Swarthmore College Top Questions

Swarthmore students are really hard to generalize because everyone is so different. We have the typical groups of students that most campuses have but EVERYONE here is really smart. Students are pretty accepting of most things.

diverse and passionate

Swarthmore really tries to be diverse in every way possible, which I greatly appreciate. I have been introduced to so many new people and cultures, which has really enriched my experience at Swarthmore so far. Different types of students do interact, especially in the communties of color. The interaction between people of color and whites I think could be stronger, but I don't really know how to go about rectifying that. Most students are active in many things. They are well rounded. Many students are very accomplished before they even come to Swarthmore, and continue with those accomplishments when they come to Swat. Students are involved in politics. Most tend to be democratic liberals. The focus for many students it seems after graduation is not to make a lot of money but to change the world for the better.

The students are great. They are all wonderful people, and because it is a small school you have the opportunity to meet many of them. Basically this is a one of the friendliest communities ive been a part of.

At times I feel as though upper-class students look down upon other socio-economic students cultural experiences. Suburban attitude.

If you check out a classroom, you're more likely to find students in their pajamas than dressed up. A lot of people don't really try to look good on a daily basis (and if they do try, they get attention--both good and bad). On the flip side, this homogeneity is kind of cool. It's often difficult to distinguish between students on financial aid and multi-millionaires.

We're mostly liberal, Obama-lovin college kids. While we do come from all over the country and all over the world, we do tend to think remarkably similar on the surface. Once you really get to know someone, you start seeing where disagreements arise, but it's always interesting to expose those opinions and see where they lead. I've had my head turned by friends to things I never in a million years would have thought about otherwise

A student might feel out of place if he or she was extremely conservative or religious, but there are several Christian groups and a campus republicans. There are large support systems in place for students of color and queer students, including an Intercultural Center (that houses Asian, Latino, Jewish, Queer, Queer and of Color, Class Activist and other groups and events), a Black Cultural Center, and deans who focus on IC issues and gender/sexuality issues. Students don't really tend to dress up for class at all, or really ever wear designer or expensive clothes. Because we only have one dining hall, most people on campus have seen each other if not spoken. No one is really cliquey or rude to other groups of students. The jocks tend to stick together, and the black kids, and the people who are heavily involved in the IC, etc, but no one really gives other groups a hard time. Most students are white, middle class, and from the middle-atlantic region of the northeast. Students are predominantly left-wing, and moderately politically aware/active. Students almost never talk about how much money they plan on earning one day; that seems to be barely even on the radar, unless they're joking about how poor they'll be working in academia/public service.

The student body is generally liberal, though it is still more centrist than progressive/far leftist. There are interactions across all groups of students, I'd say more than on other campuses. That said, some identity groups stick more to themselves than others (including white students). Students wear a range of things to class, and that is a great thing about residential campuses. Social issues come up very often on campus, which fosters a certain level of civic engagement, which is rare on campuses. Conservative students may feel insecure on campus, but that arises more from an inability to advocate for their positions than from general anti-conservative sentiments. I wish the admissions staff admitted more students from lesser privileged backgrounds.

Swarthmore's student body is amazing. What I liked the most when I first arrived was that people didn't seem to fit into the groups that I had grown up with in high school. The captain of the soccer team also starred in musicals. There wasn't one group that was "the" group that defined everyone else. This was made quite clear when a woman from Princeton came to Swarthmore to start diversity conversation groups based on a Princeton model. When talking with interested students, she asked us to think of the group that if we got them to be involved, everyone else would follow them. You could have heard a pin drop in the room. Finally I stuck up my hand and commented that we didn't really have any group like that, there were just sort of a bunch of groups who did as the pleased and intermingled. Groups do form. There are moments when you are frustrated and feel stuck within your own group, but it's not impossible to keep expanding your friend base. There are most definitely still racial, class, and sexuality issues. Athletes are often friends with mainly other athletes. Thing about Swarthmore is, though, you can choose to follow those lines or not. Sometimes you just have to make a bigger effort. I cannot speak highly enough of the people who attend Swarthmore. I made life-long friends at Swarthmore. Even if we talk less now due to the fact that we are scattered around the world, I feel really lucky to have met these people and count them among my friends. Another neat thing about Swarthmore is the idea of "you make your own normal." If you want to wear a cape to class, fine. If you want to never wear shoes or grow a mustache for all of November, fine. If you want to go out and party like a madwoman every week night, fine. If you want to go to the library and study on a Friday, fine. You make your own normal.