<p>I have decided between these to schools. As in my previous posts have a plans for law schools-UChicago,Yale, Harvard, Stanford- and a good MBA program primarily Wharton. Please any comments. Which offers a better political science dept and philosophy dept. Dorms, Social life etc</p>
<p>Shouldn't you take this to "College Search and Selection"?</p>
<p>This is going to maybe sound funny at first, so give it little bit of pondering, because it impacts every single aspect of a college:</p>
<p>The biggest single difference between Haverford and Swarthmore is that Swarthmore's endowment is more than three times larger. </p>
<p>I think the impact of much larger financial resources can probably be seen just about anywhere you look -- from the meticulous gardens, to the large number of new buildings that have been built in the last decade (a peforming arts center, a classroom building, a new science center, a new dorm, and major renovations to the main administration building) to costly policies such as paid sabbaticals for professors every fourth year.</p>
<p>I'm not really familiar enough with Haverford to give you detailed comparisons in all areas. But, I can tell you that the Poli Sci, History, and Econ departments are among of Swarthmore's biggest and best departments. They produce more PhDs per capita in Poli Sci and Econ, than any other college or university in the US (top five in History), so the training is top-shelf and the departments are viewed favorably by grad schools. I don't think there are any stats for Philosophy departments, but it is also regarded very highly at Swarthmore.</p>
<p>As for the student bodies, Swarthmore is significantly more diverse in all categories (black, Latino, Asian, International). It is also more diverse socio-economically, at least as measured by the percentage of students applying for and receiving finanicial aid. By these stats and by reputation, Haverford is a bit more "preppie" than Swarthmore, which is a bit more "brainy/geeky".</p>
<p>And, of course, Swatties have higher average SAT scores and the school probably generates a few more "ooohs and aaahs" in the hallowed halls of academia, for whatever that is worth. </p>
<p>Both are known as pretty rigorous places in terms of academics. Swarthmore prides itself on working its students pretty hard and the students seem to enjoy (or at least appreciate) it.</p>
<p>Weather is the same. Location is the same. Key aspects of the schools' histories are similar -- both were started by the Quakers. Other aspects are different: Haverford was all male until 30 years ago, Swat was coed from the day it opened its doors.</p>
<p>Haverford makes a big deal about its honor code. Swarthmore makes a big deal about having very few rules and regulations.</p>
<p>Either school will be excellent preparation for the law and business schools you are interested in, so I would make the call based on financial and overall "feel" factors.</p>
<p>I don't know anything about Haverford, so I can't comment.</p>
<p>My son's interest is in Political Science (well, Political Philosophy) and Philosophy and he goes to Swarthmore. So this is what he says:
The Poli Sci department is the largest department at Swarthmore. It acts more like a university department than a small liberal arts college department. It has a large offering of courses. It also has a history of the most Phds per capita as Interestedad said. There are prominent professors like James Kurth who is noted as one of the best political writers of 2004 in the anthology 'Best American political writings of 2004' This alongside people like Karen Tumulty of Time, Joe Klein of Time, Jeff Greenfield of CNN etc. If you look up the background of professors there, they come from places like the Kennedy School of Govt. at Harvard, Woodrow Wilson school of IR at Princeton etc. My son enjoys his intro poli sci courses a whole lot.</p>
<p>The Philosophy department is headed by Richard Eldridge and also has professors like Schulenfreye (spelling may not be right) who are very popular. The thing about Swarthmore (and could be true of Haverford as well) is that, you can have personal contacts with these people from day 1. My son knows Eldridge, has talked to him about having a class on Aesthetics which is Eldridge's specialty and is not offered now.</p>
<p>It is my son's personal observation that at Swarthmore at least, there is no talk of resource constraints as far as he can see. His interest is in the humanities, so I can't speak for the sciences or engineering. Students are encouraged to pursue anything they want and once they have found their "passion", they are encouraged to pursue it to any depth they want. The administration makes it their top priority that this culture is maintained.</p>