Haverford College: A Parent's Guide to Admissions, Cost & Outcomes
Lancaster, Pennsylvania · Private nonprofit · Selective · CDS 2024-2025
Haverford College is a private nonprofit university in Lancaster, Pennsylvania that admits about 32% of applicants, making it a selective school. The average family pays about $39,061 a year after financial aid, which matters more than the published sticker price. It is best known for Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other, Business Administration, Management and Operations and Political Science and Government, its largest undergraduate programs by number of graduates. About 84% of students graduate within six years. Its most recent Clery Act report shows roughly 5.6 criminal offenses per 1,000 students.
Haverford College is a private institution located in Lancaster, Pennsylvania with a selective admissions profile. For the most recent reporting cycle, Haverford College admits between a quarter and half of applicants, with an overall admission rate of 32%. Admitted students typically post an average SAT around 1394. The average net price after grants and scholarships is $39,061 per year, which is the figure most families actually pay rather than the published sticker price. For parents weighing whether Haverford College is realistic for their teenager, the most useful planning step is comparing your child's current GPA and most recent SAT or ACT against these admitted-student ranges — not the headline acceptance rate alone.
What GPA does my child need for Haverford College?
Admitted students at Haverford College typically present unweighted GPAs in the 3.6–3.9 range with several honors or AP courses. Parents tracking their child's GPA toward this tier of school can use Solyo's free calculator to see weighted, unweighted, and college-recalculated numbers side by side.
What does Haverford College weight in admissions?
Haverford College reports the following factor importance in its Common Data Set (2024-2025). These are the criteria the admissions committee weighs when reviewing applications.
- • Rigor of secondary school record
- • Class rank
- • Academic GPA
- • Character/personal qualities
- • Standardized test scores
- • Application essay
- • Recommendations
- • Interview
- • Extracurricular activities
- • Talent/ability
- • Volunteer work
- • Alumni/ae relation
- • Geographical residence
- • Work experience
- • Level of applicant's interest
- • First generation status
- • State residency
- • Religious affiliation/commitment
SAT and ACT scores Haverford College typically admits
The middle-50 SAT Math range is 640–730, with an EBRW midpoint near —. The middle-50 ACT composite range is 29–32. A score at or above this school's 75th percentile materially improves your child's odds, particularly when paired with a rigorous course load.
| 25th percentile | 1330 |
| 50th percentile | 1380 |
| 75th percentile | 1430 |
| % submitting SAT | 25% |
| 25th percentile | 30 |
| 50th percentile | 32 |
| 75th percentile | 33 |
| % submitting ACT | 9% |
- • Test-optional: Standardized test scores are not required, but may be submitted and considered.
- • Policy detail: Considered if submitted
Where admitted students ranked in their high school class
Class rank distribution gives parents a clear sense of how academically dominant a typical admitted student was within their own high school cohort — often a more meaningful signal than absolute GPA.
| Top 10% of class | 50% |
| Top 25% of class | % |
| Top 50% of class | 97% |
| % submitting class rank | 23% |
How much does Haverford College actually cost?
Published tuition is $68,380 for in-state students and $68,380 for out-of-state, before grants and scholarships. Room and board adds roughly $15,568 annually. After need-based and merit aid, the average family pays a net price of $39,061 per year — the number that actually matters for budgeting. Roughly 17% of students receive Pell Grants, a useful indicator of how much need-based aid the school distributes.
| In-state tuition | $70,566 |
| Room and board | — |
| Average net price (after aid) | $39,061 |
| Application fee | $62 (waivers available) |
Application deadlines and early decision data for Haverford College
| Regular deadline | January 6 |
| Notification date | April 1 |
| Reply deadline | May 1 |
| Offers Early Decision | Yes |
| ED deadline | November 15 |
| ED acceptance rate | 28% |
Will my child graduate from Haverford College?
Retention and graduation rates are the most overlooked numbers in college planning, but they predict actual outcomes far better than acceptance rate. They tell you whether admitted students stay and finish on time.
