Swarthmore College Top Questions

um, yes, to some degree. though i really don't think we're that much less attractive than any liberal arts college.

Not so much. Swatties love (truly love) at least some form of academic learning, or they wouldn't be there, and they think that being challenged is a necessary part of such learning. But there are many people who strike a balance between school work and everything else that leans towards everything else who do fine. The idea that everyone talks about classes late into the night and on the weekends is mostly hooey. Swatties LOVE talking and listening to other swatties, and what they do is a sort of meandering improvisational brainstorm-fest. The subject matter could be anything, really, and usually has nothing to do with classes. Some swatties lack social skills, but they tend to get a lot better, the longer they have spent on campus. They are good-looking enough to fuel plenty of stares, crushes, serenades, liaisons and all-around lust. Swatties have seriously interesting personal style, and not all of it is weird; there is a whole range of swattie conceptions of what looks good. Though the campus is mostly made up of upper and upper-middle class urban left-leaning European-Americans, like all selective private colleges, it feels a lot less homegeneous than the others; you could argue for hours about what the ?normal? or ?mainstream? swattie dresses or acts like. Also, I think the stereotype about swatties? hitting the books all the time misses the phenomenon of how much they truly love to get loose. They?re really really passionate about putting on and attending performances of all sorts, and about throwing and participating in dance parties (and I'm not just saying that because I did so--there were many, many people who did it before I did and at the same time as I did).

No. There are plenty of "normal" people here, all of whom just happen to be very talented and passionate about what they do. And not everyone is over the top liberal.

Each of these stereotypes has a seed of truth (at least), but it's all relative. My experience of the college is that my classmates are brilliant, but of course that doesn't mean they are all brilliant in the same way (thank goodness!); many of us are even socially skilled, so the awkwardness is only so true. We are definitely motivated, but that gets expressed in all kinds of ways (maybe dedicating yourself to a political campaign, or maybe spending every "free" minute in the library, or maybe getting to every party, every weekend). The liberal rumor is true as far as campus climate, but if you ask, you'll find more diversity of opinion than meets the eye.

It depends how you define boring. Most people are secretly if not blatantly nerdy - when you discover that, for instance, your frat boy RA has published novels, it can be really surprising and cool. If you're not smart, interested in academics or politics or social change or SOMETHING, then you might find Swatties boring. However, most of us do still get drunk and stuff :)

For the most part, the stereotypes are very accurate. I think it's virtually impossible to go through four years of Swarthmore and not become an academic. The atmosphere of classes is very much one that fosters your intellectual side, but that's not to say that people only talk about intellectual issues. Most of the Swatties I know are also very oriented towards social change. Volunteering, working with agencies, and even creating your own programs to solve a community issue are all very encouraged and supported by your fellow students and the faculty and staff. Although not everyone does work on social change, it is often assumed that you should be doing something. Swat is also very liberal, which is hurtful at times. It can make for some one-sided, at times boring, discussions, but it also allows for many students to feel more comfortable. Finally, Swarthmore is supposed to be diverse. While I think that Swat does a good job of recruiting a relatively diverse class each year, it is very easy to segregate yourself into one group once you're at Swarthmore. While most people know each other, you usually need to put in effort to make friends that are outside of your typical clique.

To a degree, they are. People tend to be invested in what they're doing, and for a lot of people that takes the form of long hours in the library or lab. The student population definitely skews to the left, politically, but there are still plenty of students closer to moderate (if not quite conservative). And certain conventional grooming practices (by which I mean makeup and blowouts and sexy clothing, not showering etc.) are kinda devalued so yeah, by the usual standards, the student body's less attractive than the average.

No. Like most people of our generation, they are largely conformist, even if they conform to a nominally "non-conformist" group (i.e. there are a ton of hipsters here). Everyone is worried about grades and having lots of extracurriculars and getting a prestigious job after school.

To an extent, yes. The stereotypes certainly have a basis of truth, but they can be construed in different ways.

Well, "accurate" isn't quite the right word. I would say that there definitely is an air of idealism and nerdiness on campus. I wouldn't be able to speak to whether or not we are more idealistic or nerdy than any other campus nor would I be able to quantify it in any way, but I've definitely had my own share of plain vanilla 4am philosophical discussions on the true nature of poetry etc...