Swarthmore vs. Yale

[Anonymous]

DD is torn in deciding. She likes the beautiful, smaller campus of Swarthmore and the arts programs but she doesn’t know if that’s enough reason to turn down the name of Yale. Majoring in music and math. I would say a touch immature for her age where a smaller feel might be the difference between surviving and thriving. Don’t know how to advise her!

Thoughts?

[Anonymous]

Simply as a form of recognition, your family should be excited that your daughter was accepted at two of the four featured schools in this site:

https://wallethub.com/edu/e/college-rankings/40750

[Anonymous]

That's a great decision to have, but a tough one. Hard to give up Yale name recognition, but SLACs offer a special sense of community that can indeed make a big difference for a kid who is less socially developed. Signed, parent of a kid like that who attended HYP but whose kid will attend a WASP school. In terms of fit, it wasn't a question.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DD is torn in deciding. She likes the beautiful, smaller campus of Swarthmore and the arts programs but she doesn’t know if that’s enough reason to turn down the name of Yale. Majoring in music and math. I would say a touch immature for her age where a smaller feel might be the difference between surviving and thriving. Don’t know how to advise her!

Thoughts?

Recently at Swat. A lot of construction everywhere but not for dorms: almost no suite/apartment-style living all four years. Spoke to many students: without accommodations or being an RA, you won’t be assured a single room until senior year. Chances of a single as a junior are around 40-50% at best. Meanwhile, down the street, Haverford has mostly singles — for freshmen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD is torn in deciding. She likes the beautiful, smaller campus of Swarthmore and the arts programs but she doesn’t know if that’s enough reason to turn down the name of Yale. Majoring in music and math. I would say a touch immature for her age where a smaller feel might be the difference between surviving and thriving. Don’t know how to advise her!

Thoughts?

Recently at Swat. A lot of construction everywhere but not for dorms: almost no suite/apartment-style living all four years. Spoke to many students: without accommodations or being an RA, you won’t be assured a single room until senior year. Chances of a single as a junior are around 40-50% at best. Meanwhile, down the street, Haverford has mostly singles — for freshmen.

That's true at many schools, including Yale. And no one deciding between Yale and Swarthmore cares about Haverford.

[Anonymous]

Students at Yale have more fun; Swarthmore students experience high levels of stress due to academics. But, the location of Swarthmore is beautiful while New Haven is not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That's a great decision to have, but a tough one. Hard to give up Yale name recognition, but SLACs offer a special sense of community that can indeed make a big difference for a kid who is less socially developed. Signed, parent of a kid like that who attended HYP but whose kid will attend a WASP school. In terms of fit, it wasn't a question.

Yes, this is true. How did you kid feel after visiting Yale? Could she see herself there, thriving? I guess that for me would be the big question. If her gut says Swarthmore, go with Swarthmore. If she does the honors program, will end up being as or more rigorous than Yale. Also, have her look at the course options, taking into consideration class size. Which does she feel more excited about?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD is torn in deciding. She likes the beautiful, smaller campus of Swarthmore and the arts programs but she doesn’t know if that’s enough reason to turn down the name of Yale. Majoring in music and math. I would say a touch immature for her age where a smaller feel might be the difference between surviving and thriving. Don’t know how to advise her!

Thoughts?

Recently at Swat. A lot of construction everywhere but not for dorms: almost no suite/apartment-style living all four years. Spoke to many students: without accommodations or being an RA, you won’t be assured a single room until senior year. Chances of a single as a junior are around 40-50% at best. Meanwhile, down the street, Haverford has mostly singles — for freshmen.

That's true at many schools, including Yale. And no one deciding between Yale and Swarthmore cares about Haverford.

No, at the very least, for the richest liberal arts schools in the country, it goes like this: freshman live in doubles, 1/2 sophomores live in singles, all juniors live in singles, seniors live in single rooms in cool suites/apartment style living. Swat is unusually bad.

And as for the whataboutism. You want to tell me that you don’t get a single room at Yale until senior year? Not. True.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD is torn in deciding. She likes the beautiful, smaller campus of Swarthmore and the arts programs but she doesn’t know if that’s enough reason to turn down the name of Yale. Majoring in music and math. I would say a touch immature for her age where a smaller feel might be the difference between surviving and thriving. Don’t know how to advise her!

Thoughts?

Recently at Swat. A lot of construction everywhere but not for dorms: almost no suite/apartment-style living all four years. Spoke to many students: without accommodations or being an RA, you won’t be assured a single room until senior year. Chances of a single as a junior are around 40-50% at best. Meanwhile, down the street, Haverford has mostly singles — for freshmen.

That's true at many schools, including Yale. And no one deciding between Yale and Swarthmore cares about Haverford.

No, at the very least, for the richest liberal arts schools in the country, it goes like this: freshman live in doubles, 1/2 sophomores live in singles, all juniors live in singles, seniors live in single rooms in cool suites/apartment style living. Swat is unusually bad.

