<p>Hi. I was recently admitted to all three of the schools, and am having a hard time narrowing down my search. Though the three are in extremely different climates, weather doesn't really matter to me. Each is appealing for its own reasons, and I was wondering if I could get your take on the group. Thanks a lot!</p>
<p>Bowdoin or Pomona. I would go with Death by Chocolate and Pomona haha.</p>
<p>Pomona because the consortium adds so much and when I think about the weather vs. Maine…</p>
<p>What are your reasons for liking each college?</p>
<p>Haverford’s consortium with Swarthmore, Bryn Mawr and UPenn adds a lot too. It’s a really nice atmosphere, the campus, the students, the faculty, etc. Philadelphia is a cool city and there are plenty of opportunities for internships, if you want to take advantage of that. </p>
<p>Pomona and Bowdoin are also great.</p>
<ol>
<li>Bowdoin; 2. Haverford; 3. Pomona.</li>
</ol>
<p>you ought to take a big piece of paper, write down all the factors that differ, that seem important to you, and establish a big set of pros/ cons. and then weight each of them, mentally if not literally.</p>
<p>I can see it’s getting to that point for a number of people now, where they are faced with several perfectly legitimate choices, and what’s left is personal preference towards a number of specific aspects. It’s difficult for third parties to help much, without more information. We may know something about the schools, but not about your objectives and preferences.</p>
<p>not sure what will be best for you, but in my case I’m facing a decision of Pomona vs whatever Ivies I get into today</p>
<p>Have you visited the campuses? If not, try to go to admitted students days. My daughter was in almost the same situation as you and the admitted students days really clarified things.</p>
<p>Haverford and Pomona are both in consortium with other top schools.
actually i’m going to apply to CMC and Swarthmore</p>
<p>regarding consortia –</p>
<p>Pomona’s campus is contiguous with that of Claremont McKenna, Spitzer, Scripps, and almost so with Harvey Mudd… all walking distance (max 20 minutes, mostly about 10 minutes… and in perfect walking weather 95% of the time). From Harvey Mudd on the north end, to Pomona on the south end, the distance is less than from one edge of UCLA to the other.</p>
<p>I’m not aware of any other consortia that are contiguous and walkable.</p>
<p>^ On the other hand Haverford and Bryn Mawr are about a mile apart, connected by a free 5-minute shuttle, and have a coordinated class schedule and integrated course registration system that makes cross-registration as easy as registering at your own college, resulting in thousands of cross-registrations annually. In short, it’s quicker to get from Haverford to Bryn Mawr or vice versa by shuttle than it is to walk from Pomona to Pitzer or Harvey Mudd. </p>
<p>Swarthmore and Haverford are a bit farther, about 25 minutes by shuttle, resulting in fewer Haverford-Swarthmore cross-registrations, though it’s certainly possible and students wanting to take courses unique to Swarthmore do cross-register. The big advantage of the Quaker Consortium, to my mind, is that Penn is only a 20-minute train ride away from any of the three LACs, and as a major research university Penn has almost unlimiited course offerings. My D who would like to study some less commonly taught languages (e.g., Portuguese and Hindi, both taught at Penn but at almost no LACs) finds this an extremely attractive feature of the Quaker Consortium LACs, something the Claremont Consortium can’t match.</p>
<p>That said, Haverford, Pomona, and Bowdoin are all great schools, and you can get a great education at any of them. I think a lot comes down to personal preferences—sunny and warm but urban sprawlish Southern California v. coastal Maine v. the leafy Philadelphia Mainline suburbs a quick train ride away from a major (and lively) city and with easy access to both NYC and DC for the occasional getaway. But the schools have distinct personalities and cultures as well.</p>
<p>They’re all excellent and you can’t go wrong choosing any of them. It is, of course, up to you to decide where you feel most comfortable. This is solely my opinion: Haverford- best location. Pomona- best weather. Bowdoin- best campus/academic feel. Once again, you may completely disagree. I’m sure you’ll love wherever you choose.</p>
<p>All three are excellent schools. You would be privledged to attend any of them. There may well be issues of geography, campus culture, or specialty offerings that legitimately steer you in one direction or another. I could make a strong case for any of the three.</p>
