Haverford is a liberal arts college in Haverford, Pennsylvania. It used to be a quaker school but is no longer religious. The school is small with around 1400 undergrads. Notably, all of their students live on campus all 4 years. They are part of the Tri-College Consortium and The Quaker Consortium. These are partnerships that allow Haverford students to take courses at Bryn Mawr, Swarthmore, and the University of Pennsylvania. Their acceptance rate is around 18%. Haverford’s supplement is unique and it pays to read it carefully.
They start their supplement prompts with a deep dive into the school’s ethos. You should read this carefully. They are giving you a ton of information on the school and it can help you understand a little more about Haverford’s culture and vibe.
The questions on this page are being asked by Haverford College
A Haverford education is distinguished by the extraordinary trust placed in students, the emphasis on student agency in all facets of the academic and community experience, and the cultivation of ethical leadership. All of this is embodied in our student-run Honor Code. The Haverford Honor Code is not a set of rules, but rather a statement of shared values centered on the concepts of trust, concern, and respect. It serves as an educational tool in and of itself and provides a powerful framework for our community, emphasizing and supporting qualities we see as essential to a Haverford education. Among other things, the Honor Code at Haverford shapes:
•Academic Freedom: The Honor Code fosters an atmosphere emphasizing academic integrity, collaboration over competition, and the cultivation of intellectual curiosity. Differences and disagreements are respected, valued, and embraced, and open discourse is seen as fundamental to the academic endeavor.
•Student Agency: The Honor Code upholds a culture in which students are deeply trusted to take substantial ownership of their education and to profoundly shape and define the Haverford community. Student ownership is reflected in self-scheduled exams, in the fact that every student completes a Senior Thesis, in shared responsibility for the residential experience, and of course in oversight of the Honor Code itself.
•CdzܲԾٲ: The Honor Code establishes a supportive environment for living and learning, where the community experience plays a central role in one’s education. The inherent value of every community member is recognized, and diversity in all respects - including diversity of background, experience, and perspective - is nurtured, celebrated, and embraced.
•Leadership and Engagement: The Honor Code allows every student to find and develop their own voice, to practice ways of improving community and acting on issues of importance, to learn methods of problem solving and conflict resolution, and to examine the ways they can and will impact the world beyond Haverford.
Please give us a better sense of what you are looking for in your college experience by answering the following questions:
1. Tell us about a topic or issue that sparks your curiosity and gets you intellectually excited. How do you think the environment at Haverford, including the framework of the Honor Code, would foster your continued intellectual growth? Please limit your response to 250 words. *
The questions on this supplement are two sides of a pretty standard question, “why do you want to go here?” We always advise talking about your major in “why” essays. This one is no different however you might need to approach it in a specific way.
First introduce a passion of yours that connects to what you want to major in (if you aren’t sure what you want to major in, take a best guess! They won’t hold you to it). Maybe you want to major in Art History. You can tell a story about loving going to museums as a kid or looking through the giant, dusty art books on your grandmother's floor. After you have introduced the passion, connect it to the major at Haverford. You will need some specifics to show your interest in Haverford specifically. You should mention two higher-level classes and a professor you would want to do research/work with. This is all pretty standard for our “Why” essay advice, but on top of that, you also have to connect this essay to the honor code.
The best part of the honor code to speak to here is Student Agency. Talk about a time you have pursued your interest/intended major outside of class. Maybe you took a community college/online class, maybe you did research, or maybe you did an internship in a related field. This is a great time to bring it up and connect it to how you pursue your interests on your own.
If you have time you can also speak fairly easily to Academic Freedom here. This part of the code is about open discourse/the free exchange of ideas. You can slip in how that is important to you as you study your intended major, however, we think it’s more concrete to focus on Student Agency.
You probably won’t have time for a full conclusion, but you should leave the reader with the feeling that you are perfect for Haverford and Haverford is perfect for you.
2. Please tell us what motivated you to apply to Haverford and what excites you most as you imagine your Haverford experience. Please limit your response to 150 words. *
Don’t worry about talking too much about academics here since you should have already made that case in question 1. However, for good measure, you should connect something back to your academic interest mentioned in the first question to round out this answer.
In this question, you should focus on Leadership and Engagement and Community. We know this question doesn’t explicitly say to talk about the honor code, but trust us, you should. You should do some research into activities and opportunities on campus. Find a specific extracurricular on campus that connects to something you are already doing and use that to talk about engagement and community. You can talk about aspects of the campus’s community, location, and culture which excite and connect to you. Try to get as specific as you can. This word count is short so you have no time to just kind of talk about community generally or even just how Haverford has community. Get into a specific aspect of what's important to you.
This supplement tells a lot about the school and how they see themselves. Use that to your advantage. Show that you are a great fit for Haverford and that you will really thrive there.
Need help with your supplements? We can do that! Reach out here.