Hello, I was accepted both at Richmond under the Scholars system and Haverford. I am an international student and would like to stay and work in the US after graduating. I know that Haverford only has econ department, but I have heard students can take classes at Wharton. What school should I choose?
Someone asked that question nearly nine years ago and got the following response:
http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/haverford-college/979316-haverford-wharton-school.html
Bottom line: You may be able to take some classes at Wharton, but, you won’t be able to major in business. OTOH, Haverford has a very fine placement record for finance and business, comparable to other highly regarded LACs in the northeast U.S.
https://www.haverford.edu/career-and-professional-advising/beyond-haverford
I couldn’t find anything comparable for Richmond on their website.
Haverford College students have full cross registration with Bryn Maur College across the street, and can swim in the pool at Bryn Mawr College, a woman’s college. Also Haverford students have cross registration at Swarthmore College and I thought Arts and Sciences classes at U of Pennsylvania. there is a train directly from Haverford to U of Penn and a bus to get to Swarthmore College.
Congratulations on your acceptances, those are two very good choices. How do the net costs compare for each school? Do you need to finance any of the costs with loans? Would you major in econ at both schools?
Comparing the graduate outcomes is a good idea–here is some 2017 data for Richmond https://careerservices.richmond.edu/post-graduation-data/index.html
Both career centers will give you more details if you contact them.
You might also take a look at the econ and/or business professors and their research focus—what do you find most interesting? Also take a look at the course catalogs to compare curriculums and offerings.
Richmond is more than double the size of Haverford in terms of students, with more of a pre-professional feel. The campus is beautiful and suburban. Haverford is also a nice campus but with more of an urban feel. Good luck!
I have to pop in to say that Haverford does not have an urban feel to my mind (as a BMC alum) – it has a duck pond, nature trails, and the traditional small liberal arts college vibe, all on 200 acres. It is located in Haverford – a wealthy suburb about 20 minutes from Philly, with shops off campus. Towns on the Main Line are about a mile apart, all connected by commuter rail to Philly. The area is considered one of the loveliest suburban areas in Philadelphia, with large homes from the turn of the century.
Haverford is also distinctive because of its Quaker traditions of mutual respect and notions of community, which influence everything from self-scheduled final exams to the tradition of Plenary, when students meet to reaffirm the Honor Code. Students do very well after graduation but it does not have a business program. Haverford and Bryn Mawr students can take up to 2 classes a term at U Penn, though the classes must be classes which are not regularly offered at either Haverford or Bryn Mawr, and Wharton and Engineering classes are excluded.
In support of the above, Newsweek considers both Haverford and Bryn Mawr to be set in suburban areas.
https://www.newsweek.com/25-most-desirable-suburban-schools-71867
This may be a case of splitting hairs, but, @Mwfan1921 has a point. Once you step off campus, the surrounding areas of each college have a tangibly different feel. Delaware County (PA) is nearly four times more densely populated than Henrico County (VA). In fact, compared to Haverford, I’d be tempted to say that Richmond is more rural in feel. But, that, I’m sure, would inspire some pushback from others on this forum. Both are lovely, lovely campuses.
The Richmond scholars get a full ride, plus special programming and class selection. It’s a great deal. But, I don’t know your financial situation.
If you’re really wanting to take some business classes, Richmond’s business school is quite good (and beautiful). They have Bloomberg terminals, a student managed investment fund, and a club that focuses on Wall Street IB placement. This coming year, they are adding a data analytics major. Lots of kids double major, and Richmond has a unique leadership school. The school has a great network.
My guess is that Haverford is more intellectual, Richmond more preprofessional, though you would have your Scholar cohorts.
Wow, I did not appreciate the significance of the Richmond Scholars program! Those types of programs – which include generous merit awards PLUS special opportunities – can be phenomenal. While I love Haverford, that opportunity at Richmond would be hard to turn down.
^Well, just to play devil’s advocate for a moment, I would ask, how the OP feels about being a token intellectual within a somewhat larger campus? A lot of people choose LACs because that was how they spent their high school years and they like the idea of being the majority culture for once. YMMV.
Ask both Haverford and Richmond how many of their international graduates are able to find employers for the OPT that they are entitled to after graduation. If you don’t find an employer who will hire you for the OPT, you will need to go home almost immediately after you graduate.
And do remember, when you have your interview for your student visa, you need to state clearly and believably that you intend to return to your country after completing your education and your OPT. If the interviewer thinks that you intend to stay in the US longer than that, you will not get a visa.
@Anna20021988 I have been very fortunate to have 2 Ds who were Richmond Scholars. They both had great experiences at UR, with excellent professors and advising, small challenging classes, lovely campus and weather, not far from downtown Richmond, a fun city with great food, parks, museums and activities. The business school is excellent and students have great outcomes with internships and job opportunities.
One of my Ds studied abroad at St. Andrews University in Scotland, all paid for with her scholarship, with extra funding for travel and educational experiences while abroad. Another excellent program is the Sophomore Scholars in Residence, providing students the opportunity to take a class in a variety of subject areas with an integrated travel component, and the students are housed together for the year while taking the class, as well working on long term projects. The SSIR program is fully funded with no extra costs for students. In addition, UR guarantees a stipend of $4K to fund research or an internship.
A top student will not be a “token intellectual” at UR. 25% of students have a an SAT of 1460+ and/or ACT of 32+. My 2 Ds always felt that there were many other bright students in their classes to challenge each other and have thoughtful discussions.
A little more info about URichmond: UR is not in a rural location(I say this as someone who live 40 miles from Philadelphia who is very familiar with both areas). It is located not too far from the busy Interstate 95 highway corridor. UR’s campus is in the sprawling suburbs of Richmond, about 10 mins. from downtown areas, including the very fun Carytown area, which is popular with students. There is lots of shopping, grocery stores, good access to medical care, etc. in the surrounding areas.
Richmond and its suburbs are certainly smaller and less populous than Philly and its suburbs, but hardly rural. Areas west of Richmond, heading towards the mountains in Shenandoah and the Charlottesville area where UVA is located are much more rural. That area is lovely with lots of farms, vineyards, parks and hiking, scenic views.
Richmond has 2 Amtrak rail stops, 1 downtown and 1 in the suburbs, which many UR students use. Richmond also has an international airport, although not gigantic, and the campus has shuttles available to accommodate student travel for breaks.
UR runs also shuttle buses to several shopping areas as well as to downtown Richmond. Students also use Uber ride sharing to get around, and many students have cars on campus, since parking is plentiful and inexpensive (although a car is not necessary, neither of my UR grads had one).
The University of Richmond as a Richmond Scholar seems to be the wiser & easy choice for one who wants to study business–especially since your stated interest in Haverford College is the chance to study business at Penn-Wharton.
Thank you guys for your help! I would have to pay 11k for Haverford and none for Richmond.
My goal is to go to law school after finishing my undergrad.
I plan to major in finance or business if I go to Richmond and econ/ creative writing at Haverford
Also I was wondering if anybody has got information on both schools. I don’t enjoy clubbing and using drugs.
Side fact: i’m both a foodie and asian so i would really appreciate if the food on/off campus is nice and the school location has many asian food restaurants.
Also, I am planning to go to Columbia Law School and would like to go a school which would maximize my chances of getting in there.