<p>Can you compare these three schools? In terms of location, class sizes, academic reputation, extracurricular activities, diversity, etc etc. I'm cutting down my college list, and I'm only keeping one of these three schools.</p>
<p>Put in hat and pick one out.</p>
<p>Wesleyan is the most diverse LAC in the country. In terms of Academic prestige, Swarth is a definite first followed by Haverford and Wesleyan about equally. Overall though, Wesleyan seems to have greater name recognition than Haverford.</p>
<p>Swarthmore is the most intense.</p>
<p>Haverford is a bit more laid back. Very Quaker.</p>
<p>And Wesleyan is weird. That's their thing, they love quirky kids.</p>
<p>
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Put in hat and pick one out.
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I disagree with this advice entirely. Although the schools are comparable in general ways (liberal LACs of high prestige—Swarthmore a bit more prestigious with those in the know, but general name recognition is about the same), I found the atmospheres at all three very different: I hated Swarthmore, thought Haverford was just ok, and Wesleyan was my first choice (that's not to say that everyone will feel the same way or that Wesleyan is better or anything, just to say that one person can react very differently to these three schools).</p>
<p>Some things to think about:</p>
<p>Swarthmore is intense. Way intense. Think UChicago. Does that appeal to you? If so, it's probably a good choice (possibly the best of the three), but if you're into a more laid-back atmosphere, Swarthmore may not be the place for you. It's I'd consider Swarthmore the most full out intense "intellectual" student body of the three. </p>
<p>Haverford is more laid back than Swarthmore, and also the most athletic of these three schools—the fact that something like 25% of their incoming class was recruited for athletics bothered me, though it might not bother you (in fact, you might like it!). The honor code seems to be a really big deal: you should look into that. If it appeals to you, Haverford might be a good choice, but be aware that (at least according to my tour guide) there is going to be a lot of conversation about it. Haverford also has a very small student body. </p>
<p>Haverford and Swarthmore are both on pretty campuses, and have good access to Philly, and are also part of the tri-college consortium along with Bryn Mayer, so perhaps that opens up some opportunities to make the small campuses seem larger.</p>
<p>Wesleyan's student body is at least twice as large as Haverford or Swarthmore. That's a BIG difference. If you like really small schools, you might think Wes is too big, but if, like me, you found Swarthmore and Haverford seemed too tiny, Wes might be the better choice. Although all three have quirky liberal-minded student bodies, I think Wes is the most so: it's a very activist, wacky, energetic student body. Unlike the other two, we're further away from a city (1/2 hour to New Haven, about two hours to NYC or Boston), but the town we're in is bigger. I think we're more diverse. </p>
<p>If you have any questions about Wesleyan, feel free to ask me. I'd encourage you to apply, since I love it, but I don't actually know if it's the best school for you. What other schools are you applying to?</p>
<p>Weskid is right -- these are schools that have some common characteristics on paper but feel very different on the ground. You really need to visit or do some due diligence before you select.</p>
<p>My son looked very closely at all three last year. Each felt enormously strong academically and full of exciting options. In his case, he was looking for intellectual engagement but also an atmosphere that encouraged creativity in ideas, action and career choice. He eliminated Swat because his first impression, rightly or wrongly, was of a place where workload and grades seemed worn as badges of honor. He was quite attracted to the sensibility at Haverford. In making a tough choice between Haverford and Wesleyan, he was won over by the feeling that Wesleyan seemed to have a critical mass of kids who kept things hopping in and outside the classrooms. He enters Wes next month -- we'll see if he was right. But in any case, LACs vary a lot and you should work hard to find your best match before you narrow the preliminary list too much. Good luck!</p>
<p>The differences on the important item are miniscule. Class size, academic rep., available ECs, diversity and are all on par.</p>
<p>Swarthmore is a very activist and very liberal place. A significant portion of the student body hates conservatives with a fiery burning passion, and some of the most prominent extra-curricular groups on campus include Swat Sudan (genocide intervention advocacy) and Free Culture (open source software). People who come to Swat tend to be overachievers and perfectionists, so many of them end up taking too many courses and not meeting their expectations in terms of grades.</p>
<p>Class sizes are universally small, except for certain intro classes and pre-med requirements. There are a lot of first-year seminars, which are capped at 12 students (including some that might seem strange, like Organic Chemistry I). Location - the school itself is surrounded by trees and neighborhoods, but you're only a 30-minute train ride away from downtown Philadelphia. Diversity - it's very diverse on paper, but not really that much in reality. That said, I'm Asian and a lot of my friends aren't, so I guess it's diverse enough :)</p>
<p>
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The differences on the important item are miniscule. Class size, academic rep., available ECs, diversity and are all on par.
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</p>
<p>Even if we're ignoring things like atnosphere (which I think is very important), the fact that Wes is twice the size of the other two is a pretty important differeance IMO.</p>
<p>Academically,</p>
<p>Swarthmore,
Haverford and Wesleyan.</p>
<p>Reputation-wise,</p>
<p>Swarthmore,
Haverford and Wesleyan.</p>
<p>Depends on what you're looking for, but Swarthmore is more often than not academically stronger than the other two and duly noted for it.</p>
<p>Wes is also the only game in town while Swat and Hav are in a city with a large number of schools.</p>
<p>^Wes is as close to New Haven (Yale and Quinnipiac College) as Swat and Haverford are to Philly. Brown, Conn College, Trinity and Vassar are an hour's drive or less from Wesleyan.</p>
<p>FroshDad's remarks are online. Look to fit, forseability and financial aid. Look to your particular needs and avoid focusing on desirability. Visit the campuses. Apply to a number of schools. If you have the credentials, set aside arrogance, for admissions departments may not necessarily find you interesting, despite your grades and extracurriculars.</p>