Reply to What is the deal with Swathmore?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]And I'm not arguing, I just want to hear.  As I said, the fact that you know happy students is helpful.  I'm not out to "prove" a point, just to investigate a common theme I've heard.[/quote]

First of all, I think you should know that there are at least 2 of us who have posted in response to your question about the happiness factor.  I'm the earlier PP, and I have never heard Swarthmore described as competitive or cold.  The current students and alums I know are not that way at all.  (These include close friends and high school teammates of my children and close friends of mine, including one who has been a friend for 40 years.)  All of these folks would probably describe Swarthmore as a demanding school with an intensely academic vibe.  Would your child find that too competitive?  If so, then maybe Swarthmore isn't the right school for him/her.  That's not a judgment of your child, so please don't interpret it that way.         [/quote]

I'm not OP and this is helpful.  DC is highly academic but doesn't like a competitive atmosphere.  Its interesting how there are some schools that can thread that needle and provide a heavily academic environment without a sense of competition.  And then there are schools that have a rep for being intensely competitive (Johns Hopkins, at least by rep).  So, thank you.[/quote]

I'm glad this was helpful to you.  As you look at other schools, I would suggest that you and your son try to be more specific about what he's looking for in a school.  Framing the question as "happy" v. "unhappy" won't be as helpful because it's so subjective; more helpful would be to describe a school culture that is collaborative, rather than comptetitive.  What might be most helpful, however,  is describing your son and asking whether this kind of student would fare well at X school, or, conversely, asking what kind of student thrives at X.  For example, the PP who described a friend's son who loved Swarthmore as sociable and interested in others, but not a party animal, offered a very helpful insight along these lines.        [/quote]

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