Swarthmore/Wes VS Williams/Bowdoin

[Anonymous]

Those thinking about Haverford should google “Haverford student strike.” It seems a pretty nasty climate there these days where students are interfering with and aggressively preventing other students from even attending classes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our Swarthmore guide spent most of the tour talking about how Swarthmore was super intense, to get really familiar with the library because that was where people spent the most time, and talked at the end about how Williams was his first choice but didn't get in so that is why he was at swarthmore. probably should have not been a tour guide!

I call BS. This didn't happen.

DC had an interview with Swarthmore, an alum. The interviewer apparently spent most of the interview telling DC how hard and intense Swat is and saying you really have to be sure you can handle the schoolwork. Like she went on and on for over half the interview. DC kept saying thanks and wondered if the interviewer thought DC couldn’t handle the workload. Two weeks later, DC accepted ED into top 5 school and going there (which I mention because DC’s stats don’t suggest DC can’t handle the work). I actually thought I might tell Swat what a turnoff that interviewer was. But then I didn’t because I thought maybe this is what Swat is. A bunch of people who talk nonstop about how hard the school is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What’s Pomona’s culture like? Most like Wes, Williams, Swarthmore, or…?

Not really like any of them. Maybe Swarthmore if you had to pick one, but still quite different. Students there are noticeably more laid-back and unassuming, yet deeply motivated and inquisitive behind the surface. There's kind of a pretense there where students appear to be in a summer camp resort setting, but the academics are rigorous and there is a prominent intellectual undercurrent. It's a school where the students gradually learn of how impressive their peers really are, whereas you notice that more outright at East Coast SLACs and Ivies.

One unique feature of Pomona is that the consortium it is in are schools one next to the other. They interact quite heavily and also influence the overall atmosphere at Pomona. Those have widely different student bodies and academic emphases, so it's a diverse setting that opens all the students up to a variety of perspectives.

Funny story about Pomona and swat —

When my sister was there (and later others in our extended family), swat had a semester exchange program with Pomona, middlebury (maybe Williams but I forget…it was a few slacs tho), the way it worked was it had to be a 1 for 1 exchange.

But the # of kids who wanted to do a semester in Pomona wildly outstripped the number of kids who wanted to come from Pomona to do a semester at swat.

My sister tried a couple of times but it didn’t work out but even swat kids were super into trying to go to Pomona while no Pomona kids wanted to ever come to swat



That said, swat is still cool. Pomona is awesome tho. I’m sure their yield is like double swat’s

Your story isn't funny or even surprising. As for the yield comparison, yes, Pomona's is higher -- but Pomona isn't within driving distance of a dozen other top 20 liberal arts colleges or every Ivy League school either. Lots more competition.

And let us not fail to mention the likely biggest factor the Claremont schools have in their favor: California. Mediterranean desert climate. Sun. Pools. Sunshine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our Swarthmore guide spent most of the tour talking about how Swarthmore was super intense, to get really familiar with the library because that was where people spent the most time, and talked at the end about how Williams was his first choice but didn't get in so that is why he was at swarthmore. probably should have not been a tour guide!

I call BS. This didn't happen.

DC had an interview with Swarthmore, an alum. The interviewer apparently spent most of the interview telling DC how hard and intense Swat is and saying you really have to be sure you can handle the schoolwork. Like she went on and on for over half the interview. DC kept saying thanks and wondered if the interviewer thought DC couldn’t handle the workload. Two weeks later, DC accepted ED into top 5 school and going there (which I mention because DC’s stats don’t suggest DC can’t handle the work). I actually thought I might tell Swat what a turnoff that interviewer was. But then I didn’t because I thought maybe this is what Swat is. A bunch of people who talk nonstop about how hard the school is.

Nice humble brag.

[Anonymous]

My DC was accepted at 6 of these small LACS. Since the rankings are close enough together that it makes that less of an issue , consider very carefully the culture of the school. If it fits you, fantastic. If not think carefully: the smallness of the schools means there are a lot of similar thinkers and transferring is very difficult.
For us we found Amherst to be too white and “snobby” and some other of these LACS the same. Just listen to your gut before you commit.

