Reply to What is the deal with Swathmore?

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[quote=Anonymous]I don't have any connection to Swarthmore, but I have to say that much of what's being posted here is pretty wacky -- even by DCUM standards.  The school is ranked #1 among liberal arts colleges by US News and is quite selective.  Sure, not every kid wants to go to a SLAC, but there are many top students who prefer these schools to Ivies and other major research universities.

Similarly, not every kid wants a school with Swarthmore's culture of academic intensity and political liberalism, but Swarthmore is well-known for this and it shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone smart enough to get in there.  That said, an 18 y.o. certainly has the prerogative to change his/her mind, and there will be students who enroll at Swarthmore and then decide to transfer.  There's not a school in the country where this doesn't happen.

Are the students nerdy and bookish?  I know 4 kids there -- all are very bright and love to read, so I guess they'd cop to bookish.  Are they nerdy?  I don't know -- depends on your definition, I guess.  Three are varsity athletes (1 was recruited for 2 sports by D1 and D3 schools) and the fourth plays a club sport.  All are poised and good conversationalists.  The two alums I know well are similarly sociable, with a broad range of interests.  They're both quite successful professionally.

Are there incidents where kids get drunk and do stupid things?  Uhm, yeah.  We're talking about people in their late teens and early 20s.  If you, dear reader, did not do something stupid and regrettable when you were under the influence at that age, then by all means, find yourself a pile of stones.  I, for one, will not be at pitching practice.

More seriously, allegations of "date rape" at Swarthmore and the school's response are being investigated by DOJ and DOE as part of a broader investigation into this problem at a number of campuses, including, I believe Yale, Occidental, UNC, the University of Montana and other schools.  This is certainly an issue that any prospective student and his/her parent would want to consider, but so should all of us with children applying to or currently in college.                 [/quote]

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