Haverford College
Reviews

Beautiful Campus

From the Athletic Center to the Dining Hall, to the Nature Trail, the Haverford's campus is beautiful. The Athletic Center is new, the buildings and classrooms are contemporary and clean, and the fact that our campus is an arboretum tops it all off.

Very Accessable

A large portion of Haverpeople are involved in sports, and that is what it is about here, being involved and being active. It is a very active and athletic campus, although we are only D3. Students get involved in sports to have some good exercise, meet new people, stay in shape, and have fun. Our teams are not the best, but very accessible to become a part of. On club teams (and even a few varsity teams) there will be a range of people, those who have never even played the sport before, to those who were their high school's MVP's. There's a ton of school spirit and the GIAC (gym) is in the center of campus and is pretty new. Athletics are a big part of the social life at Haverford, and can be anything from barely any commitment to 90% of your life here. It's a great scene to become involved with.

Haverbubble

This place is perfect. It's gorgeous, the people are all extremely smart and value academia (learning for the sake of learning) and quirky. We all recognize our faults and embrace it. It isn't out of the ordinary to see someone wearing something that would get the strangest look anywhere else and just thinking, "That person is so cool and confident for doing that." This place is like what you wish the world would be like. Students run everything. It's great.

Who Uses Off Campus Apartments? Not Us.

To be honest, I do not know a lot about off-campus housing at my school. I have only met one Haverford student who lives off campus. I am assuming that it is quite expensive, especially since we are in Haverford County but it would be relatively convenient if the student had a car.

I think a lot of Haverford's students do not get their own apartments off campus because we already have on-campus apartments. The school apartments use to be actual apartments for residents in area, so it is as good as any apartment that a college student can afford in Haverford, PA.

Drinking Popular, but No Pressure

Haverford takes a very cool-parent approach to drinking, though it denies this. Alcohol is pretty readily available; if you want some, it's easy to get it. Students have a great relationship with Safety and Security and generally do not hesitate to call if there is any question that someone needs help. Students who call are not punished, and even students who go to the hospital generally just have a meeting with the alcohol educator and their dean. Quaker Bouncers serve as a sober presence at parties and are also available to help inebriated people. There are plenty of people who don't drink, but most do. However, I don't drink, and I've never felt pressured by anyone to do so. My friends even buy me sweet tea when they pick up forties. There's also a good bit of pot and hookah smoking, but alcohol is more popular. Very few people smoke cigarettes. The harder drug scene stays pretty hidden. Also, Haverfest, a campus wide party the weekend before spring finals, involves most of the campus being really drunk or smoking, though you can certainly still have fun sober.

Awesome

Haverford consistently wins championships despite its tiny student body.

Honor Code Rules!!!

At Haverford we have, in my opinion, the best honor code anywhere. Period. When asked what was the most important thing Haverford gave them, most alumni respond it was the principles and inspiring results of the honor code. Because of it, students run the alcohol policy, do take home tests and develop a genuine trust and belief in the ability of others to remain in integrity with their ethics without external force. Haverford College doesn't need strictness, students have an innate sense of responsibility which they carry on throughout their lives.

Does Not Exist

There is no greek life at Haverford. The closest thing is drinker

Health, Safety and Security

Haverford is probably the safest place I've ever been. The college depends on a strong civil society and community to invest students in promoting a safe environment. Students trust one another and care for the well-being of all members of the community, from the children of faculty to other students that they haven't met. This environment leaves violence, peer pressure and hate out of the question. In freshmen year, students frequently attend Peer Awareness Facilitation (PAF) meetings as part of the customs program. These events faciliate an understanding of others and real connections between students. Connections which foster compassion, friendship and a belief in the good intentions of others.

The food at the DC is OK. It has...

The food at the DC is OK. It has options for everyone from vegans to omnivores, and there is always cereal and fruit. There is also the Coop which you can pay for with your student card. This always has pizza and other fast food items. Bryn Mawr has three dining centers, all of which are available to Haverford students on the meal plan. Go there for a change of pace. (They also host four different international food themes over the course of the year.)

The gym is brand new and is really...

The gym is brand new and is really nice. There are places to play basketball, run, work out, lift weights, dance, and do yoga and pilates. The campus center is under-utilized but is a good meeting space with a café and the bookstore. The new student center is great for watching tv, doing homework, or taking a nap. The libraries are beautiful and have every resource I have ever needed.

Housing is guaranteed all four...

Housing is guaranteed all four years and housing in general is pretty great. I would never live off-campus.

Off campus in not even worth it...

Off campus in not even worth it because 99 percent of students live on campus, so there would be no point to live away from your friends.

The parking on campus is available...

The parking on campus is available to all sophomores, juniors, and seniors but is limited due to the many people who come on campus, who may not be apart of the school, and take up those parking spots.

Haverford is relatively diverse,...

Haverford is relatively diverse, but probably less so than other institutions. Most people are white, liberal, straight, very much upper-middle class, from the Northeast, and frequently Jewish. That said, Haverford does have a national profile, and there is plenty of diversity here. A good third of the student body are students of color, 46 states represented, and SAGA and other queer affinity groups are quite active on campus. Conservative political opinion is here; you just really have to hunt for it.

Off-campus dining is available,...

