Haverford College, USA

Founded in 1833 by New York and Philadelphia puritans to promote Quaker values, Haverford has since transformed into one of America’s top-10 ranked liberal arts colleges

A vintage institution of higher education in North America, the low-profile Haverford College (estb.1833) is consistently ranked among America’s top-10 liberal arts colleges in the annual ratings and rankings of the US News & World Report. Founded as Haverford School by a group of New York and Philadelphia Puritans to promote Quaker values, today Haverford is a private non-denominational college committed to providing broad liberal arts education. “This education, based on a rich academic curriculum at its core, is distinguished by a commitment to excellence and concern for individual growth. Haverford has chosen to remain small and to foster close student/faculty relationships to achieve these object-ives,” says the college’s statement of purpose.

As an exclusively liberal arts college, Haverford offers only four-year undergraduate programmes — BA and BS degrees — in the social sciences, humanities, life and physical sciences. However uniquely, Haverford students are not restricted to study programmes offered by the college. Under an exchange programme with the neigh-bouring Bryn Mawr and Swarthmore  colleges (known as the Tri-College Consortium), Haverford students can register for academic programmes offered by these equally reputable liberal arts colleges.

In particular, Haverford has developed a close academic relationship with the all-women Bryn Mawr. The relationship — referred to as “Bi-Co,” for Bi-College — allows students to enrol in classes or pursue a major at either institution, as well as lodge on either campus.  Haverford is also a member of the Quaker Consortium (‘Penn-Pal’) which allows students to cross-register at the College of General Studies of the University of Pennsylvania.

Sited on an environment-friendly campus 15 km from Philadelphia, Haverford has an enrolment of 1,168 students instructed by 112 full-time faculty members. This small student cohort enables an enviable faculty-student ratio of 1:10 and delivery of  “highly-personalised education”.

Philadelphia. The second most populous city on the eastern seaboard of the US, Philadelphia (pop. 5.8 million) also boasts the country’s second largest number of colleges (over 50). A major centre of culture and the performing arts, its citizens have played a pivotal role in American history. The city’s downtown areas are replete with  buildings and monuments named after Dr. Benjamin Franklin and other famous Americans. Philadelphia is also home to more than 100 museums and historical sites.

But the favourite hangouts of college students are the city’s downtown restaurants, coffee shops, art galleries, cinemas and shopping areas. A large performing arts community offers not only the Philadelphia Philharmonic Orchestra but also the opera, ballet, jazz, contemporary and classical music and theatre. From the Haverford campus, Philadelphia is less than 15 minutes by local train.

The city’s climate tends to be chilly from November to April. Summers are hot and humid and autumn and spring temperatures are moderate.

Campus facilities. The oldest planned college landscape in the US, the immaculately maintained Haverford campus is a national arboretum and boasts a nature trail, a Pinetum, flower gardens, a 3.5 acre pond and numerous tree-lined walkways. The college’s 204-acre campus boasts more than 2,500 labeled trees and 70 stone buildings dating back to its early years, showcasing architectural diversity, elegance and openness. Recently the Marian E. Koshland Integrated Natural Science Center and the 100,000 sq. ft Douglas B. Gardner ’83 Integrated Athletic Center have been added to the campus infrastructure.

Haverford’s Magill Library offers access to over 595,522 print volumes and 15,342 electronic journals. Moreover the library shares its facilities with the neighbouring Bryn Mawr and Swarthmore colleges. This tri-college library consortium provides students a broader range of resources and stronger specialist guidance than is possible in the typical liberal arts college. In addition to Magill’s main resources, the college houses a number of special collections including the Quaker Collection, the C.C. Morris 1904 Cricket Library, and numerous rare books and other treasures. Moreover there are three smaller music, science, and astronomy libraries on campus.

Haverford offers superb sports facilities including the Douglas B. Gardner ’83 Integrated Athletic Center which contains the Arn and Nancy Tellem Fitness Center, the Calvin Gooding Arena, and the Thomas Glasser Hall of Achievement. The Alumni Field House, a 58,000 sq. ft facility resurfaced in 2008, comprises four tennis courts and a 220-metre oval tennis & track center. Other sports facilities include soccer, hockey, and baseball fields, and squash courts. Moreover students have the option to enrol in any of the college’s 145 clubs and organisations.

Admission. Haverford has been classified by Princeton Review as one of the most choosy colleges in America — ranked 18 among all US colleges and universities in ‘The Toughest to Get Into’ category.

The minimum eligibility criterion for admission is successful completion of Plus Two. International students must also submit standardised test scores —the three-part SAT Critical Reasoning Test and two SAT Subject Tests, and TOEFL/IELTS to prove proficiency in the English language. Haverford requires the following minimum scores for TOEFL: 600 for the paper test, 250 for the computer-based test, and 100 for the internet-based test. The minimum required score for IELTS is 7.

Admission applications must be accompanied by secondary school transcripts, teacher and counselor recommendations; essay; standardised test scores and an application fee of $60 (Rs.2,736). The deadline for receipt of applications is January 15 every year.

For further information contact The Admissions Office, Haverford College, 370 Lancaster Avenue, Haverford, PA 19041. Tel: + 610.896.1350; Fax: 610. 896.1338; e-mail: admission@ haverford. edu; website: www.haverford.edu.

Accommodation. Haverford is a residential college with over 98 percent of students living on campus and all students are guaranteed housing for all four years of study. Campus housing is overwhelmingly co-ed, and residence halls vary in size from four-person apartments to suites and singles. Most students live in singles, and can choose from living arrangements that include suites (groupings of single rooms that share a common lounge), on-campus apartments with kitchens and private baths, and houses. Cultural spaces such as La Casa Hispanica and the Black Cultural Centre also serve as dormitories.

Degree programmes. Four-year BA and BS degrees are offered in the social sciences, humanities, life sciences and physical sciences. Popular majors include biology, economics, English and history.

Haverford’s broad-based liberal arts curriculum requires students to enrol in courses in each of the three major academic divisions: social sciences, humanities, and natural sciences. Moreover all first-year students take a writing seminar to enable them to develop essential academic skills as they analyse texts and craft arguments. At the end of their sophomore (second) year, students must declare a major and begin deep and detailed inquiry into one particular discipline that culminates in a comprehensive senior thesis.

Summiya Yasmeen