Swarthmore
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Anonymous
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I looked at previous threads hoping to find one exclusively for Swarthmore conversation but found only brief references.
Junior DC has added Swarthmore to her college research list. Any Swatties out there or anyone knowledgeable about the school that can share solid information? |
Anonymous
Yup. What kind of information are you looking for? |
Anonymous
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I have heard and read that Swarthmore is on the same intellectual level as Harvard and many of their professors are Harvard grads.
Swarthmore is an intellectual school that attracts bright kids. |
Anonymous
| All of the kids I have met from there tried to get into the Ivies but failed.It is a tier down from the Ivies. It's good for quirky, smart, introverted kids. |
Anonymous
| Make sure you know what the word "liberal" means if one intends to attend this school. |
Anonymous
| Yes ^^ it's extremely liberal. |
Anonymous
| The reputation is terrific academically but (like the U of Chicago) where fun goes to die. |
Anonymous
| This is based on two visits I have made with two different DC's (one currently a senior, one who ultimately applied elsewhere). Swarthmore strikes me as a place where the classroom experience and intellectual life are the most highly valued aspects of the college experience. Swarthmore students work very, very hard, but love doing it. You may already know that Swarthmore sends a higher proportion of its graduates to PhD programs than any other college. It's easy to see why. The two alumni I know (both very, very smart people and very successful in intellectually demanding careers) both rave about the time they spent at Swarthmore. |
Anonymous
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It kicked my ass and I loved it. I went from being. A big fish in a small pond to a perfectly adequate fish in a nerdy, quirky pond. People there do homework and readings because they don't want to let their classmates down in discussions. The profs don't have any grad students so they treat their undergrads as such, which is wonderful and also really, really difficult. It's not uncommon to find math majors with music minors, bio majors with peace studies minors, and all manor of intriguing intellectual combinations. We used to complain that there wasn't enough time for all of the clubs and classes we wanted to do.
What else do you want to know? |
Anonymous
| As a Harvard grad, I would say the academics/intellectual level are higher than at Harvard. Most Harvard grads go on to professional schools/careers. They are the proverbial "well-rounded" admits -- very bright, socially adept, very focused on extra-curriculars, in high school and continuing in college (where your EC activity is considered a fifth class). Swarthmore students are equally as bright but more uniformly focused on academics and the intellectual enterprise of college. A much higher proportion of Swarthmore grades go on to PhD programs. |
Anonymous
I would agree with that. I did Swarthmore engineering and had lots of friends that went to MIT and Harvard. I had visited my friends a bunch of times and laughed at how easy their 3rd year homework was. (This was stuff I was doing freshman year; I kept that to myself of course.) My Harvard friends spent lots of times networking and socializing, not studying. Swarthmore students spend a lot of time studying. As I said, I studied engineering. As an engineer taking a full class load I was in class every morning during the week. Afternoons were spent in lab or office hours. Evenings were spent doing homework, as were weekend days. I made time to run and do sports, but there was definitely not a lot of free time. I remember from my class that a ridiculous number got Rhodes-type scholarships, more than any Ivy that year, which is all the more impressive given that Swarthmore has less 2000 people. I disagree that Swarthmore students are not well rounded. I think we're just as well rounded as Harvard types, just not in popular ways. To give you an example - when I was there at least 2/3 of the student body participated in some type of sport. But that includes sports like badminton, ultimate frisbee, or rugby. Frisbee and rugby were particularly popular. Or people might be interested in yoga, or activism (not me), accapella, vegan cooking. |
Anonymous
| Yes I'm a Swattie from 20 or so years ago. I agree with what has been said here, but I will add that your child should consider how the big fish/little fish difference will affect them. I found that despite the very small classes and direct relationships with professors, I did not find Swat a great fit for me because I constantly questioned my own abilities and doubted I could keep up in this "big pond" compared with the smaller pond I had been in even at my very good high school. I ended up doing well but burning myself out. For myself, a SLAC with less intensity would have been a better fit. |
Anonymous
Interesting. I wouldn't think of Swarthmore (or Harvard) for engineering. Was it more of a theoretical program? What specialities are strong there? Did you go on to Masters or PhD? |
Anonymous
| Interesting. I've thought my DC could have the same reaction and have encouraged her to look at bigger schools (e.g. Chicago) both to avoid the hothouse issue and to experience the thrill of so many resources, people, alternatives. More of a let a thousand flowers bloom than a fish/pond thing. |
Anonymous
| ^^ meant as a response to 18:46. And involves a DC who goes to a Big 3. |