This month, our university spotlight is focused on the Quaker Consortium. In the US, there are several university groups that form partnerships in order to give their students a unique opportunity to benefit from more than one institution during their undergraduate years. The Quaker Consortium is an agreement between three liberal arts colleges—(Bryn Mawr College, Haverford College, and Swarthmore College— and one research university (the University of Pennsylvania). All these institutions are located in the greater Philadelphia area, a national hub for education. The name of the Consortium comes from the historic influence of the Quakers in this region; all four of the participating schools have Quaker roots in their founding and administration.
The Quaker Consortium allows students to participate in academic courses and student life across all four campuses. For the three liberal arts colleges, also known as the Tri-College Consortium, students have access to course registration from all three schools. Transportation between campuses is provided and students can also benefit from meal plans and all food options at each of the colleges. Each campus has its own unique features that make it a special place to study.
Swarthmore is a highly competitive liberal arts college with an acceptance rate of 8%. This college focuses on undergraduate learning, offering over 40 programs of study and encouraging interdisciplinary study with many students choosing to design their own major. Students at Haverford College take courses in three academic areas which means that they have access to a broader range of knowledge and study by the time they graduate. Every Haverford student also completes a senior thesis to graduate, encouraging independent research and thinking. With an acceptance rate of 18%, Haverford remains very competitive with a very high student satisfaction rate and a close-knit community with 98% of students choosing to live on campus. Bryn Mawr is a women’s liberal arts college and was the first college to offer women the opportunity to earn a PhD. This liberal arts college encourages community values: students can earn college credit for work and research conducted in the community. Bryn Mawr also has a strong commitment to sustainability and is a wonderful choice for students looking for a community and values focused education. As a single-sex education campus, Bryn Mawr is more self-selecting with an acceptance rate of 39%. However, students should remember that because of the Quaker Consortium, Bryn Mawr students have access to three other campuses for both academic courses and student life.
Students from the Tri-College Consortium can register for classes at the University of Pennsylvania, but they are required to pre-register. This agreement allows students from the smaller liberal arts colleges to benefit from classes at a larger research university. UPenn has a competitive admissions rate of 6.5% and has four undergraduate schools as well as 12 graduate schools. The Quaker Consortium also gives UPenn students the possibility to enjoy a more intimate, small-college experience. UPenn students are able to register for classes at the three colleges but they need a Dean’s letter of permission to do so. There is no college-sponsored travel between the liberal arts colleges and the University of Pennsylvania.
Additionally, these universities profit from other special relationships with each other. For instance, Haverford engineering students can do a 4+1 degree, earning them a Bachelor of Science from Haverford and a Master’s from UPenn over a period of five years. Bryn Mawr students can take up to two classes per term at UPenn due to a special relationship between these two schools. Bryn Mawr and Haverford have a very strong connection, known as the Bi-College Consortium. Students are allowed to take classes at both institutions, but the relationship goes beyond that with campuses sharing both a radio station and a newspaper. Students can also pursue full majors at the partnering school if it is not offered on their own campus.
If you have any questions about the Quaker Consortium or any of these four colleges, please reach out to us.