I’m interested in social sciences/humanities and am an interantional student. I was wondering what the differences were between these three schools (ex. in the student bodies) and what would be the best option for and ED.
Three wonderful schools! All have a strong sense of community and opportunities to work very closely with professors. All have great reputations.
Take the following differences with a grain of salt, because in truth the schools are more alike than different, and a wide variety of student personalities and interests exist at each school.
Lafayette is a division one sports school, whereas the others are division three. That means that sports are more competitive and a bigger deal at Lafayette. On our tour, the Lafayette-Lehigh sports rivalry was mentioned multiple times. There are fraternities and sororities at Lafayette, and students with whom we spoke enjoyed being part of these and felt they play in a big role in the school. About a quarter of the students major in engineering, which is not offered at the other two schools. The student ratio tilts slightly more male than female, which is the opposite at the other schools.
Bates has a very friendly atmosphere. It has no fraternities or sororities. It has been progressive and inclusive since its founding. It has the most remote location of these choices, in a small city with easy access to nature in surrounding Maine; you can combine outdoor activities like hikes and canoeing with service activities for the Somali immigrants in Lewiston-Auburn.
Haverford also has no frats, a bi-college relationship with the ability to take classes and attend events at neighboring Bryn Mawr College for women (and less easily but still possibly at Swarthmore and U Penn), a location with quick and easy access by train to the nearby city of Philadelphia, and an Honor Code that is very strongly emphasized. It is a leading college in sending students on to get PhD’s.
Want the most “typical” U.S. college experience, with sports and Greek life? Pick Lafayette for ED.
Care most about being near a city and/or attending the most highly ranked option and/or everyone around you working together to hold one another to a high standard for personal behavior and integrity? Pick Haverford for ED.
Value an especially warm and inclusive community, with a balance of sporty kids and artsy kids, and enjoy spending time outdoors? Pick Bates for ED.
All three are great choices.
^^^ I’ll second that. Good summary.
Regarding ED strategy, in order of admission difficulty, I would put them Haverford, Bates, Lafayette. IF they were all equal in your eyes, I would apply ED1 Haverford, ED2 Bates, RD Lafayette. That said…they are all good schools and I would apply where you feel you belong first, then the next…etc.
Are you able to visit the colleges before applying? If not, I wouldn’t apply ED. I think a visit to campus should be part of an ED decision.
Lafayette is also slightly more “typical” of US schools generally in two other respects. First, it is the largest of the three schools, with around 2,600 students (with plans to expand to 2,900). OK, that’s still very small by US university standards, but Lafayette will still be noticeably larger than Bates (~1,800) or Haverford (~1,300). Second, while all three schools are liberal arts colleges, Lafayette is a bit more like a “typical” US university, because it also has an engineering program.
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I’ve visited Lafayette but wasn’t able to see Haverford and Bates. I liked Lafayette a lot, but after reading more about Haverford and Bates I think I would like them a lot more. Haverford and Bates have both visited my school so I’ve been able to get an idea of the schools, but I wasn’t sure about them because I hand’s visited so I wanted a general idea of the student body. I have a good idea of Bates, but wasn’t too sure if Haverford was more conservative/liberal etc.
A practical consideration that distinguishes amongst the three is transportation. Assuming that you return home from time to time, or perhaps your family visits you, Haverford is by far the easiest and less costly given that it is basically in Philadelphia.
Based solely on the kids I know who have gone to each, I would say that Lafayette is the most "mainstream " and that Haverford and Bates are more liberal. Of those two, Bates may be a little artsier and Haverford a little more intellectual. But honestly, it’s really splitting hairs. They are all terrific schools and you would find your people at any of them. None tends to attract real extremes. All have great teaching and beautiful campuses. The
I would seriously consider location as Haverford is the only one to offer easy access to a major city (if that matters) . It doesn’t sound like you care that only Lafayette offers engineering.
The descriptions above are excellent, btw.
Have you thought about how you feel about fraternities and sororities? Over 1/3 of students at Lafayette join frats or sororities, meaning a lot of campus social life revolves around them. Bates and Haverford don’t have them at all. Neither (Greek or no Greek) is an inherently better option but people tend to prefer one arrangement over the other.
^^^FWIW my D graduated from Lafayette recently and one can have a very full and happy social life without joining a fraternity/sorority there. But yes, Greek Life does have a presence on campus while it is not at the other two schools.