Prospective Transfer Student
So, I’m planning on transferring from my current school and would like some insight into Haverford, especially from the current students. Later on, I’ll be going through the community’s past enteries for more info as well :). In no particular order
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a. Academics are high quality and most everything involves a lot of work. I've had several world-renoun profs, and some really interesting classes. Biology department is good. This is one department that seemed to have a lot more "jocks" when I was there.
b. Lots of premeds at the Ford, so I'm sure you'll get input there.
c. Lots of volunteer opportunities, a number of clubs. There is lacrosse, soccer, field hockey, baseball, cricket, cross sountry, track, fencing, cricket, etc. There are different feels associated with the different teams -- not going into that now. No time.
d. As a girl from the South, it felt very white, but I did have a lot of interaction/friendships with people of different races and nationalities, especially given their overall scarcity. I think the largest minority group represented on campus is the LGBTs, but that could just be my perception, and my particular class.
e. People have answered that one. Close. Haverford is on the local Philly rail, but the commuter train doesn't come often -- you must check the schedule. But beware the Haverbubble. People don't nessisarily get off campus.
f. In my experience, Haverford is not very generous with financial aid, especially if your family is middle class, rather than utterly impoverished. I had to take out way more in loans than my dear friend who grew up in the ghetto. The endowment has grown quite a bit in the last few years thanks to Tommy T, so things might be different, but I doubt they've changed entirely. I don't think that Haverford would offer anything particular to transfer students to lure them. They don't really try to do that. The fact that they don't lure transfer students should be evidenced by a fact other people have told you -- that there are few transfer students.
g. People at Haverford don't tend to talk about grades and stats. You're also unlikely to find someone to answer this question, because you're unlikely to find a transfer student. Just remember this: I believe that the current admission stats say that Haverford is recieving ~3,000 applications per year. The class size at Haverford is ~300. That's means something close to a 10% acceptance rate (more, given that they do, of course, accept more people than they expect to come). Still, it isn't easy to get in, so I imagine that your transfer application would have to be pretty darn good, and at Haverford, it's not just about stats, it's also about how they feel you would fit in the community.
h. I've taken a lot of cool classes. I would talk to people about what profs they like and shop classes a bit, if I were you.
i. It seems to make sense that if Haverford requires it for freshman applicant, they would require it for transfers, as well. The fact that you didn't take SAT IIs seems to be a bad sign for your chances in terms of the following: I don't think I applied to any schools that didn't require SAT IIs. If your current school didn't require them, then it may be considered differently from those that do -- if that makes any sense. I'm not sure that I conveyed that well.
j. I loved Haverford. There are some things I regret about my college experience -- like not seeking more outside scholarships, etc., but attending Haverford isn't one of them. It was a wonderful fit for me.
I second havermorphism's recommendation that you visit and try to get a feel for the atmosphere and how you would fit into it. In fact, I recommend that for any school you are contemplating, especially since your first choice turned out to be a bad fit. We can help you a bit more regarding Haverford if you could give us a more concrete idea of the kind of place you are looking for. For example, is the lack of greeks a good or a bad thing, in your eyes? Haverford is a very unique place, and I think that any possibility that you would be admitted as a transfer student would be directly related to your passion for joining the Haverford community.
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"We also have a 3/2 Engineering Program option with Caltech. In this program, students have the option of taking courses at Haverford for three years, then following up with two years of engineering study at the partner institution, Caltech.[...]"
Maybe some years down the line Ford will have its own? It's a possibility!
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Honestly, I am fond of Haverford, glad I went there, but from your post and some of the questions you've asked, it sounds like you would be much better served at a university with more specialized pre-professional and applied science programs than at a liberal arts college like Haverford. Definitely visit though, talk to people, see if you like the environment, because that's really what you're choosing witha place like Haverford. Even if your academic plan is not a great fit for the type of institution that Haverford is, the place does have the advantage of being small and therefore flexible, and I'm sure you could work something out. You will have to be able to take *a lot* of initiative in order to take advantage of that though.
Oh, I'm class of '05, for frame-of-reference's sake.
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