Haverford College Top Questions

When I tell a lot of people I go to Haverford, they tend to shrug their shoulders and go "where's that?" even though it actually is a good, competitive school. Or the other reaction is "Woah! Harvard!", at which point I have to let them know I don't actually attend an Ivy League. The thing is though, I love the atmosphere here and wouldn't ever trade it for an Ivy League. I'm sure that our classes push us in the way classes at an Ivy League do, but people are here to learn from the toughness and not to beat out the person next to them. I don't know any of my friends grades in their classes and I don't want to. We work for ourselves and I love that. I love that everyone is openly or secretly nerdy. I love that the honor code allows us to take our exams whenever, wherever we want. I love the libraries (believe it or not). I love that it's a small school, that I see people I know whenever I leave the dorm, the fact that there may be at least on familiar face in one of my classes. I love that I can meet people in places like the Math Help Center and become friends.

A lot of people complain that it's too small, although I haven't really found it to be a problem yet. There's a lot of school pride, and the honor code is very important. There are no proctored tests and about half are take home. Self-scheduled finals are a savior. There's a surprising number of good restaurants nearby, and Philadelphia is easy to get to.

Haverford has quickly become a second home. The campus is beautiful and makes me feel at ease. I always feel safe and calm walking around at all hours of the day and night. Not a lot of people have heard of Haverford, but I think the kind of people who attend the college don't really care about having any prestige attached to their institution. The administration is awesome. They really work for the students and with the students to create an atmosphere we can all enjoy. School pride in terms of attendence at athletic events is moderate. People attend and you're never the only person in the stands, but people only get really worked up as a whole when it's a game against Swat. The most frequent complaints are horrible and repetitive food in the DC. It's true that it gets a little boring and hard to deal with, but I don't have a big problem with it. I don't think there's much more you can expect from a cafeteria serving almost 1,000 people three meals a day.

Haverford is a very small school. This is nice because people get to know each other. One problem with Haverford is that many people outside of the "Haverbubble" have not heard of it and assume it is a junior college, when in fact it is one of the best liberal arts colleges. The location of Haverford is great because it is a beautiful campus in the suburbs but is only a short train ride away from Philadelphia. The area around us is nice but relatively expensive because it is in mainline Philadelphia and all of the people in the area are very wealthy.

Haverford seems to be changing dramatically. Maybe it hasn't. Maybe I'm just a senior who has grown and now sees the school in a new light. But I feel that the types of students enrolling at Haverford now are not as quirky as the students I observed during my freshman and sophomore year. There was a time when I was proud of the eccentricities I thought my fellow students had, but now it seems like people are getting more "normal."

So when i tell my friends i back home i go to Haverford they ask "where's that?" or "what that?". So since the school only has about 1,200 kids not alot of people I know, know what or where Haverford is. It's right outside of Philly so a quick 30 minute train ride gets you downtown which is cool. It's very close to three other colleges so getting from one scene to another isn't that hard.

The Honor Code is the big deal here. It separates Haverford from all the other top-something liberal arts colleges, because unlike most schools, it encompasses not only academic life but social interactions as well. Students are expected to take care of each other, to trust each other, to be concerned and respectful, and above all to speak up when the actions of another seem out of line. In classes, teachers trust students (and students trust each other) with take home and unproctored exams-- which are totally sweet. When breaches of the Honor Code occur, the transgressor is tried by their peers, who have near-complete jurisdiction over the proceedings including the power to seperate (our version of suspend//expel) the individual. The Honor Code places a lot of responsibility on each student to be responsible for themselves and others, and it can be a burden at times, but generally it's liberating; when those around you trust you completely, you don't need half as many rules (and yet things still function smoothly).

The best thing about the school is the professors.

Haverford is way way too small. Halfway through your freshman year, you will be fully entrenched in your social circle. You will stop meeting new people entirely. You will recognize everyone but most will be too awkward to ever start a conversation. Think high school but with a higher percentage of weird kids. Maybe with another 500 kids the normal percentage could rise to a comfortable number. As is, it isn't even close. Haverford would be great if it weren't for the people.

The best thing about Haverford is that everyone is really friendly and it is such a nice community. If you want to be friends with people it really isn't a problem; you really don't have to try to make friends, it just happens. Customs Week is also nice but it has it's pros and cons. Because it is a week of hanging out with your hall only, some custom groups become cliquey. Haverford PA isn't so much a college town. The only reason, that I know of at least, that people go into the town is for Wawa, CVS, or Rite Aid. Sometimes people will go for a restaurant. Most of my time is spent in Lunt Basement where the majority of the bands perform at Haverford. It really isn't everyone's scene because there is a large amount of smoking thus causing it to be smoky. But there are bands every weekend and I'm there basically every weekend. There also is a cafe there, with good food but sometimes bad service. When I tell people about Haverford they respond, "Oh, that's nice." and I just know that they have no idea what I am talking about thus causing me to reply, "It's a small liberal arts school outside of Philadelphia. Have you heard of Swarthmore or Bryn Mawr?" (normally they will say yes to one or both) "Yeah, it's around those schools."