The 25 Most Desirable Small Schools

Founded by Quakers in 1833, Haverford College continues to extol the values of individual dignity, academic strength and tolerance, regarding its campus as an "atmosphere of mutual respect and collaboration among students, faculty and staff." That environment has helped place the college among the most desirable suburban schools in the nation (No. 11).  
 
With its students averaging 1480 on the SAT, Haverford College is the 21st most attractive college for brainiacs, according to Newsweek. Its intimate student body of fewer than 1,200 undergrads and an 8:1 student-to-faculty ratio help put the school on our list of the best small colleges, where it ranks 13th.  
 
Haverford's campus, itself an arboretum, holds 200 acres of award-winning landscapes and architecture, 400 species of trees and shrubs, a large duck pond, gardens and wooded areas. Still, its placement just outside of Philadelphia leaves the campus a stone's throw away from urban culture.