[Anonymous]

Also taking classes at another school is more difficult than it sounds on paper.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I actually thought I might tell Swat what a turnoff that interviewer was. But then I didn’t because I thought maybe this is what Swat is. A bunch of people who talk nonstop about how hard the school is.

Swat alum PP here. I think you *should* tell the admissions office. I'm dismayed to hear that the school's reputation has become, "everyone is miserable and you can't hack it here."

[Anonymous]

DC graduated Swarthmore with triple major Summa. DC is not a genius. It’s not that hard. It is very small however.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I actually thought I might tell Swat what a turnoff that interviewer was. But then I didn’t because I thought maybe this is what Swat is. A bunch of people who talk nonstop about how hard the school is.

Swat alum PP here. I think you *should* tell the admissions office. I'm dismayed to hear that the school's reputation has become, "everyone is miserable and you can't hack it here."

That has always been the reputation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DC was accepted at 6 of these small LACS. Since the rankings are close enough together that it makes that less of an issue , consider very carefully the culture of the school. If it fits you, fantastic. If not think carefully: the smallness of the schools means there are a lot of similar thinkers and transferring is very difficult.
For us we found Amherst to be too white and “snobby” and some other of these LACS the same. Just listen to your gut before you commit.

Amherst is one of the most diverse liberal arts colleges in terms of racial and socioeconomic diversity. But maybe Amherst takes all those different kinds of kids and turns them into Amherst-style students. Wesleyan may feel more diverse but that's more cultural than numerical. Also, having an extra thousand students might help some groups achieve critical mass.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DC graduated Swarthmore with triple major Summa. DC is not a genius. It’s not that hard. It is very small however.

But don't you see, just the need to "triple major" says it all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our Swarthmore guide spent most of the tour talking about how Swarthmore was super intense, to get really familiar with the library because that was where people spent the most time, and talked at the end about how Williams was his first choice but didn't get in so that is why he was at swarthmore. probably should have not been a tour guide!

I call BS. This didn't happen.

DC had an interview with Swarthmore, an alum. The interviewer apparently spent most of the interview telling DC how hard and intense Swat is and saying you really have to be sure you can handle the schoolwork. Like she went on and on for over half the interview. DC kept saying thanks and wondered if the interviewer thought DC couldn’t handle the workload. Two weeks later, DC accepted ED into top 5 school and going there (which I mention because DC’s stats don’t suggest DC can’t handle the work). I actually thought I might tell Swat what a turnoff that interviewer was. But then I didn’t because I thought maybe this is what Swat is. A bunch of people who talk nonstop about how hard the school is.

A friend of mine's daughter said her visit to the University of Chicago was similar. She came back wondering why she would want to be miserable for 4 years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC graduated Swarthmore with triple major Summa. DC is not a genius. It’s not that hard. It is very small however.

But don't you see, just the need to "triple major" says it all.

Swarthmore doesn't do summa cum laude (or cum laude). It has an external examination program, where students receive either highest honors, high honors, or honors. First PP is trolling.

[Anonymous]

No, they just are better at Latin than you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:I think Swarthmore still has a consortium with Haverford, Bryn Mawr and Penn.

It does, but the geography and logistics mean that it's little used. There is a shuttle (and train into Philly) and the occasional student from Swat takes the occasional course at the other schools. But Bryn Mawr and Haveford have a much closer relationship than the other members of the consortium.

We toured Haverford this fall and the tour guide talked a lot about the consortium. Even mentioned that they go to Bryn Mawr just to eat dinner sometimes. Seems like those two schools have a close relationship.

I have a student at Haverford and she enjoys taking classes at Bryn Mawr. She now has friends at both schools. The food is better at Bryn Mawr so she likes getting lunch there.

Haverford is a school that doesn't seem to get the attention of its peers and it seems like a good fit for the OP. Could you say a bit about whether your daughter likes it?

She loves it! The campus is beautiful and she has made good friends. She feels close with a number of her professors and has loved her classes. She’s really engaged with the subject matter. Kids seem friendly and cooperative and not competitive with each other. There is a nature trail on campus and she and her friends walk on it frequently, but it certainly doesn’t have the same access to amazing nature as Bowdoin does. Once Covid is less of a problem, she and her friends are hoping to take the train more into Philadelphia to explore there as well.