Hi,
I am a rising senior in high school, considering Haverford as a prospective student-athlete. I’m curious about the social life at Haverford and the students who attend the school. I visited during the summer and couldn’t get a good feel for the students.
I attend a very small, academic, private high school with similar values as Haverford, however the students at my school seem to be more on the preppy side with moderate political views. I’m not a super partier, however I do like to attend some parties and be social. It seemed that Haverford students may be more introverted, as I noted with the single rooms in the dorms. I also worry that perhaps there is a bit more of an “edgy”/ “artsy” vibe than I am used to in my high school.
As an athlete, I need to apply early decision. Since ED is binding, I am really looking for some feedback before committing to a coach. I am also considering Washington and Lee, which may be too much of a party school for me with the Greek life system. I love the honor code and academics at both. I don’t mean to offend anyone, but I am looking for a school with a social life (social nerds, but not necessarily anti-social dorks:)). Thanks so much!
My understanding is that Haverford fits this description.
If at all possible, you should do an overnight visit in the fall. It’s the only way to see the students you’ll be with if you apply ED and get accepted. You could also try to meet with some of the kids on the team.
W&L is quite different from Haverford - preppier, heavy greek focus, much more conservative. I agree about doing overnights, or at least visits when school is in session, before applying ED to any school. It would also be smart to meet potential teammates and see how you click.
Haver ford kids know how to party and socialize, especially if you’ll be connected to a sport.
My son is a Haverford student-athlete and was recruited by schools from the Ivy League, NESCAC, and W&L before deciding on Haverford. I concur with staying overnight during the fall to get a feel for the school. Some additional thoughts based on what I remember while navigating the college search process (if I got something wrong, please let me know):
- I’ll go on the assumption that both Haverford and W&L are recruiting you; both are fantastic schools. Since the coaches at W&L can’t actively recruit someone who doesn’t meet certain criteria (SAT, GPA, AP/IB/honors classes, etc.) established by admissions, I’ll assume you have a solid academic record. W&L coaches (like their NESCAC and Ivy counterparts) have some slots set aside by admissions for athletes. Haverford (like MIT, CalTech, Swarthmore, and the Claremont Colleges) is very open that coaches have little to no influence on admissions other than allowing the coaches to rank their recruits by priority (team needs, coach’s opinion, etc.); in other words, even after getting a positive pre-read from admissions, you might still not get in. Haverford places a lot of emphasis on selecting students who will contribute to the school community as a whole and places a lot of weight on the interview and admissions essays. Take a look at the statistics of the incoming class and see how your academics stack up; median SAT scores were north of 700 for each part, median ACT was 34, and 95% were in the top 10% of their high school class.
- Based on the schools you’re looking at, academics are important to you. Everyone at Haverford is required to do a thesis and has the opportunity for internship funding. This is atypical of liberal arts schools. W&L has similar opportunities, but mostly restricted to its Johnson Scholars.
- W&L has a very heavy Greek scene that strongly influences the social life on campus. This is partially driven by the school’s location in a (really nice) small town and the neighboring VMI Keydets’ inability to throw keggers whenever they feel like it. Haverford, while it is definitely more low-key, nonetheless has parties and benefits from having lots of other schools nearby and ready access to a major American city via public transportation conveniently located just outside the campus gates. The sports teams at Haverford are among the key drivers in the school’s party scene.
- Once you decide to go ED to a particular school, make sure you communicate it clearly to coaches from other schools. It probably wouldn’t hurt to have a plan B in case you don’t get in. It wouldn’t hurt to ask a coach directly if they would still be interested in you if you aren’t accepted ED. FYI, one-third of the players who committed to play the same sport at Haverford as my son didn’t get in. Have a back-up plan.
- Wherever you choose, make sure you would still want to be there if playing your sport(s) doesn’t work out.
Best of luck!
Agree with everything @o2bdownsouth wrote.
Assuming you’re down to these two schools and know you want to be at one of them, they both have ED1 and ED2 (I think that’s new for Haverford this year). Whichever school you ultimately select, you can still apply ED to the other in round 2. As 02bedownsouth points out, a lot of ED athletes at Haverford don’t get accepted. That has to happen everywhere (some schools more than others). It’s possible that your sport/position remains a need that a coach can fill in ED2.
Obviously, if you get to ED2, you will need to have other applications for RD in place.
I have to echo what the other parents/students have said. My son is heading to Haverford as a student athlete in the fall.
Do an overnight visit when students are on campus. The coach who was recruiting my son had two dates in the fall where he brought in recruits for an overnight. The student/athletes were assigned to other players and ate in the dining hall, went to class, did social stuff at night, attended a fall practice, attended a team workout, etc… Other teams were on campus at the same time. You really won’t know what it is like until you go there.
Have a backup plan. Identify other LACs that you like. Identify a safety school. Make sure you work on your RD applications. Choose a school, not a coach.
We know one player from around here who was recruited last year who did not get in. My son also knows one player who was on the overnight visit with him who did not get in. The rest of the players who were at the overnight visit DID get in so most recruited athletes do get in. The thing is to make sure that you really want to go there.
I am a Haverford parent.
These are fair comparisons, but two more points:
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Haverford does have a thread of “alternative culture” for those who want exposure to that. There is a also a thread of “jock culture” with which the student-athletes are in touch. In my appraisal, these are roughly equally present and neither represent the mainstream paradigm which I would describe as “acceptance and inclusiveness”. There probably is not much cross-over between the students who gravitate to these threads but, IMO, it would be possible to have a foot in both worlds and not be shunned in either because of it. It is certainly the case that as a student, even if you are not especially drawn to either, you are likely to have friends from both.
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Although Haverford is not especially diverse in its student population, it is markedly more so than W&L:
Undergraduates by Race / ethnicity (Haverford / W&L)
Asian 10% / 3%
Black or African American 7% / 2%
Hispanic/Latino 8% / 4%
White 59% / 83%
Two or more races 4% / 3%
Race/ethnicity unknown 2% / 1%
Non-resident alien 10% / 4%
"it would be possible to have a foot in both worlds and not be shunned in either because of it. "
Most definitely true. I know several students who straddle both worlds easily. I also don’t think the Haverford community is one to place people in preconceived buckets which makes it a non-issue. 
My son stayed on the nerdy side of the fence during his 4 years, but there are definitely partiers at Haverford. Oftentimes, they’re the athletes.
Although my son and his friends were more nerdy/techy, they still found a lot to do. They may have been quiet, but they were not antisocial by any means.