College Guide Reviews
Take a look at what some of the college guides report about Haverford College:
What Haverford Students Say About Academics...
Haverford College “is the quintessence of the liberal arts experience: superb academics with an emphasis on teacher/student interaction.” Originally a Quaker school, Haverford has “never forgotten its Quaker roots” and accordingly “is a community committed to the ideals of taking responsibility for your actions.” This is a “high-pressure academic environment” but also “cooperative and nonthreatening.” Students [say that] “professors...are brilliant people...who truly care about their students” and are there to ensure undergraduates’ success. Haverford’s Honor Code plays a prominent role in fostering a sense of unity; “the honor code here is amazing; it promotes a lot of trust and freedom in the community, which the students love,” explains one undergrad. Students receive the red carpet treatment from the moment they arrive; “Haverford knows how to take care of freshmen,” explains one undergrad. “When you come here, you get Customs People (like RAs, except cooler), Honor Code Orienteers, an Upper Class Advisor, Peer Awareness Facilitators, a faculty advisor, and a dean. So there are a million people whom you can go to for help and advisement.” For those students with wanderlust, “Our study abroad office is excellent! I’m studying at the London School of Economics this year thanks to my accessible, helpful and alarmingly organized study abroad dean.” Students speak in similarly glowing terms about the rest of the administration, noting also the large degree of autonomy afforded them in running the school. Explains one student, “In terms of the administrators, Haverford is mostly run by the students. We start our own organizations. We allocate where the Student Council funds go.”
Since there are no graduate students at Haverford, undergraduates often help professors with research, and several publish papers each year. In fact, Haverford's biggest strength may be its faculty members, 64 percent of whom live on campus. "Professors are really there because they like to teach," one senior says. "Those that have been excellent have really changed the way I look at things." Perhaps because of the intense classroom interaction, the workload is sizable, although students say they don't worry about each others' grades and try to squeeze in non-scholarly pursuits, too. "Everyone is involved in the community," says a philosophy major. "I spend a lot of time in the library, but I feel like my life is really balanced."
Life in the close-knit, introspective environment that is Haverford can get stifling, but there are easy escapes: downtown Philadelphia is twenty minutes away by train, offering bargain orchestra tickets, museums, concerts, and Flyers, Eagles, and Phillies games, along with great restaurants, and the New Orleans-like rowdiness of South Street. New York City, Washington, the New Jersey beaches, Pocono ski areas, and Atlantic City are only a couple hours by car.
Says a freshman: "Kids here are overly friendly, chill, dynamic, intelligent people who are easy to get along with and great to be around."
THE TEMPLETON GUIDE: COLLEGES THAT ENCOURAGE CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT
The Templeton Guide recognizes Haverford College as a leader for our Academic Honesty Program (student-run Honor Code), and our emphasis on Civic Education, which the guide defines as a "focus on the skills and habits of mind necessary for students to become active, well-informed, responsible citizens in our democratic society. By integrating rigorous academic work with public service experiences, effective civic education programs strive to provide opportunities for students to practice the virtues of trust, respect for others, and application of knowledge to promote the common good."