametrically opposite the intellectually-oriented atmosphere that these other schools emanated. Well maybe not as much Haverford, but the other two for sure.</p>
<p>From what I perceived I'll bet Swarthmore kids don't consider Penn kids their peers. Probably don't care for them much either.</p>
<p>Just a guess.</p>
<p>Haverford & Bryn Mawr are closely related to each other, moreso than Swarthmore seemed to be. All these schools seemed small. The M-F ratio favors guys at H- BM by quite a bit.</p>
<p>H & BM people were whining about their workload when we visited, while Swarthmore is known for same.</p>
<p>It's also interesting how things change over time. When I was applying Haverford was a more difficult admit than Penn, by a good margin.</p>
<p>Haverford is supposedly good for fencers. Bryn Mawr students can, and do, live in Haverford dorms by the way.</p>
<p>
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From the Penn point of view, we'd only consider Swarthmore kids to be our peers.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Not surprisingly a biased POV (that's like Dartmouth students saying they only consider Columbia kids to be their peers and not Penn kids).</p>
<p>Monydad that's the same impression we came away with, Penn was looked down upon and Swatties stayed to themselves.</p>
<p>Haverford didn't really appeal to my son, he thought the honor code pride was excessive.(One shouldn't need to brag about being honest) And the campus felt very similar to the various private/prep high schools in the area.</p>
<p>For what it's worth, I've always liked the school.(We've fenced there over the years) But had to agree that I felt it a little odd to place so much importance on the honor code. The essay was offputting.</p>
<p>
[quote]
From the Penn point of view, we'd only consider Swarthmore kids to be our peers.
[/quote]
I looked up current SAT ranges for freshmen at Swarthmore, Penn, and Haverford. From that standpoint, all three schools seem like peers. For Critical Reading and Writing, both LACs have equivalent, or slightly higher, scores than Penn; for Math, Penn has slightly higher scores.</p>
<p>Penn's SAT numbers are probably boosted by its two undergraduate professional schools: the Engineering School (engineers tend to have high math scores) and the Wharton School (which is very competitive). It would be interesting to compare SAT scores between the two LACs and the Penn School of Arts and Sciences specifically.</p>
<p>Each of the school has a different vibe. Penn is decidedly preprofessional. Swarthmore academic. Similiar stats does not mean the student bodies are similar.</p>
<p>I second ramses 2. My son wouldn't do the essay and didn't apply. However, one of his closest friends, a really nice, laid back kid, loved the Haverford Honor Code and atmosphere of the school. BTW: He got 800 on the Math SAT and over 700 on both verbal sections, certauinly competitive for Penn and Swat as well.</p>
<p>The differences between schools can be very subtle but kids sense where they're comfortable (though I don't quite understand how). You need to look to know</p>
<p>"...he thought the honor code pride was excessive.(One shouldn't need to brag about being honest)"</p>
<p>Ain't that the truth. We found it quite odd as well.</p>