Anonymous wrote:Haverford has he 5-year programs with Penn where you can get a BA from Haverford then an MA or MS from U Penn. This was really compelling for my DC. It had a scholar athlete vibe that he loved; he was recruited for one of their teams, and he also said the food was excellent and he liked that first years have singles. He eventually went to a school he did ED.

Interesting my dd thought there was more of an athlete/non athlete divide than some of the other schools she visited.

Haverford has he 5-year programs with Penn where you can get a BA from Haverford then an MA or MS from U Penn. This was really compelling for my DC. It had a scholar athlete vibe that he loved; he was recruited for one of their teams, and he also said the food was excellent and he liked that first years have singles. He eventually went to a school he did ED.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Now that we know she is a DD, the point about the male/female ratio is more compelling

OP-thx that was an interesting point we hadn't considered. she loved the location of Haverford, having grown up in suburbs but felt the facilities seemed more updated and "loved "at Hamilton and the vibe felt a bit more positive and social. figured she'd give rural living a try for a few years! I am sure either school would be a great experience. Also the size of Haverford felt super small. Having a DC at another school the notion of cross registration is over easier said than done...

I'm not sure what you meant to write here, but cross-registration between Haverford and Bryn Mawr is absolutely seamless. Swarthmore and UPenn classes are trickier. (I know it's irrelevant for OP, but for anyone coming to this thread later, the level of cooperation between the two colleges isn't comparable to that for any other two schools I can think of)

Anonymous wrote:Op-thx for the comments. do you see them as equally "prestigious"?

This should not be a consideration at all, but yes.

I would also say that Hamilton underwent a big culture change and admissions overhaul in the early 2000s, when they decided to start “aiming higher”, as a PP put it. It used to be very preppy, jockish, lots of rich, bratty Manhattan kids, etc. The Greek system was integral to social life on campus, especially for non-athletes. The partying was intense and the property destruction on campus every weekend was widespread and really disrespectful. Fast forward a decade and there were more rigorous admissions standards and a way more liberal, hippie vibe on campus.