Off-campus dining is available, and yummy, but because campus is so self-contained, I feel like there are not many people who eat off campus often. There are a bunch of good restaurants within walking distance--Ruby's, Corner Bakery, and Primavera, to name a few.

Haverford has the standard varsity...

Haverford has the standard varsity sports, and though we're proud of them, we don't usually go to championships or play at an extremely competitive level. The new gym, fondly called the GIAC (Gardner Integrated Athletic Center), is big, shiny, and green (ecologically speaking). It has a great weight room with lots of free weights, weight machines, and cardio machines. It also has several large gymnasiums and squash courts, as well as a fencing salle and multipurpose rooms. Club sports are also pretty popular, like Rugby, Cricket, and Ultimate Frisbee.

Food on campus is...

Food on campus is tolerable--sometimes great, sometimes lackluster. Haverford has only one dining center, but we're a small enough college that it's never too crowded. There is also a smaller "Coop" place for cheesesteaks and pizza in the Campus Center that's pretty good, but it doesn't take your meal plan. The six-week rotating menus can get boring after a while. When that happens, it's time to go to neighboring Bryn Mawr College, which has three vastly superior dining halls, and the meal plans for each school are accepted at both without issue. The full meal plan is required if you live in any of the dorms (the Haverford College Apartments have kitchens and are thus exempt).

The parties are great here, and...

The parties are great here, and take part almost exclusively on campus. The college hosts a "dance" once every couple weeks, but every weekend students can listen to music in Lunt, or party in any of the dorms or down at the Apartments. Nightlife is good here, but it's also not invasive.

The freshman have three options...

The freshman have three options for housing at Haverford: Barclay, Gummere, or HCA. Barclay was one of the first buildings on campus, and has sets of triples, doubles, and singles. The triples are really a suite of three individual rooms, the middle (and largest) of which opens onto the hallway. The doubles are standard but very large doubles, and there are three or four singles on each hallway. Barclay has nice wide hallways with carpeted rooms, and the windows are large and let in lots of light. The ceilings in Barclay are also high, making the rooms seem larger.

Gummere is made up entirely of singles, but the rooms and hallways are smaller, and the bathrooms are windowless. Gummere was built to be "riot proof," which explains its very confusing layout and winding hall/stair combinations. But having a single is a great thing, anyway.

The third freshman option is HCA, or the Haverford College Apartments. These are also available for upperclassmen, and are really nice if you want to simulate "real life." The apartments each have a kitchen, a living room, a bathroom, and one or two bedrooms, with anywhere from 2 to 4 people living in the apartment together.

The upperclassmen dorms are nice options: the North dorms are usually peopled with sophomores and juniors, and are suites of 4 or 5 singles with a common room. Leeds is usually occupied by juniors or seniors (also suites of 5 with a common room), and Lloyd is reserved for seniors. There are also a few pseudo-off-campus residents.

Haverford is on the rich and...

Haverford is on the rich and suburban Main Line outside Philadelphia, so bars and clubs are few and far between, unless you take the train into the city--then you have everything. That said, nightlife on campus is tons better, but since we are a very academically focused school, the weekend is really limited to Friday and Saturday, sometimes Thursdays. Parties usually consist of beer pong, dance parties at Drinker House or Gummere Basement, or hanging out with friends in someone's dorm room. There's no Greek life, which is a plus. Everything is very chill. People drink and get trashed, and people stay in and watch movies, frequently both in the same night. You want it, you can find it on campus.

For a Division III liberal arts...

For a Division III liberal arts college, varsity sports at Haverford are actually relatively important. A lot of students play, and many students come watch, especially at basketball games versus Swarthmore College, our rival! The track and cross-country teams are nationally recognized. The athletic center and facilities are brand new and excellent. Intramural sports are also big, especially basketball and Frisbee.

The facilities at Haverford are...

The facilities at Haverford are both beautiful and efficient. Haverford students have a lot of school pride, and to that end, we have a lot of control over what happens on campus. So if there is anything to improve on, students speak up and discuss what can be done. The athletic center is completely new, with a spacious weight and cardio room. There are multi-functional rooms that are used for a variety of activities, including fencing, yoga, and martial arts. There are new squash courts, new gyms for volleyball and basketball, and new turf fields for the outdoor sports. There are two student centers, both new with TVs and comfortable chairs. One sells different foods off the grill and drinks; the other is more of a study/nap space. The library is beautiful and has a statue and soothing water sounds in the lobby. There are many study nooks in the library, depending on how much privacy you need. My favorite place in the library is the third floor indoor balcony that overlooks the second floor of the library and has huge windows looking out onto Founder's green.

At this point, the food at...

At this point, the food at Haverford is definitely its weakest spot. There is only one dining center on campus and because of the economy the food is barely edible at best some nights. There are two places on campus to buy food, The Coop and Lunt Café. The food there is good for things like pizza, burgers, cheese steaks, paninis, and milkshakes.

There is no Greek life at...

There is no Greek life at Haverford. We don't have any frats or sororities, but there are still plenty of parties on campus on the weekends. The baseball and lacrosse teams, which both have their own dorms/apartments, host many frat-like parties. It's nice not having any frats or sororities because everyone is allowed to go to every party. It is much more inclusive.