Haverford College Top Questions

The honor code is amazing. There is a lot of trust and respect between students and teachers. For example, teachers give us take-home tests and expect that students will adhere to the time limit and not cheat. I don't know of anyone who was cheated and I believe that, as surprising as it may seem, the honor code is very effective and that violations of the honor code are few and far between. In theory, the honor code extends to social life and students should use "trust, concern, and respect" in their social interactions. However, the social honor code, in my opinion, is not nearly as effective as the academic honor code. Part of the social honor code is that one should confront peers who do something disrespectful/hurtful, but in my experience, people are very reluctant to confront others.

Haverford is a lovely place to be. Safe: very little theft, little to no sexual assault, a great social atmosphere, great classes. It's a fabulous place to spend four years. Yes, it's a bit small and can get a little stifling, but it's easy to make friends and they are always willing to listen (because they usually have the same things to complain about).

The Honor Code is great most people respect it facillitating a comfrotable and somewhat carefree enviroment to study and socialize in. You always meet great new interestigng people you wouldn't otherwise meet in other situations. The professors and classes are great but Bryn Mawr professors are mean and unhelpful for the most part.

The one word you will hear over and over again at Haverford is "community." Haverford is a very close-knit supportive community that takes its quaker roots seriously. We are the only school with a working, completely student-run honor code that covers every aspect of student life. Our tests are unproctored, some are even take-home and the teacher will trust you not to open your book while taking the test, and the best part is, you won't. The school takes this so seriously that unlike most institutions, there is no fee to hold your spot once you say you are coming. They take you at your word. The professors, other students, staff and administration are all incredibly helpful and supportive. You can go to anyone with questions from your suitemates to the college president. In order to make this work, Haverford is a very small school, less than 1200 students. Some people find it too small, but there are tons of colleges in the area: Bryn Mawr, Villanova, UPenn, St. Joe's, Drexel and Swarthmore, where you can go hang out. Also, there is no college town, but Philadelphia is just 20 minutes away and is really accessible with the SEPTA regional rail line. Unfortunately, because of its size if you tell somebody that you go to Haverford one of two things is likely to happen: 1. No recognition/blank stare and "Where?" or "Ohh?" 2. "You go to HARVARD?!?" So if you want name recognition, this probably is not for you. The people who know it are always impressed, it's just that nobody knows it. In Summary: really close community with lots of support, no name recognition, close to Philly, HONOR CODE

Living at Haverford College is like living in a tight-knit community. Community is one of the most emphesized aspects of our college experience. Classes are all small and professors and students are able to form a bond beyond text books and tests. THe campus is beautiful and professors can be seen on campus on weekends as well as during the school week. Students and professors interact together outside the classroom. Many of the professors live near by and feel comfortable having their students babysit or walk their dog.

Haverford provides great opportunities for research as an undergraduate. Graduate schools and research employers are generally impressed by this; I would say that is Haverford's greatest asset. If I could change one thing it would be the male to female ratio that is tipped in favor of males due to the fact that we share all of our resources with Bryn Mawr College, our sister school. Most people have not heard of Haverford but the ones who do know that it is strong academically. Not a great college town, though Philadelphia is close enough to provide good escapes. It definitely helps to have a car! Haverford's administration has been greatly helpful to me when I needed it, though I have heard of many horror stories when this was not the case. Haverford does not have as much money as other small, prestigious liberal art schools and sometimes that shows-the dorms are not very clean, the dining center food is mosly only okay, the music and art facilities need improving (though the art department is currently undergoing vast improvement) and we need more computer labs and libraries.

The small size is great in many ways, the personal attention and close connection you have with students, faculty, staff and administration is fantastic. It allows for you to really personalize your college experience and have a lot of say in your overall education throughout your time at Haverford, which will probably be four years due to the incredibly high graduation rate, though this might not seem like such a great thing after four years. You might not want to leave college, but there are plenty who will. Some do feel the size gets to them but these just aren't small college types. Size is definitely an important factor when choosing your college. The school is very much student run and the administration works very closely to make sure the students get everything they need. The staff for the most part works hard, but it gets frustrating when things don't get done after you put in 50 requests. Though, certain things just take priority and unfortunately you might just not be one of them at that moment. This would never apply to academics, healthy or safety issues on the college's part but does often apply to maintenance and financial matters. Another big factor is location. For me Haverford has a great location, the main line is a fun spot with a lot of other colleges around the area and the campus is just a short train ride away from Philly. The regional rail also allows you to easily get to NY or other cities. In addition, the campus life is extremely active especially on weekends. This is definitely not a suit-case school with 99{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of students living on campus, as well as, 60{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} or so of the faculty.

Great school. Great professors. Fun place.

One of the biggest controversies at Haverford during my time was when former president Tom Tritton wanted to expand the school from 1200 to 1500 kids. This is a telling story about the way Haverford works and what makes it unique. President Tritton wanted to expand the student body slightly so that the arts could receive more funding, given that the sciences and the athletic department had both received brand new buildings within the last five years. Well, his idea received so much backlash that he quickly pulled it off the table. It's not that no one wants to support the arts at Haverford; rather, the idea of expanding the school by a mere 300 students made almost everyone uncomfortable. What makes Haverford so unique is how small it is, and how that size creates an intimacy that few colleges can claim to foster. Adding 300 students, albeit a small step, could lead to Haverford becoming just like every other school in the future, and no one wanted that to happen.

While Haverford, with about 1100 students, is considered teeny-tiny-unlivable by a lot of people outside the college, the college really has access to many other students--there's Bryn Mawr, Swarthmore, UPenn...Philly is a big college town and so there are students everywhere. The College Town is really nice--it's small, but there is really a lot to do. Suburban Square is close, which is a really nice outdoor shopping area with stores like J.Crew, Banana Republic, the Gap, Lily Pullitzer, American Eagle, Macy's, Apple, Urban Outfitters...and there are a lot of nice restaurants too, from burgers and fries to Coldstone to a soup/sandwich place. Not to mention that the public transportation is awesome, as the train station is less than a 10 minute walk away, and Philly is really accessible. Haverford is just a really cool place to be because it is so open. Coming here made me feel like I could be whoever I wanted to be, and college is all about trying to figure out who you are and what you want to be and what you want to do with your life, so it's a very open and nurturing atmosphere. As far as the administration goes, they seem incredibly open and very involved with the students. The social policy, part of the Honor Code, says that each student is responsible for being respectful of others with regards to their actions. The Honor Code is a large part of the Haver-life, as it is a huge part of the Academic and social atmosphere. In terms of academics, it allows students to take unproctored exams which they can self-schedule, many of which the student may even take it whenever or wherever they choose (i.e. 2 am, Duck Pond if you wish). It holds the students accountable for their actions, which fosters respect and understanding.