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Haverford College
- Local Atmosphere

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Haverford College - Local Atmosphere - Local Atmosphere - College ProwlerCollege Prowler3.46

Local Atmosphere

B
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Quick Stats

Fun Local Trivia
  1. Interstate 476, which runs north from Philadelphia's suburbs all the way to Scranton, is the most litigious highway in the history of America. The 21.5-mile section linking Philadelphia's suburbs (called the "Blue Route") was originally slated for completion in 1964, but was not opened until 1991. The highway cut through numerous high- and middle-income communities, and decades of contentious public hearings ensued.
  2. Philadelphia is known for inexpensive food—most famously the cheesesteak, scrapple, and soft pretzel, but also water ices and hoagies. For a brief period of time, Philadelphia was designated America's fattest city. The honor now belongs to Detroit, after Philly Mayor John Street (a notorious fitness buff) implemented a citywide fitness program.
  3. Movies shot in Philadelphia include Rocky, Trading Places, The Sixth Sense, Like Mike, Unbreakable, and well, Philadelphia.
  4. In January of 1855, a grizzly bear escaped from his street show cage in Center City and rampaged Philadelphia for several hours. He attacked a horse, a mule, and a side of beef hanging in a butcher's shop. The bear was held at bay by local businessman with pitchforks until his owner was able to calm him down and lead him back to the theater by a rope.
  5. If you dug straight down from Philadelphia to the other side of the world you would hit the Indian Ocean.
Notable Natives
  • Marian Anderson
  • Kevin Bacon
  • John Barrymore
  • David Brenner
  • Wilt Chamberlain
  • Bill Cosby
  • John Coltrane
  • Kim Delaney
  • Richard Gere
  • Allen Iverson
  • Patti LaBelle
  • Margaret Mead
  • Pink
  • Jill Scott
  • Will Smith
Local Slang
  • Ac-a-me: Acme brand supermarket
  • Blue Route: I-476
  • Gun-al: Canoli
  • The Linc: Lincoln Financial Field (home of the Philadelphia Eagles)
  • Main Line: Philadelphia's main suburbs extending west of the city limits along Lancaster Avenue. Haverford is one of them
  • Plug: Fire hydrant
Points of Interest
  • Chinatown
  • Old City Historical District
  • Philadelphia Museum of Art
  • Philadelphia Zoo
  • Rittenhouse Square and other urban parks
  • Rodin Museum
  • South Street

Student Author OverviewWhat's This?

Haverford is a very wealthy suburb of Philadelphia with plenty of supermarkets, convenience stores, movie theaters, and bars. The locals can come across as a bit uppity—some seem a little resentful about having to live in the midst of a thousand college students—but a good number of them are pretty nice. Our unique relationship with Bryn Mawr, the all-girls school a mile or two west of Haverford, is central to the local atmosphere. Because students can take classes at either school, the free “Blue Bus” runs every 30 minutes or so between the two colleges. Haverford used to be an all-male institution (it turned coed in 1980), and a significant percentage of old Haverfordians married Bryn Mawr girls (called Mawrters).

You have to be careful when it comes to shopping because things can get really expensive on the Main Line (the name of Philadelphia’s main string of suburbs). Food can be criminally overpriced if you go to the wrong supermarket (Genuardi’s and Food Source to name a couple). The good news is that Philadelphia is right in our backyard, only five or six miles east of the college. Though it’s not as interesting a city as New York or Washington, there’s plenty of dining, nice museums, and unique entertainment. Many poeple are fans of the Chinatown neighborhood and Fairmount Park (a large public park in the nicer part of West Philadelphia). Some of Philly can be a little seedy, but if you avoid walking around West and North Philadelphia at night, you’ll be fine.

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Haverford Student ReviewsWhat's This?

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Local Atmosphere at Haverford College

sparkyrocks

Music '15

5.0
A+

So cute

One of the cutest things Haverford does is advertise by writing on the floors of the paths in front of the library and dining places in chalk. It is not uncommon to find out about a big event like a movement or a big dance or concert in this way. Just another one of the things that makes Haverford such a wonderful, quirky place.

Dec 02, 2011

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Local Atmosphere at Haverford College

Woop

Fine Arts '15

4.6
A

A Good Balance

Haverford has a nicely balanced atmosphere; it's relatively quiet but still has plentiful shops and restaurants and points of interest. There's enough grass and trees that you can easily find a quiet spot to relax and be with nature, but it's also easy to find culture, activity, civilization--Philadelphia is only a train ride away, and that's naturally in a constant state of bubbling over with exciting goings-on. Most people seem to be happy to just stay on campus, as there are regularly all sorts of parties and events being held, which keeps the scene interesting.

Oct 07, 2011

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Local Atmosphere at Haverford College

Anonymous

Haverford College Student

The atmosphere is mostly quiet and...

The atmosphere is mostly quiet and relaxed. Bryn Mawr and Swarthmore are constantly present since their students can take classes here, and we can take classes there. Bryn Mawr is a big part of the social scene. Buses run between Bryn Mawr and Haverford like every 15 minutes or so. Definitely visit Philly (museums, zoos, historical monuments), and if you are into shopping, King of Prussia is the place to be.

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User rating for Haverford College - Local Atmosphere is 4.6 out of 5 based on 13 user reviews.

Student Survey Poll ResultsWhat's This?

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Facts

Shopping Centers
  • King of Prussia Mall
  • Suburban Square
Major Sports Teams
  • Philadelphia 76ers: basketball
  • Philadelphia Eagles: football
  • Philadelphia Flyers: hockey
  • Philadelphia Phillies: baseball
City Web Sites
Distances to Nearest Major Cities
  • New York City: NY: 2 hours, 30 minutes
  • Philadelphia: PA: 20 minutes
  • Washington: D.C.: 2 hours, 30 minutes

Movie TheatersWhat's This?

AMC Plymouth Meeting 12
500 W Germantown Pke.
Plymouth Meeting
(610) 397-0784

United Artists
232 Mall Blvd.
King of Prussia
(610) 337-0282

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Most Recent Student Author View all

Name
Kira E. Jones
Hometown
Moorestown, NJ
Major
Undecided

College Prowler is seeking talented student authors to assist with writing and updating the College Prowler guides to their schools. This is a great opportunity for a student to gain experience and tremendous exposure, utilize new media techniques, and share advice with high school students about what life is really like at your college.

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How do we get our information? Find out here or report an error here. The statistics on our site are from the National Center for Education Statistics IPEDS database.
We update this information twice annually, most recently in May 2012, but it may not be the most recent information available for a particular school.
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