First-Year Students
Academics & Advising
Please Note: Updated information for the Class of 2025 will be available in early June 2021. Orientation activities for most first year students are scheduled to begin on campus on Wednesday, August 25th, 2021, with move-in on or before that date. Some pre-orientations or athletic pre-seasons may begin earlier. Given our continued responsiveness to the COVID-19 pandemic, we ask that students and their friends or family not make travel arrangements until the fall semester dates are confirmed and recommend flexible/refundable travel plans at that time.
- Jump to:
- Preparing to Meet your Advisor
- Advising Guide
- Pre-Major Advisor Questionnaire
- Academic Integrity Tutorial
- Curriculum
- Placement Exams
- Health Professions
- Pre-Law Advising
Welcome to academic life at Haverford!
In order to best prepare for the fall semester, view the following four tutorials and complete your advising questionnaire, placement exams, and academic integrity tutorial by the deadlines indicated. All students must complete the chemistry, math, music, and writing placements; please read through the placement section thoroughly to determine what other exams you need to take.
Tip: Download the Academic Calendar! It serves as an information source and planning document for students. It includes registration dates, class start dates, academic deadlines, exam periods, and more. An up-to-date calendar can always be found on the Registrar's site.
Preparing to Meet your Advisor (Required)
A series of video tutorials about the curriculum, advising, and registration.
Your pre-major advisor will work with you through your first four semesters, and your dean will serve as a resource, support, and guide through graduation.
Meet your Advisor Tutorials Deadline: Complete by August 1, 2021.
Students will be paired with their pre-major advisors by August 1, and that pre-registration will be held from August 2-13, 2021.
Advising Guide
The First-Year Advising Guide serves as a resources for new students and their advisors as they explore Haverford's departments and programs, and plan their initial steps through the curriculum.
Please note: We've updated our Advising Guide to a searchable Google Document. No authentication is required.
Pre-Major Advisor Questionnaire (Required)
We use the Pre-Major Advisor Questionnaire to match you with a pre-major advisor and to inform your advisor of your academic background and potential interests. You will need to explore the Bi-College Course Guide to answer a few of the survey questions. You will communicate with your advisor in late July and early August to get to know one another and pre-register for fall courses.
Questionnaire Deadline: July 1, 2021
Note: Sign in using your Haverford College email address. Contact Dean Theresa Tensuan if you have any issues accessing the form.
Academic Integrity Tutorial (Required)
Be sure to complete both Part One and Part Two of the Tutorial! Considering the fundamental importance of the Haverford Honor Code we suggest that if you score below 80%, you should review and retake the tutorial.
You will take the Academic Integrity Tutorial through Moodle, a platform you will use for many of your classes in the coming years.
Academic Integrity Tutorial Deadline: August 15, 2021
Note: The Academic Integrity Tutorial will be available in your course list in Moodle the day after you receive your account activation email.
Haverford's Curriculum (Required)
Review the curriculum for Class of 2022 and later, learn more about Haverford College's curriculum, and check out curricular FAQ's.
Note: Class of 2022 and later, and students entering in Fall 2018.
Placement Exams (Required)
All students must complete the chemistry, math, music, and writing placements. You must take the placement test for any field in which you intend to take a course at any point during your Haverford career, regardless of whether you also have taken AP or IB exams in these fields. As your plans are very likely to change over the next several years, we recommend taking the placement test for any field in which you have prior experience.
Placement Exams Deadline: Placements will be available by June 15, with many available earlier in June, and most should be completed by July 15, 2021. Some language placement exams are only available when you arrive at Haverford during Customs Week in August.
Health Professions Advising (Optional)
Medical schools and other schools of the health professions look for applicants who have demonstrated success in a rigorous liberal arts curriculum during their undergraduate education. Health professional schools do not require that students major in a science discipline as long as students demonstrate excellent work and passion for their science courses. Successful applicants are well-rounded, mature, motivated, curious, intellectually and socially engaged individuals, with a strong capacity for hard work, and a demonstrated commitment to service and to working with diverse populations.
A health professions advising session, including a discussion about curricular considerations for first-year students, will be held during Customs Week. The date, time and location will be included in your Customs schedule.
Pre-Law Advising (Optional)
Law school can be an incredible, significant and defining experience that will take you to the next stage of your intended career. The Pre-Law office can help you make this decision and answer the important question: Why do you want to attend law school?
Before you jump in to the application process we encourage you to talk with alumni, friends and family in the law profession who can answer your questions and give you a first-hand account of law school.
A pre-law advising session, including a discussion about curricular considerations for first-year students, will be held during Customs Week. The date, time and location will be included in your Customs schedule.