Top Small Liberal Arts Schools: Haverford and Pomona College

Highly successful students, prior to matriculation, have concrete undergraduate goals. Research experience, whether in the humanities, social sciences, or the hard sciences, mentored by a respected faculty member is one. If such research leads to publication, that’s even better. Building solid communication skills, particularly writing skills, is another. Effectively presenting written proposals is critical to propelling any career. Moreover, developing a rapport with at least two professors is critical for either graduate school or the real world of the job market. Successful undergraduate careers attain these goals to some degree or another.

Selecting a college that best accommodates your path to achieving these goals is what the admissions process is all about. Knowing what stimulates your best academic efforts is the first step. If you happen to prefer a smaller college in which full professors take a personal interest in their undergraduates by nurturing intellectual curiosity, framing research skills, and grooming communication skills, two smaller liberal arts schools warrant inspection: Haverford and Pomona College.

Neither has a graduate school. Teaching is the primary focus of the faculty, and the professors, some among the elite in their disciplines, are accessible and committed to the undergraduate learning experience. At Haverford the student to teacher ratio is 8:1. Even introductory courses are taught by full professors, and rarely do they exceed 15 students.  Both exercise a great deal of trust in their student body. Haverford, which has one of the most encompassing honor codes (probably only matched by Davidson College in North Carolina) lets students take tests in their dorms. Few students ever break, or even contemplate breaking, the honor code.  

Both are steeped in tradition. Haverford dates back to 1833, when it was founded by the religious Society of Friends. It has strong Quaker roots. This is reflected in the aforementioned honor code and trust the entire campus is imbued with by the honor system, which inseminates all parts of the campus’s activities and beliefs. Pomona College, on the other hand, also has its foundations firmly established in the 19th century. In 1899, the football team actually beat USC.

Pomona soaks in the Southern California sunshine and resides in suburban Claremont, a mere 35 miles from Hollywood, while Haverford is in suburban Philadelphia, only 10 miles, a short train ride, to the heart of historic Philadelphia. Haverford’s 206 acre campus contains both an assiduously detailed arboretum (with over 4,000 trees composed of over 250 species), and a duck pond stocked with ducks. Both are encircled by a 2-mile nature walk. The facilities, however, are exceptional. Both Haverford and Pomona have multimillion dollar athletic facilities. Haverford’s cost $23,000,000—that’s a nice resource for fewer than 1,200 students. With an endowment of around $400,000,000, Haverford has the wherewithal to upgrade facilities well beyond ostensible numbers.  

Though both schools are small, Pomona 1,500 and Haverford 1170 undergraduates, both have extensive consortiums. Pomona is part of the Claremont consortium that includes Scripps, Claremont McKenna, Harvey Mudd, and Pitzer. Haverford’s consortium includes Swarthmore, Bryn Mawr, and the University of Pennsylvania. Ironically, both have 3-2 engineering programs with Cal Tech. What is truly exceptional about both programs are their commitments to their undergraduates. Both colleges are the only two in the US which guarantee research opportunities for all students in the sciences, social sciences, and humanities.

Obviously, this description of Haverford and Pomona Colleges merely scratches the surface of what these two schools offer their students. Certainly, the academics at both are rigorous, the attention a student receives at either is almost personalized, and the possibilities available for a motivated graduate of either school are virtually unlimited.  These are gems warranting the consideration of even the most discerning applicants: nice places to spend four years.