And as for the whataboutism. You want to tell me that you don’t get a single room at Yale until senior year? Not. True.

That is simply not true. Amherst has exactly the same setup at Swarthmore (fewer than half of juniors get singles). Again, this kid doesn't care about having a single at Haverford lol.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the input. She’s leaning Swarthmore. She did not like New Haven and the large intro classes. She felt like the Swarthmore students were more “like” her. I suspect she’ll choose there. I think she wants me to decide for her which I will NOT do. I tell her she must own her decision but there is no right or wrong one. She likes to work and she is not a big party person. We didn’t love the construction at Swarthmore but most of the campus is breathtaking.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD is torn in deciding. She likes the beautiful, smaller campus of Swarthmore and the arts programs but she doesn’t know if that’s enough reason to turn down the name of Yale. Majoring in music and math. I would say a touch immature for her age where a smaller feel might be the difference between surviving and thriving. Don’t know how to advise her!

Thoughts?

Recently at Swat. A lot of construction everywhere but not for dorms: almost no suite/apartment-style living all four years. Spoke to many students: without accommodations or being an RA, you won’t be assured a single room until senior year. Chances of a single as a junior are around 40-50% at best. Meanwhile, down the street, Haverford has mostly singles — for freshmen.

That's true at many schools, including Yale. And no one deciding between Yale and Swarthmore cares about Haverford.

No, at the very least, for the richest liberal arts schools in the country, it goes like this: freshman live in doubles, 1/2 sophomores live in singles, all juniors live in singles, seniors live in single rooms in cool suites/apartment style living. Swat is unusually bad.

And as for the whataboutism. You want to tell me that you don’t get a single room at Yale until senior year? Not. True.

That is simply not true. Amherst has exactly the same setup at Swarthmore (fewer than half of juniors get singles). Again, this kid doesn't care about having a single at Haverford lol.

Nice deflection of your lie about Yale. Comparison is between Yale and Swarthmore. Yale has better housing. Period.

One factor amongst many to consider in comparing Yale and Swat, but it is definitely worth considering.

[Anonymous]

I would not turn down Yale. It will open more doors and terms of employment and grad school. Also, the residential colleges provide a small social community. The dining is very communal and it’s a good way to meet friends. So it’s not really a large university in that sense. They break it down into smaller communities and then you also have the option of meeting people outside of your college

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks for the input. She’s leaning Swarthmore. She did not like New Haven and the large intro classes. She felt like the Swarthmore students were more “like” her. I suspect she’ll choose there. I think she wants me to decide for her which I will NOT do. I tell her she must own her decision but there is no right or wrong one. She likes to work and she is not a big party person. We didn’t love the construction at Swarthmore but most of the campus is breathtaking.

Sounds like she is a great fit for Swat, but she will also find her people at Yale. Certainly plenty of hard-working kids who aren't party-oriented. I would say Swat is more intense though, just attracts that kind of kid. Does that feel right to her?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD is torn in deciding. She likes the beautiful, smaller campus of Swarthmore and the arts programs but she doesn’t know if that’s enough reason to turn down the name of Yale. Majoring in music and math. I would say a touch immature for her age where a smaller feel might be the difference between surviving and thriving. Don’t know how to advise her!

Thoughts?

Recently at Swat. A lot of construction everywhere but not for dorms: almost no suite/apartment-style living all four years. Spoke to many students: without accommodations or being an RA, you won’t be assured a single room until senior year. Chances of a single as a junior are around 40-50% at best. Meanwhile, down the street, Haverford has mostly singles — for freshmen.

That's true at many schools, including Yale. And no one deciding between Yale and Swarthmore cares about Haverford.

No, at the very least, for the richest liberal arts schools in the country, it goes like this: freshman live in doubles, 1/2 sophomores live in singles, all juniors live in singles, seniors live in single rooms in cool suites/apartment style living. Swat is unusually bad.

And as for the whataboutism. You want to tell me that you don’t get a single room at Yale until senior year? Not. True.

That is simply not true. Amherst has exactly the same setup at Swarthmore (fewer than half of juniors get singles). Again, this kid doesn't care about having a single at Haverford lol.

Nice deflection of your lie about Yale. Comparison is between Yale and Swarthmore. Yale has better housing. Period.

One factor amongst many to consider in comparing Yale and Swat, but it is definitely worth considering.

Most kids don't decide on colleges based on what year they're able to get a single ffs.

[Anonymous]

FWIW our guide on the Yale tour was a lovely young woman involved in the arts. She talked about how much the students support each other, go to each other’s events, etc. she also talked about professors inviting groups of kids to dinner and how the college system promoted a feeling of community within the larger school. New Haven isn’t great but the kids seemed to love the school. Made me want to go there! I wouldn’t pass that up for Swarthmore, but everyone is different.