Most popular majors at Haverford College
The most popular undergraduate programs at Haverford College, measured by the number of students who actually graduate each year, are Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other, Business Administration, Management and Operations and Political Science and Government. Across all programs, Haverford College confers roughly 385 bachelor's degrees a year. Graduates of its Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other program report a median income of about $78,260 five years after entering college. Major popularity is a practical signal of where a school concentrates its teaching strength and where your child will find the deepest course offerings and peer community.
| Major | Graduates / year | Median earnings (5 yrs out) |
|---|---|---|
| Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other | 82 | $78,260 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations | 60 | $88,150 |
| Political Science and Government | 55 | $71,360 |
| Economics | 46 | $75,967 |
| Behavioral Sciences | 41 | — |
| Public Health | 38 | — |
| Biology, General | 34 | — |
| Mathematics | 29 | — |
Is Haverford College safe? Campus crime & safety
In its most recent Clery Act report (2024), Haverford College disclosed 10 total criminal offenses across its campus and surrounding public property, about 5.6 per 1,000 students. That figure includes 0 violent offenses and 8 reported sexual assaults or VAWA offenses. Per-1,000-student rates matter more than raw counts when comparing schools, because larger universities mechanically report more incidents. Under the federal Clery Act, every college that receives federal aid must publish these numbers annually.
What is campus life like at Haverford College?
About 97% of undergraduates at Haverford College live in campus housing, making it a largely residential campus. In Greek life, 3% of men join a fraternity and 19% of women join a sorority. Residential rate and Greek participation shape day-to-day social life and are worth weighing alongside academics and cost.
Other colleges in Pennsylvania parents ask about
- University of Pennsylvania6% acceptance
- Carnegie Mellon University54% acceptance
- Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus50% acceptance
- Lehigh University78% acceptance
- Drexel University11% acceptance
- University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus32% acceptance
- Temple University79% acceptance
- Villanova University83% acceptance
How parents track GPA toward selective schools like Haverford College
Solyo helps parents track grades pulled directly from school emails, calculate GPA the same way colleges like Haverford College recalculate it, and ask an AI college counselor specific questions about their teen's odds. The platform is built for parents — not students — and turns what's usually a fragmented planning process into a single dashboard.
Common questions parents ask about Haverford College
What GPA do I need for Haverford College?
Admitted students at Haverford College typically present unweighted GPAs in the 3.6–3.9 range with several honors or AP courses.
What SAT or ACT score does Haverford College typically admit?
The middle-50 SAT Math range is 640–730, with an EBRW midpoint near —. The middle-50 ACT composite range is 29–32.
How much does Haverford College actually cost after financial aid?
The average net price at Haverford College after grants and scholarships is $39,061 per year. That figure is more useful for budgeting than the published sticker price, because it reflects what families actually pay after aid is applied.
Is Haverford College realistic for my child?
Compare your teen's current unweighted GPA and most recent SAT or ACT against the ranges above. If both numbers fall inside the school's middle-50, Haverford College is a target school. If both fall below the 25th-percentile mark, treat it as a reach and balance the application list accordingly.
What is the acceptance rate at Haverford College?
Haverford College accepts about 32% of applicants out of roughly 9,881 who apply each year. That makes it a selective school.
Is Haverford College test-optional?
Yes. Haverford College is test-optional, so SAT and ACT scores are not required, but strong scores can still be submitted and will be considered.
What is the graduation rate at Haverford College?
About 84% of students at Haverford College graduate within six years. 90% of freshmen return for sophomore year. Graduation rate predicts real outcomes better than acceptance rate.
Does applying Early Decision improve my chances at Haverford College?
Haverford College's Early Decision acceptance rate is about 28%, compared with its overall rate of 32%. The ED rate is not materially higher here, so weigh the binding commitment carefully.
What does Haverford College look for in applicants?
Haverford College rates course rigor, class rank, GPA and character and personal qualities as "very important" in its Common Data Set. These are the factors the admissions committee weighs most heavily when reviewing an application.
Is Haverford College a public or private school, and where is it located?
Haverford College is a private nonprofit institution located in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
What are the most popular majors at Haverford College?
The largest undergraduate majors at Haverford College by annual graduates are Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other, Business Administration, Management and Operations and Political Science and Government. The school awards about 385 bachelor's degrees a year in total. These figures come from federal IPEDS completion data.
Is Haverford College safe? What is its campus crime rate?
Haverford College reported 10 total criminal offenses in its most recent Clery Act disclosure (2024), roughly 5.6 per 1,000 students. Compare the per-1,000 rate rather than the raw total, since larger schools report more incidents.
What is campus life like at Haverford College?
At Haverford College, 97% of undergraduates live on campus, 3% of men are in fraternities, 19% of women are in sororities, according to its most recent Common Data Set.
Data sourced from the 2024-2025 Common Data Set submitted by Haverford College, the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard and IPEDS, and Clery Act campus safety disclosures. Solyo extracts admissions data from official Common Data Set publications and refreshes it annually.