<p>Having said that, we are in a recession that will be placing colleges under financial distress for the forseeable future. You will see serious budget cuts for 2009-2010 and cuts that stun people for 2010-11 when the full impact of devastated endowments hits. Pomona is the wealthiest liberal arts college in the United States and one of the wealthiest of all American colleges and universities on a per student endowment basis. It has a major edge in financial resources over the other two colleges on your list. If I were choosing and really struggling to come up with a strong preference on other grounds, I would take a long hard look at the financial statements and, therefore, the kinds of cuts that will be required over the next three years.</p>
<p>Those are three FABULOUS choices. Many congrats. Personally, I really liked the Claremont campuses because they truly are side-by-side and students DO take calsses at the other schools. (S1 had Mudd as one of final three choices and spent a lot of time considering these issues.) On the other hand, I like snow and four seasons, I loved living in Philadephia and Maine is incredible.</p>
<p>If you are getting FA, how does the money shake out?</p>
<p>When I visited Haverford, the senior taking us around was pretty much sick of the place, he said he felt confined, it is a really small school. It is also a Quaker school, so he was cynical about the fact that all decisions had to be agreed upon by everyone, so endless hours where spent discussing issues. As for as the consortium thing, both at Haverford, Bryn Mawr and Swarthmore I asked how many times the students actually took classes at the other school and all said mostly never, it is a myth, to do it is a hassle, because the schools are not that close together. Also, they are all suburban schools, so to have a night out, you go into Phili by subway.
The only thing I know about Pomona is a relative turned down Harvard to go there, loved it and had a job in a presitigous firm before graduating. He is also a laid back guy, so I am sure that had something to do with his decision.</p>
<p>^^ Haverford and Bryn Mawr are a mile apart and there’s A LOT of cross-registration.</p>
<p>^^ My D has spent time asking lots of students at both Haverford and Bryn Mawr about cross-registrations, and so far she hasn’t met a single student at either school who HASN’T taken classes at the other school. There are something like 3,000 cross-registrations per year at these schools, which means on average each student at each school is doing more than one cross-registration per year—some less, no doubt, but some more. D of a friend of mine just got her degree at Bryn Mawr but took her entire major at Haverford, not an uncommon occurrence. Some departments closely coordinate which courses are offered at each school, and/or expect their students to meet part of their major requirement at the other school. Students at either school can also seamlessly take meals at the other school as the meal plans are interchangeable and operate by a simple card swipe at either school (though the food is reputed to be better at Bryn Mawr). And some student groups and ECs are joint between the two schools. Functionally they’re almost two halves of a single whole.</p>
<p>Harverford-Swarthmore and Bryn Mawr-Swarthmore cross-registrations are less common because it’s a lengthier trip between the schools, but “raising2” is badly misinformed about the Haverford-Bryn Mawr connection, apparently the result of sour grapes on the part of a disgruntled Haverford tour guide.</p>
<p>[Ask</a> the Gazette: How many Swatties take classes in the Tri-Co? :: The Daily Phoenix](<a href=“http://daily.swarthmore.edu/2009/2/26/atg-trico/]Ask”>http://daily.swarthmore.edu/2009/2/26/atg-trico/)</p>
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<p>And from a 2003 article in the Bi-Co News:</p>
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<p>On the other hand, cross-registration between Haverford and Bryn Mawr is huge. From estimates I’ve seen, approximately 20% of all courses are taken at the other school. That is because the two schools are a mile apart served by a constant shuttle service, so the travel is no more difficult than going from the freshman quad to the classrooms at Duke. More importantly, the two schools have agreed to only offer certain key departments at one or the other. For example, Art History, Dance, Russian, Italian, and Geology are only offered at Bryn Mawr. Astronomy, Art, Music, and Religion are only offered at Haverford.</p>
<p>I think that Bowdoin is in a consortium with Colby and Bates. thats what CBB is i think. </p>
<p>Its nothing huge, but I guess it is there.</p>