<p>My daughter was accepted to both UW and Haverford. We have to decide tomorow. We live in WA State so tuition at UW will be under $10K. Tuition at Haverford is $39K. We'd get NO financial aid. It wouldn't bankrupt me but it would take a bit bite out. But Haverford is a better school; SAT ranges are higher (visit College Search - compare colleges and universities side-by-side). Haverford is also much smaller (1300 students vs 29,000 at UW), but Haverford has no grad school. However, they can take courses at Bryn Myr and other schools.</p>
<p>At UW she'd be in the Honors Program, which has smaller classes, etc.</p>
<p>So, the question is: is Haverford superior enough to warrant the extra $30K+ in costs? Gotta decide today! Thanks.</p>
<p>I turned down my state university’s honors program for Haverford. My parents convinced me that the difference is tuition was worth it. But, when I visited the honors college, it seemed like a really good situation, and I’m sure I would have been fine there. My best friend turned down the honors college for Bowdoin. Neither of us is sure that we have made the best financial decision. And is there a way that we will ever know if one decision is better than the other?</p>
<p>With the recently announced budget cuts at UW, there is a significant chance that your D would not graduate in 4 years. If it takes 5 years, the cost difference is smaller (but still significant), plus there’s the opportunity cost of a year not working after graduation. If your D has visited both and has a strong preference, I’d weigh that heavily in the decision.</p>
<p>Another thought: whose decision do you want this to be? If you have told her that she could choose Haverford, knowing the likely cost, and then twist her arm to attend UW, is that how you want her college life to start?</p>
<p>One more thing: I just lost my job. Yes, she strongly prefers Haverford. So it all comes down to: should I dig into savings to the order of perhaps $50K/yr vs. $20K/yr for UW?</p>
<p>I would immediately call Haverford’s financial aid office, telling them about your job loss. It could make a big difference in their need-based financial aid award, at least as long as you are unemployed. If you get need-based financial aid from Haverford, the cost difference might be much less than it now appears.</p>
<p>Haverford, no doubt.
At Haverford professors care about undergraduate students and their learning, at UW nobody cares.
Haverford financial assistance is based on family income. All needeing students get financial help.</p>
<p>I’d pick Haverford. I live in Washington State and I got to go to Reed as an undergraduate. I went to the UW for graduate school and it is just too big. If your daughter doesn’t know what she wants to study then a small liberal arts college is the perfect place for her. She’ll take classes from a variety of disciplines and she’ll learn how to think. I know it is a lot of money but I think it is worth it. We’re sending our daughter to Whitman in the Fall, the UW was my last choice for her, honors program or not.</p>
<p>This is a hard one. Will you be okay financially? That’s the first consideration. As far as the quality of the schools go, I visited Haverford and was VERY impressed. I really think the quality of personal attention and opportunity to shine and grow is drastically greater at a small school like Haverford than a big one. However, it can’t come at the expense of your financial future. Good luck to you! Please tell us what you decide.</p>
<p>I’ve been working with an attorney on a really big case, probably makes a million a year. Had to look up his bio for something. Guess where he went to undergrad? Haverford.</p>
<p>Guess where he went to law school? Harvard.</p>
<p>I would guess that Haverford is probably a pretty good school.</p>
<p>My family was in a similar situation when I was trying to decide whether to stay here in Washington at the UW or Whitman, or go to Haverford. The lack of financial aid was the biggest factor in our decision, but ultimately, the opportunities Haverford affords its graduates with connections to graduate schools across the country and the experience of a small liberal arts school on the East Coast persuaded me. My family has 40grand to come up with every year-10-20 of that being my responsibility-but the Haverford experience will be worth it. I am still proud of my decision and look forward to a more varying weather (though Washington really is nice in the spring/summer months) and to make friendships with people across all regions of the country. My best friend is attending UW for the amazing biology/pre-med department, which IMO rivals Haverford, and the big-school atmosphere.</p>
<p>I know by this time you’ve made your decision, but I hope you and your daughter decided on Haverford. It would be great to meet a fellow Washingtonian who is making the adjustment to East Coast life and taking on enormous ticket price for leaving Seattle :)</p>
<p>My close friend is attending University of Washington. Her English poetry class was taught by graduate student, as well as her huge intro Physics class. All lab sections (in physics, chemistry, biology) and almost all discussion sections are taught by graduate students.</p>
<p>I feel your pain, a State school vs a high quality LAC. The cost is not 50k…think more like 55k and consider the 4-5% yearly increase for 4 yrs. One more negative against a LAC is that you will have to do the Profile form, and that my friend is a huge pain. God and the IRS know less about your fiances then does the people reading your Profile form and all the additional financial forms you will have to fill out and send in, it is extremely intrusive.</p>
<p>With that being said, and the fact that I have 2 children attending HC, I would probably do it again. The TOTAL college experience is not even comparable to a large university setting. Students meet life long friends, regularly experience doors and avenues that they would have to fight over with graduate students at a University, and succeed beyond your wildest dreams. Probably around their late Junior year or Senior year you will see evidence of a maturity in your child that you did not think they had. They will challenge you on a topic in a calm thoughtful polite manner and the conversation will flow. You will sit back later and say, “Whoa, where did they get that from? Of course, HC.” </p>
<p>The pain of the college cost will be hard while they are there but after graduation when they are on their own, you will smile and see that it was a good decision and a good investment. You have done well in getting your child eligible to be accepted, you have done a lot of research and somehow HC came on your radar screen and your child applied. She is accepted now and don’t get frugal at the last really great thing you can do for them. But, the Profile form is a pain, I hope you made a good decision.</p>
<p>Absolutely UW. Don’t worry about TA’s; this is the Honors College. No large classes to worry about either. Seattle is a gorgeous city and the instruction at the HC is phenomenal. It is almost a completely different experience from the regular UW undergrad program. You said something about taking Physics and Calculus in high school? The UW is especially strong in the sciences. I can’t imagine why anyone would pass up the UW Honors College during times like these.</p>