Yes and No

It's awesome when you can drive twenty minutes between schools and go from one extreme on the spectrum of interest to the other.  It really makes you value the schools you're interested in that much more.

Since my school called a "snow day" (we haven't had any all year so we had a day to burn), my dad and I hit the road to two of the schools I'm interested in that are within driving distance: Haverford and Swarthmore in Pennsylvania.  In my opinion, they are as different as night and day.

Haverford says no.  It is incredibly difficult to double major according to the students there.  It is very difficult to find a study abroad opportunity outside of those the college has vetted (the college itself does not sponsor any abroad programs).  The students begrudgingly chain themselves to the library desks come finals week with dreams of being in Philadelphia since there is apparently not enough to keep students on campus.  If the college does not have a resource you are looking for, they will ship you off to one of the Quaker Consortium schools (Bryn Mawr, Swarthmore, and UPenn in that order of likelihood).  There are all kinds of things wrong with that.  If I wanted to go to Bryn Mawr, I would apply to Bryn Mawr; but I don't, so I won't.  I will apply to a school for the resources they offer, not for the connections to other colleges with those resources.  They are academically stringent without the resources to support it.  On the plus side, the campus is beautiful.  It's a nationally recognized arboretum.

But if you want a nationally recognized arboretum coupled with a positive experience, I would suggest you drive 20 minutes to Swarthmore College where the people say yes.  Yes, double major!  Yes, find the opportunities that best suit you!  Yes, willingly study because when you're a freshman you can have the department heads as your seminar teachers!  Yes, party on campus at events like Screw Your Roommate (set them up on a themed blind date where they have to find their complementary other based on costumes) or Pterodactyl Hunt (this is a thing)!  If Swarthmore does not have the resources you're looking for, they will bring them to you.  Sure students go off campus, but it's to visit the art museums in Philly to compliment an interest in art history or to go to Chester and help a struggling community.  Visiting Swarthmore makes you want to change the world.  Also, they have twice as many species of trees as students.  At Swarthmore, they do more than pay lip service to their Quaker roots; they embrace their students and want to nurture their interests across seemingly disparate departments.  They believe in activism and consensus decisions and sharing.

So, long story short, I loved Swarthmore; it was totally worth the visit.  Haverford? Not so much.