Haverford College Top Questions

Yes.

The "Haverbubble" does exist, since it is a small, tight-knit community with its own atmosphere that is very different from other communities. Haverford students are nerds, but in a cool way. You can be smart and cool at the same time. We are idealists in some ways because of the great expectations we have for ourselves as a self-governing student body, but part of being an idealist is acknowledging where the problems are and what steps we can take to fix them.

Being awkward is more of an endearing quality. It's sometimes true, sometimes isn't, but once in a while you'll stumble upon someone who epitomizes this stereotype. We're definitely not a big party school, but we're also very small and parties are basically just getting together with friends, drinking, talking, and just relaxing and having a good time. You make your own party and life on campus doesn't center around huge frat parties. We don't have a greek life so nothing crazy happens. Everyone is definitely super friendly and nice and the atmosphere is very comfortable and trusting. YES we are WAAAAAAAY too PC - take some things too seriously. Can't make any racial or sexual jokes. People will flip the fuck out. Haverford students are very loathe to talk about grades. People are too humble and don't like to recognize those who stand out - we kind of like to treat everyone as equals - maybe TOO much of an equality thing sometimes. Students are definitely down to earth though. Everyone is very tolerant, but oftentimes only towards those who are also tolerant. This is not such a problem with the school however, just with me. VERY trusting environment because of the Honor Code.

Yes.

Yes, for the most part. As with any community, there are going to be people that stray from the norm-- there are the traditional varsity athletes that are less hippy-ish, and the select more conservative people (but they tend to stay quiet), as well as the outspoken, more opinionated folks who voice their opinions strongly and tend to be seen as not as "nice." Overall, though, most people on campus tend to be a bit quirky, intellectual, and at least a little bit socially awkward.

We work ALL the time, classes are harder than most, and yeah, there are some awkward moments. Still, not everyone is a social leper.

Yup.

We are socially awkward, we do have way too many extracurriculars, and the girls are attractive. The guys are a little bit taller and cleaner than they're made out to be... but not by much. So yeah, most of the stereotypes are accurate. Then again, they might be self-fulfilling.

The stereotype about the men is inaccurate although there are certainly a lot of short guys. However, I would say that Haverford is becoming more attractive every year so there is a lot to look forward to next year. We are, however, a group of (for the most part) kind and intelligent people. We take pride in the fact that we are a socially conscious campus (even if it doesn't match up to other campuses).

Definitely not! Working in the Admissions Office, I can confidently say that although there are Haverford students that were turned down at Swathmore, there is probably an equal contigency of Swathmore students that Haverford turned down. The schools have very different personalities and draw very different types of students.

In general, yes. I still have not figured out why. It might just unfortunately be the students themselves, but it is definitely also partially the size of the school. It is smaller than many high schools, and seeing people that you don't care about very much (or that you actually would rather avoid) 5 or more times a day, at least at Haverford, becomes pretty awkward.

Yes...we are geeky, but in a good way (I think). There is no paucity of cheesy/dorky jokes, but I think it adds to the school.

For the most part, it's true

There are alot of socially awkward people but a large enough group of fun outgoing people and very few people who are snobby about their intelligence.

I do happen to know two short hairy guys named Dan. Not everybody is awkward, but there are a few. Underclassmen are much more idealistic than the upperclassmen. People are amazingly honest. It seems like everybody has done or is doing something amazing, from filming a documentary to being an EMT crew chief.

Most students at Haverford understnad that you need a healthy balance of academics and social life to succeed. You can find people that are hermits at any college. The statement about the guys is unfair, yet again there are short guys everywhere. Haverford just has less male students of intimigating stature (we don't have a football team)

There are some people that fit hte Phantom 500 stereotype. I think recent classes have overall been more attractive and less socially awkward.

nerdy: yes; awkward: yes but hyped; really young looking: YES!; the breakdown of guys and women at times true but way too simplistic and the track team is crazy and very good at what they do but they are not at all disconnected from the school

Completely false. While some of the kids are different, it is a fun place to go to college. The parties are fun and playing a sport really helps.

The first three are largely true, although of course there are a fair number of jocks and others who wouldn't be classified as nerdy and are very socially capable. The fourth stereotype I listed is not true. I love the social life here - there is something happening every weekend and it feels like a real community affair since we are such a small school. If you are looking to party, you won't be disappointed most weekends.