Anonymous wrote:No dog in this fight but Swarthmore >> WM = UVA.

In cost yes, but in what way is the education better?

No dog in this fight but Swarthmore >> WM = UVA.

Good luck to OP's kid at Swarthmore.

All are good schools which will provide a fine education to anyone qualified for admission who makes the requisite effort. Prices vary significantly as do location and size, so those might be more decisive factors than whether one school will provide a qualitatively superior education over the others - that's not really a consideration with schools of this caliber where distinctions between relative academic merit are functionally and practically meaningless. Note too that all three schools will provide a solid basis for grad school admissions, with no one having any particular edge of the others in that metric - relevant test scores and undergrad GPAs will matter more than which of the three schools provided the undergraduate degree.

Swarthmore is strong in STEM so I would not eliminate as an option for that. I think they just built a whole new science center there.

The three schools are just really different; I think it will need to be a cost (if that is a factor) and "fit" call. Have you visited all three?

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Anonymous wrote:If they like small, William and Mary if you’re in state. I can’t imagine paying for Swarthmore when they have choices loke UVA and W&M.

Don’t listen to these penny pinching folks: Swarthmore is way more prestigious than UVA. It is not even close. Hard to believe this is even a serious question….

No. I am from Philly and just no. Your kid will be miserable there.

The misery index at Swarthmore College seems to be quite high. Swarthmore is a really good small school for future humanities professors.

Swarthmore (alongside Reed and Carleton) produces more PhDs in the hard sciences per capita than just about any other college, including any of the UCs, Chicago, GA Tech, VA Tech, and all Ivy League colleges.

Easy to accept this regarding "per capita" since Swartmore is a tiny school of fewer than 1,600 students. Probably true for super tiny Caltech as well.

Serious Question: What is your definition of "humanities" ? I have googled this an d there appear to be various definitions regarding the inclusion or exclusion of math & science. Do you include "hard sciences " ? Thank you in advance for your response.

Perhaps you are confusing the humanities with the liberal arts? The Humanities typically include subjects like literature, philosophy, history, etc. The liberal arts include the humanities, plus the social sciences, plus hard sciences. The point of a liberal arts education is to provide a well-rounded education, rather than one that focuses solely on a single area of study. Liberal arts curricula typically require students to take courses in the humanities, social sciences, and the hard sciences, regardless of a student's ultimate choice of major.

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Anonymous wrote:Swarthmore White 77.4%

Any particular reason?

Because it correlates with the demographics in the U.S?

Swarthmore is 33% White. I don't know where the PP got wrong figure from, but it's not Swarthmore's own website:
https://www.swarthmore.edu/meet-swarthmore/swarthmore-numbers

Anonymous wrote:Swarthmore White 77.4%

Any particular reason?

Because it correlates with the demographics in the U.S?

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Anonymous wrote:If they like small, William and Mary if you’re in state. I can’t imagine paying for Swarthmore when they have choices loke UVA and W&M.

Don’t listen to these penny pinching folks: Swarthmore is way more prestigious than UVA. It is not even close. Hard to believe this is even a serious question….

No. I am from Philly and just no. Your kid will be miserable there.

The misery index at Swarthmore College seems to be quite high. Swarthmore is a really good small school for future humanities professors.

Swarthmore (alongside Reed and Carleton) produces more PhDs in the hard sciences per capita than just about any other college, including any of the UCs, Chicago, GA Tech, VA Tech, and all Ivy League colleges.

Easy to accept this regarding "per capita" since Swartmore is a tiny school of fewer than 1,600 students. Probably true for super tiny Caltech as well.

Serious Question: What is your definition of "humanities" ? I have googled this an d there appear to be various definitions regarding the inclusion or exclusion of math & science. Do you include "hard sciences " ? Thank you in advance for your response.

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Anonymous wrote:Swarthmore is $82K a year. UVA instate is $37K. Small versus mid-sized public. UVA is more prestigious. Few know or care about SWAT.

This is really not the case. I live in New England and think of Swarthmore as one of the very most impressive colleges. I think of UVA as the place people wear ties to tailgates. That being said, Swat is truly TINY so that has to be a big consideration in this decision.

This shows how much region has to do with name recognition. Swathmore might be well known in New England, but it doesn’t carry a lot of name recognition elsewhere.

That says more about your education and social circles than it says about Swarthmore.

Guessing a Swat wrote that.

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Anonymous wrote:If they like small, William and Mary if you’re in state. I can’t imagine paying for Swarthmore when they have choices loke UVA and W&M.

Don’t listen to these penny pinching folks: Swarthmore is way more prestigious than UVA. It is not even close. Hard to believe this is even a serious question….

No. I am from Philly and just no. Your kid will be miserable there.

The misery index at Swarthmore College seems to be quite high. Swarthmore is a really good small school for future humanities professors.

And when the humanities market can no longer absorb them, then they become our miserable, yet snooty, coworkers.

Congrats OP - Hope she loves being a Swattie!

And for the "happiness haters" out there - she can always transfer if it turns out to be as miserable as you predict.

People forget that everyone is different and some would love that environment. I know kids who love Chicago despite its similar reputation. Plus...it's all about how you perceive/handle the environment. Not everyone carries a burden of stress and misery. You control your own destiny, approach to life, and how you feel.

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Anonymous wrote:If they like small, William and Mary if you’re in state. I can’t imagine paying for Swarthmore when they have choices loke UVA and W&M.

Don’t listen to these penny pinching folks: Swarthmore is way more prestigious than UVA. It is not even close. Hard to believe this is even a serious question….

No. I am from Philly and just no. Your kid will be miserable there.

The misery index at Swarthmore College seems to be quite high. Swarthmore is a really good small school for future humanities professors.

Swarthmore (alongside Reed and Carleton) produces more PhDs in the hard sciences per capita than just about any other college, including any of the UCs, Chicago, GA Tech, VA Tech, and all Ivy League colleges.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Swarthmore is $82K a year. UVA instate is $37K. Small versus mid-sized public. UVA is more prestigious. Few know or care about SWAT.

This is really not the case. I live in New England and think of Swarthmore as one of the very most impressive colleges. I think of UVA as the place people wear ties to tailgates. That being said, Swat is truly TINY so that has to be a big consideration in this decision.

This shows how much region has to do with name recognition. Swathmore might be well known in New England, but it doesn’t carry a lot of name recognition elsewhere.

That says more about your education and social circles than it says about Swarthmore.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If they like small, William and Mary if you’re in state. I can’t imagine paying for Swarthmore when they have choices loke UVA and W&M.

Don’t listen to these penny pinching folks: Swarthmore is way more prestigious than UVA. It is not even close. Hard to believe this is even a serious question….

No. I am from Philly and just no. Your kid will be miserable there.

The misery index at Swarthmore College seems to be quite high. Swarthmore is a really good small school for future humanities professors.