Reply to What is the deal with Swathmore?

Forum Index » College and University Discussion

Reply to "What is the deal with Swathmore?"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I'm interested in hearing from folks with direct connection with Swarthmore, not those opining from afar.  I keep hearing thats while its an excellent school, that many students are unhappy there, that it has an unfriendly, competitive climate.  So, is that true?  Anyone know of students who are happy?[/quote]

OP, through a close fried with DD currently attending, report is directly on point with your comments.   Very unhappy.  [/quote]

I know 4 current Swarthmore students who are very happy.  So there!  Come on,  this is silly -- there are unhappy and happy students at every college.  The question is what do current students like and not like about the school, and how is that relevant to a prospective applicant's interests and goals.  An applicant with conservative political views who feels threatened by the generally liberal climate at Swarthmore will be unhappy.  Not much that's new there.       [/quote]

I posted the question and I don't think its silly at all.  Of course there are happy and unhappy students everywhere, but not in the same concentrations.  I have heard from [b]quite a few people [/b]that it is an unhappy place.  these are students who are very liberal.  Since my DC is looking at schools, generalities like "there are unhappy and happy students at every college," are not helpful.  I would like to hear specifics about Swarthmore, given this reputation.  I am glad you know 4 students there who are happy (how well do you know them?).  Thats helpful.

You can find many places for your "interests and goals," but how many of those are places where you would enjoy spending 4 years?[/quote]

What do you mean by "quite a few"? Is this 2-3, or a dozen unhappy kids? Also, WHY your friends' kids were unhappy is key.

Is this 3-4 of your conservative friends who are unhappy with the liberal bent? Or 2-3 of your kid's friends from the math and science magnet who are unhappy with the course offerings? Before you diss PP's 4 happy Swarthmore acquaintances, I think you need to check your "survey group" and ask whether it's representative of your kid's interests and goals. If your kid is a conservative robotics geek, then you might be right and Swarthmore (despite the strong engineering program) might be a bad fit.

[/quote]

None of the above.  They were unhappy because they found the atmosphere cold, competitive, unpleasant.  I don't know why you're fixated on this idea of the fit, or ideology.  None of these students are conservative or robotics geeks.  Like my DC they are liberal/left humanities types.  This is why I ask the question.  (I feel like I'm repeating myself).  DC is perfectly capable of figuring out that a school that doesn't focus on his interests or has a very different political tilt, may not be the school for him.  Those are easy things to find out.  Whats more difficult is the stuff you won't find reading about the school.  Its really odd to me that you think the only reason a student would be unhappy would be because of course offerings or dominant political leanings.  I don't know why you;re fixated on that when I've clearly said that I was asking about atmosphere.[/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics