<p>Swarthmore or Haverford?</p>
<p>I pose this question to current Wesleyan students who have visited both schools or who know people from each. I dug Wesleyan's creative spirit, the degree of enthusiasm that Wesleyan students brought to both school and extracurriculars (I want an academically serious environment, but not an academically oppressive one), the "try anything once spirit," that may or may not exist (read: The Fiske Guide) and the sincere, non-ivory tower intellectualism that I've heard is characteristic of most Wesleyan students and the Wesleyan classroom experience (again, perhaps an exaggeration based off of what I've read, but what I've read and the few students I know from each school are all I have to go off of). </p>
<p>A silly question perhaps. But whatever, I'm trying everything.</p>
<p>P.S. I didn't, however, like Wesleyan's financial aid. Otherwise, I'd be going there : .</p>
<p>I don’t go to Wesleyan, but I have visited all three. Swarthmore is rumored to be the most academically-hallenging liberal art schools. Haverford revolves a lot around the community feel (it is much smaller than Wesleyan) and also has an honor-code that they are very serious about. Swarthmore and Haverford students can take classes at each other’s schools (along with Bryn Mawr). If I had to answer the question directly, I would say Haverford is more like Wesleyan than Swarthmore is, but all three are different.</p>
<p>I would say that Wesleyan is more similar to Swarthmore. Both of these schools combine top-notch academics, a lively intellectual community (not something that every liberal arts college can claim), a strong tradition of liberalism (Haverford is liberal, but not in the same sense as Wesleyan and Swarthmore), and a considerable amount of diversity. Of course, these two schools still have many differences in terms of culture/campus atmosphere, but Wesleyan is definitely more comparable to Swarthmore than Haverford, in my opinion.</p>
<p>^ Could you elaborate on how Haverford does not have these attributes, because your argument seems specious</p>
<p>I apologize–I don’t think my reasoning was very clear. I was by no means advocating that Haverford doesn’t have top-notch academics (it does), that is isn’t liberal (it is), or that it isn’t intellectual (it is). However, I don’t feel that these attributes are as effectively blended as they are at Swarthmore and Wesleyan. </p>
<p>Swarthmore and Wesleyan also have more of a history of activism/counterculture than Haverford does.</p>
<p>The primary similarity between Wesleyan and Swarthmore, though, is diversity. In terms of ethnic diversity, Haverford is 71 percent white/non-Hispanic, whereas Wesleyan is 53 percent and Swarthmore is 42 percent (according to College Board stats). There is also more socioeconomic diversity at Wesleyan and Swarthmore. </p>
<p>Don’t get me wrong–all three of these schools are incredible institutions. I simply feel that Wesleyan is more similar to Swarthmore than it is to Haverford.</p>