Question About Student Body

<p>I was accepted to Haverford yesterday and I'm obviously ecstatic. The school is a perfect fit for me in terms of academics, location, size, etc. </p>

<p>However, I'm worried that I may not hit it off with the student population. My sense of humor is sardonic and far from PC. I worry that being on a campus with such a heavy emphasis on the honor code would be stifling and, frankly, no fun. Is Haverford the kind of school that attracts self-righteous, crusader kids or more laid-back, friendly, down-to-earth students? </p>

<p>Thanks so much!</p>

<p>The second one - laid-back, friendly, down-to-earth students. They believe in equality for everyone, but they’re not self-righteous or obnoxious about it. They’re just very accepting. They may not like off-color, offensive humor, however.</p>

<p>Thanks Megan. Your answer is very helpful!</p>

<p>I’m a current student here, and I fit quite nicely into the personality type you have described yourself to be. Haverford is sensitive towards issues that people can become distraught over, but that doesn’t mean that people take themselves too seriously. The off-color jokes told here are said with a high-brow acknowledgement that they are just jokes. I hear non-PC jokes all the time, and they get a quite hearty laugh from my peers. Most people here are super laid back. </p>

<p>The honor code isn’t meant to be stifling, and I don’t think many people view it as stifling. Basically the Honor code just says “ay there haverford kiddo, don’t be a jerk out there, aight?” and the kids respond with a resounding “aight” and a bro-fist to the Honor code. We bro-fist the Honor Code quite often at Haverford.</p>

<p>Thanks Haverford! The kind of student body you described is spot-on, 100% what I am looking for.</p>

<p>I’m pretty much swayed at this point. Haverford is absolutely perfect and I’m so lucky to be attending there next year. </p>

<p>Three cheers!</p>

<p>Congrats on getting into Haverford! I’m a current freshman at hford and my personality is a bit similar to yours. The last two posters hit it spot on, everyone at hford is respective of one another, but certainly is not overly sensitive. The Honor Code is absolutely amazing, like Haverford said, it is about as far from stifling as possible. It gives us the freedom and the ability to do just about anything as long as you as are respectful to the community. I know I haven’t really said anything new here, but hford is absolutely amazing and I love it here. I hope to see you here at Haverford next year!</p>

<p>Thanks airbus, your answer is very reassuring, insightful, and obviously much appreciated. </p>

<p>You will very likely see me next year at Haverford. I’ll be sure to be on the look-out for a sophomore from Kazakhstan!</p>

<p>I appreciate and understand your question. My question to you is, what kind of person are you? If you are in an environment where there are “self-righteous, crusader kids” or people not like you, are you going to feel uncomfortable, isolated and allow your experience to be unhappy or are you going to make it work for you?</p>

<p>The Honor code is not a set of rules. It’s also not perfect. If it is either of those things, it won’t be the learning tool that it can be. What is in the honor code isn’t “don’t cheat and be nice” as you can go through 4 years of HC and do these things but still miss the meaning of the code entirely. For me, it’s not about “not cheating” but learning to trust your classmates. It’s not about being “nice” but rather learning how to be respectful of others despite disagreement. As you can imagine, 16-23 year olds don’t get this perfect the 1st, 2nd or even 3rd times they try… but it is the trying part that is what I think makes HC a unique college experience.</p>