Haverford College Top Questions

Hey, they're good, but they'll assume there is nothing to life other than studying.

The education at Haverford is definitely grounded in the liberal arts. You are encouraged (and required) to test out all different fields, Natural Sciences, Social Sciences and the Humanities. This creates a very well rounded student who didn't just come in freshman year with a one job mindset and neglected to discover other talents and interests. Taking classes outside of your comfort level is really benefitting, and I think employers are looking for people that can think in many different ways through many different perspectives than simply a one minded angle. Haverford teaches you to do this and I credit the liberal arts education with this advantage.

The academics are great. Classes are small even the intro courses. Students study alot and are very conscientious about their grades. Students do have intellectual convos outside of class. The most unique class i've taken was a writing seminar on poverty. It was great.

Every single class I've had at Haverford has been stimulating. The intro-level classes are the biggest, generally, but that's still only 40 people at most (unless you take something like gen. chem or intro. psych)--and professors always know your name after the first couple of weeks. Students have a mixture of incredibly intellectual and completely silly and unimportant conversations outside of class. People at Haverford pretty much are doing work all of the time, but for some reason it doesn't seem like a stressful environment at all. Education is definitely geared toward learning for its own sake--Haverford truly is a liberal arts college in that respect.

Professors are great. Very approachable/lovable. Sometimes hit or miss, but it's easy enough by word of mouth to know which professors to skip and which to campaign to get into classes with. Lots of intellectual conversations outside of class, lots of genuine interest in subjects. Students love to be in class and debating, and there's no embarrassment to being the "smart kid". I spend lots of time with professors outside of class - they're easy just to hang out with. I wish we didn't have divisional requirements, because I'm fairly confident I would fully experience the college life WITHOUT taking prob/stat.

small classes are great. all my professors have been amazing and so helpful and willing to help. grades are not talked about and not thought about, until the end when they come out. during the semester, grades are so hard to judge because they are never broadcast. i love the liberal arts atmosphere that lets me take whatever i want, and pushes my horizons. students are all brilliant so sometimes there is awe with some of the student, but everyone is at such a high level that it evens out. all my professors know my name and are so friendly. they are rigorous that most people cannot handle any more than 4 a year. it's completely fine to take 3 and people are shocked when people chose to take 5.

Academics are really strong at Haverford. Most classes beyond introductory classes are smaller than 15 people and the teachers really get to know who you are. Even the professor for the largest class at the school (around 150 people) knows my name. Last week I actually played video games and sang karaoke with several of my professors outside of class. Most students here are really smart, but would probably benefit from studying. A few of the dedicated ones really go above and beyond the necessary work, but most seem to be pretty laid back and procrastinate horribly on everything they do (myself included). Yet no one is really competitive and grades are almost never discussed. Most classes past the intro classes are pretty difficult and assign lots of work. But it isn't too hard to strike up a balance between academics and a social life. Unless of course one is taking both Bio and Orgo, which is what most of the Pre-Med students do Sophomore year.

Academics are pretty phenomenal, for certain subjects. Some of our departments (sociology) are tiny. I'm not a science-oriented person, but science students, particularly pre-med students, love the natural sciences here. I've found that all of my English, Foreign Language, and Education courses have been very small (my two French courses were 6 students each semester) and discussion-based, which I enjoy. The coursework can be overwhelming, but Professors are very easy to talk to and will usually give you an extension. The tests are especially nice since, under the honor code, you can take them wherever you want, whenever you want, and just proctor yourself. The humanities seem very academic, as opposed to focusing on careers - sciences are more practical towards working in a lab or med school. Haverford students tend to be casual and hate pretentiousness, so conversation tends to be more about life than classes. Talking about grades, or academically competitive behavior, is very frowned upon.

The professors at Haverford are great. They want students to do well. If you look for their help they will give it to you. My French professor truly cares about everyone in my class, and is always willing to meet or answer emails. I see him in passing and he says hello and knows my name. I had the best math teacher I've ever had last semester. His lectures were organized and I learned so much. He had office hours all the time, and was willing to give advice about majoring and even lent me a textbook.

I was in the biggest class in the school, and the Professor knew everyone's name in the first 3 weeks. It really feels like a small class environment, even in the bigger classes. People aren't afraid to ask questions, and the teachers are really helpful both in and out of class. It is a fair amount of work, but there's enough free time to get by, although there are definitely times where work has to consume pretty much all my time. The requirements are easy to fulfill.