Admitted Student Profile
GPA (Unweighted)
3.90-4.00
SAT Range (Middle 50%)
1420-1540
ERW: 710-770 · Math: 710-780
ACT Range (Middle 50%)
32-35
📌 Haverford is a highly selective Quaker liberal arts college defined by its student-run Honor Code. It requires two short supplemental essays (150–200 words each), confirmed 2026-27, in addition to the Common App personal statement.
Application Deadlines
Early Decision INov 15
Regular DecisionJan 10
Essay Overview
For 2026-27, Haverford College requires two short supplemental essays (150–200 words each), confirmed 2026-27: one on a topic that sparks your intellectual curiosity and how you'd engage it at Haverford, and one on the values you seek in a community and how Haverford's values (via its student-run Honor Code) resonate with you. Both are tight — every sentence has to earn its place — and both reward specificity over sentiment.
Common App Personal Statement All applicants
250–650 words
Required
Supplement 1 — Curiosity All applicants
150–200 words
Required
Supplement 2 — Values & Honor Code All applicants
150–200 words
Required
What They're Really Looking For
1
Name a specific curiosity, then connect it to Haverford. Essay 1 wants a real topic that excites you AND how you'd engage it there — name concrete Haverford features (a course, lab, the tutorial style, undergrad research) rather than "I love learning."
2
Make the values essay personal, not a summary of the Honor Code. Essay 2 asks which values you seek and how Haverford's resonate. Ground it in a real experience shaping or being shaped by a community — don't just praise the Honor Code back to them.
3
Cut ruthlessly. At 150–200 words each, there is no room for throat-clearing. Open on the specific thing; delete every generic sentence.
The Official Prompts — 2026-27
"Tell us about a topic or issue that sparks your curiosity and gets you intellectually excited. How do you hope to engage with this topic or issue at Haverford?"
"We have highlighted for you some of the values that shape the Haverford community. What are some of the values you seek in your next community? How do Haverford's values, as demonstrated through our Honor Code, resonate with you?..."
The #1 Failure Mode
Writing the curiosity essay with no Haverford in it, and the values essay with no you in it. Essay 1 must connect your interest to concrete Haverford opportunities; Essay 2 must ground the values in your real experience, not restate the Honor Code. Generic on either side wastes an already-tiny word count.
Weak vs. Strong: Score Benchmarks
"I am intellectually curious about many subjects and I love learning new things. At Haverford, I hope to explore my interests in a supportive academic community. I am also drawn to Haverford's values and Honor Code, which reflect my own belief in honesty, integrity, and treating others with respect."
"I keep a running list of questions I can't Google — right now it's why some languages have no word for 'blue.' At Haverford I'd chase that in the Linguistics tutorials and the bilingualism lab, where I could actually test it instead of just wondering. The Honor Code matters to me for a smaller reason than integrity: I learn better when a room trusts each other enough to be wrong out loud."