Torn and in desperate need of help!

<p>I am currently deciding between Haverford and Vassar and i honestly dont know what to do! if anyone has any insight into differences between these school or just insight about what you love about Haverford it would be appreciated!!</p>

<p>Whohoo Vassar!!! (although I am a bit biased perhaps... i got waitlisted by Haverford and accepted by Vassar.) </p>

<p>In my opinion the difference between the two schools is immense. Vassar is decidedly more liberal and seems to have a more diverse body of students. It also has a more arts-centered environment (Haverford is more sporty according to a friend who goes there) and is a place where individuality is stressed. Also, Vassar has an open curriculum: there's no set body of courses that you have to take in order to graduate because the idea is that you should take what interests you. You have an advisor who helps you choose courses, however, so this by no means that no one studies or that no one takes "serious" courses. It just means that the kids who take an English class take the class because its what they really want to take rather than because they're required to take it in order to graduate. Also, Vassar has a much wider set of majors offered than Haverford.</p>

<p>Haverford, on the other hand, is also quite a nice school. It's more conservative than Vassar, politically speaking, and has specific course categories in which all Haverford students are required to take courses before they graduate. It's also about 1000 students smaller and offers less than half of the majors offered at Vassar, however, is part of an academic consortium which makes up for much of this (if you don't mind travelling over to Bryn Mawr, Swarthmore, and Penn every so often). Also, Haverford College has its Honor Code which I urge you to look at in depth before you decide to attend the school. For me, that was the factor that made me give up my spot on the waiting list... I could never see myself attending a school with an Honor Code like Haverford's. There are, however, many students who love the Code; just talk to HCalum about that. If you really like the Code, I'd say Haverford is the place for you... however, if it doesn't appeal you might want to go with Vassar.</p>

<p>i think the idea of an honor code is a definate draw for me, going to school that has on honor code now i have gotten used to it, it really is not that much of an imposition on life..it basically askes you to be considerate of others and to encourage those around you to do the same, but where i was going with that is how much is Vassar not an honor code school? it is one thing to make a huge deal about it like haverford, but i cant imagine that everyone steals from each other at vassar and cheats and all sorts of other things that would be definatly prevented by an honor code...do you have any insight reguarding "honor" at vassar?</p>

<p>btw congrats on getting in to Vassar (perhaps we will end up there together)</p>

<p>oh and where in CT are you from im from CT too!</p>

<p>Thanks for the congratulations... congrats to you too for getting into BOTH Haverford and Vassar! I live in Fairfield County... how about you?</p>

<p>And no, just because a school doesn't have an honor code doesn't mean that there's a lot of stealing that goes on there and vice versa. In fact, my current high school has an honor code and we have plenty of issues with stealing, lack of respect amongst students, and cheating. Vassar, to the best of my knowledge, takes a firm stance against cheating... most colleges do nowadays, Honor Code or not. I do have information on on-campus criminal stats from 2005 on both Vassar and Haverford if you're interested:</p>

<p>VASSAR:
~ 4 instances of forcible sex offenses
~ 1 instance of robbery
~ 7 instances of burglary
HAVERFORD:
~ 1 instance of forcible sex offenses
~ 1 instance of assult
~ 4 instances of burglary (the year before it was 19 so there was a huge drop)
~ 1 instance of arson</p>

<p>So actually, from that standpoint, I'd say that the two schools are pretty comprable (Vassar has about 1000 students more so it makes sense that instances of criminal offenses would be slightly higher). </p>

<p>From a respect standpoint, Vassar sounds like it's a very tolerant community because it's pretty liberal and so focused on individuality: it's the sort of place where people are encouraged to be themselves. I'd therefore say that you'd have nothing to worry about with a lack of honor at Vassar.</p>

<p>I don’t believe your decision has to be made until late April. The weather is far too nice, life is too beautiful and you have time to decide. No exclamation points are needed at this time. :)</p>

<p>Try visiting both schools if you can. Now regarding some issues brought up:</p>

<p>1) HC is 32-34% in terms of racial diversity. Vassar is 24-26%. </p>

<p>2) The honor code is not for everyone and may not be for you. Please read some of my past posts because I describe the pros/cons. Ultimately, I think it’s a good thing (obviously!).</p>

<p>2a) There is educational benefit with the honor code but, what makes HC’s unique culture, is that the presence of the code self-selects a greater % of kids interested in such things as formally addressing “community”,
“consensus”, “respect”, ect… By itself, not having a code doesn’t make kids at other schools less, for a lack of a better word, “honorable”.</p>

<p>2b) The crime stats posted have to be taken in context that HC is in the suburbs of a large city while Vassar is not. The only conclusion that can be made is that more crime occurs where more people live. </p>

<p>3) When considering a HC experience, it should be automatic to include BMC. There is no burden in taking the Blue Bus and I actually found it very fun. Together, the Bi-co offers incredible opportunities. Comparing HC to another school is somewhat inaccurate as the comparison should be Bi-Co and the other school. </p>

<p>4) One of HC’s strongest assets is its location. Please see my post under “Big Science Classes”. In addition, HC sits in the corridor between DC and NYC. As such, the Bi-Co is able to easily draw numerous political, academic and activist figures and musicians to campus, which may be more difficult for a college that is not so centrally located and often snowed in.</p>

<p>5) HC has a core curriculum, which I think is very wise. My academic strength was in the sciences and I’m not sure if I would have taken as many classes in other disciplines if they weren’t required (my science gpa was 3.75 but overall was 3.6). However, I realized in college that, by taking humanities and writing intensive classes, I would be a better analytical thinker, conversationalist and writer. Each discipline has a different way of problem solving and it's important to gain new perspectives for analysis. In addition, having a very solid interdisciplinary LAC education helps you see connections between disparate subject matters that may not be apparent to those whose only schooling is inbred in their field of interest.</p>

<p>More detailed responses to this topic are at the bottom…
<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=171903%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=171903&lt;/a>
<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?p=3516831#post3516831%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?p=3516831#post3516831&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Wow thanks alot i ahve visited vassar and i had fun, i am planning to go to hav. on friday. any sugestions about things i must do while there</p>

<p>littleath- i live in the new haven area</p>

<p>on your visit to hav, other than touring the campus, visit either the coop or lunt...for a snack. visit the giac or arts/music buildings, whichever u are more interested in or both. explore the housing options for next yr. talk to the various kids/professors you are introduced or interested in to gain more info on hford. if you go during the day, sit in a class. And if you stay over night, go out with your host. Hford has many night opportunities and not a lot of pressure on you to do things you don;t want to. If you want to wait till the weekend of the 20th/21st of april, it is spec weekend, and something like 200 kids might be coming.</p>

<p>In addition, take the Blue Bus over to BMC and hang out there for about 30 minutes. You'll see what I mean with the bus ride... it's pretty cool.</p>