Haverford College

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Quick Stats
370 Lancaster Avenue

Haverford, PA 19041-1392

[map]
Phone: (610) 896-1000
2011-2012 Tuition
$42,208
tuition and fees
Students
1,177
enrolled
47%
male /
53%
female
Admissions
Jan. 15
application deadline
26.0%
accepted

More Information

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U.S. News Rankings

Ranking score and category
U.S. News rank Category Name
#10 National Liberal Arts Colleges

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Summary

Haverford College is a private institution that was founded in 1833. It has a total undergraduate enrollment of 1,177, its setting is suburban, and the campus size is 200 acres. It utilizes a semester-based academic calendar. Haverford College's ranking in the 2012 edition of Best Colleges is National Liberal Arts Colleges, 10. Its tuition and fees are $42,208 (2011-12).

Haverford College is located 10 miles from Philadelphia in Haverford, Pa., on a campus that is classified as an arboretum, encompassing gardens and a large pond. Although the school was founded by a group of Quakers from Philadelphia and New York, the school does not have a religious affiliation today. Haverford has 21 NCAA Division III sports teams in the Centennial Conference, and the school has the oldest college soccer team and only varsity cricket team in the country. Haverford does not have any fraternities or sororities, but it has more than 134 organizations that students can get involved with on campus. Haverford is a residential college, and more than 98 percent of students live in one of the residence halls, campus apartments, or houses.

Haverford College offers students the opportunity to take classes at Bryn Mawr, Swarthmore, and the University of Pennsylvania. Haverford has one of the most extensive collections of Quaker history in the world. Also, The C. Christopher Morris Cricket Library and Collection is the largest collection of cricket memorabilia in the world. Haverford offers a number of study abroad programs through its International Academic Programs office, including programs designed specifically for pre-med students and science and math majors. Notable alumni include actor Chevy Chase, National Public Radio correspondent Juan Williams, and author Frank Conroy.

School mission (as provided by the school):


Haverford College provides a liberal arts education in the broadest sense, fostering an uncommon spirit of inquiry, debate, problem solving, creativity, ingenuity, and love of learning. A sense of high principle, both academically and personally, is the watermark of a Haverford education. It is embodied in the honor code and reflected in the lives of alumni. Haverford's traditional emphasis on a rich curriculum, on undergraduate involvement in faculty research -- all students are required to complete a Senior Thesis -- and the connecting of academics to issues of social justice is extended by three interdisciplinary Centers: The Hurford Humanities Center; The Center for Peace and Global Citizenship and The Koshland Integrated Natural Science Center.

General Information

School type private, coed college
Year founded 1833
Religious affiliation N/A
Academic calendar semester
Setting suburban
2010 Endowment $355,500,297

Applying

When applying to Haverford College, it's important to note the application deadline is January 15, and the early decision deadline is November 15. Scores for either the ACT or SAT test are due January 15. The application fee at Haverford College is $60. It is most selective, with an acceptance rate of 26.0 percent.

For more information about the tests, essays, interviews, and admissions process, visit the Applying to College knowledge center.

Selectivity most selective
Fall 2010 acceptance rate 26%
Application deadline January 15
SAT/ACT scores must be received by January 15

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Academic Life

The student-faculty ratio at Haverford College is 8:1, and the school has 77.2 percent of its classes with fewer than 20 students. The most popular majors at Haverford College include: Political Science and Government, General; Psychology, General; Biology/Biological Sciences, General; and History, General. The average freshman retention rate, an indicator of student satisfaction, is 95.8 percent.

Class sizes
Class sizes
Student-faculty ratio 8:1
4-year graduation rate 87% - High
Five most popular majors for 2010 graduates
Political Science and Government, General 11%
Psychology, General 11%
Biology/Biological Sciences, General 10%
History, General 10%

More About Academic Life

Student Life

Haverford College has a total undergraduate enrollment of 1,177, with a gender distribution of 46.6 percent male students and 53.4 percent female students. 99.0 percent of the students live in college-owned, -operated, or -affiliated housing and 1.0 percent of students live off campus. Haverford College is part of the NCAA III athletic conference.

See what students are saying about life at Haverford College.

Total enrollment 1,177
Student gender distribution
Student gender distribution
Undergraduate men who are members of a fraternity
Undergraduate men who are members of a fraternity
Undergraduate women who are members of a sorority
Undergraduate women who are members of a sorority
Collegiate athletic association NCAA III

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Campus Info & Services

Haverford College offers a number of student services including nonremedial tutoring, women's center, placement service, health service, and health insurance. Haverford College also offers campus safety and security services like 24-hour foot and vehicle patrols, late night transport/escort service, 24-hour emergency telephones, lighted pathways/sidewalks, and controlled dormitory access (key, security card, etc). Of the students at Haverford College, 45 percent have cars on campus.

Students who have cars on campus 45% - Medium
Health insurance offered Yes
Students required to own/lease a computer No

More About Campus Info & Services

Paying for School

At Haverford College, 52.3 percent of full-time undergraduates receive some kind of need-based financial aid and the average need-based scholarship or grant award is $35,416.

Paying for college doesn't have to be difficult or devastating. Go to the Paying for College knowledge center to get advice on raising cash and reducing costs.

Tuition and fees $42,208 (2011-12)
Room and board $12,842 (2011-12) - High
Financial aid statistics
Financial aid statistics

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Student Reviews

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.

Lon Sophomore

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.

Molly Freshman

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% of students living on campus, as well as, 60% or so of the faculty.

Mark Senior

More student reviews

* Overview details based on 2010 data

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