Swarthmore College Top Questions

Sort of. We are really liberal, and the school is different, but I love it. In my opinion Swarthmore has the coolest student body around. We are not really "normal" but that's generally because we're really smart, creative, independent people. There is lots of activism.

I would say so.

I think that just as most stereotypes go, there is a contingent of students for which this applies; however, the stereotype is not reflective nor representative of the diversity of Swarthmore students.

They are stereotypes and all stereotypes are grounded in some semblance of truth. To really find out, one will just have to visit and see for themselves! But for the most part we are extremely passionate and dedicated to some cause whether its a steadfast dedication to sleeping off stress or to spark political change in international politics everyone is dedicated!

Yes.

I my opinion these stereotypes are not accurate. I for one I know that I do not particularly like to write long papers. I also am not liberal. Ofcourse at this school discussing this is not always a possibility. l am also not extremely into politics. I came into this school for the great academics and did not realize how political the school was until I came.

Swarthmore can dish out a pretty hefty workload, and most of the students here are involved in some kind of voluntary work, but for the most part we also do the normal college student thing as well. We're not always consumed by something serious.

Insofar as stereotypes are inherently inaccurate because they generalize a group of individuals, no. But as stereotypes go, they're about as accurate as they come. Although, to be honest, I was surprised at how, well, apathetic some Swatties seem to be. Not everyone is out to save the world, and there's more going on here than the stereotypes reveal - things like intramural soccer, water gun fights on Parrish beach and fireside chats with the administration.

We do have a portion of people who are socially awkward and study all the time. However, most people are friendly, welcoming, and compassionate.

I feel that there are definitely awkward people here. But not much more so than there are in the real world. In every colelction of students there will be the socially awkward. I would say that the academic intesity of the students lends them to this stereotype. I have to admit though, on the occassions I feel myself becoming sleep deprived, I find myself more socially awkward. And there is an obvious solution here.

"Work" and "play" should be defined first... Students usually really enjoy what they're studying here, so for an outside observer, s/he might see a lot of studious students. It's true that a lot of students here study a lot, but they really enjoy it, so Swatties incorporate their play into their work.

Nope...when I first got here as a freshman, i thought swat was off the hook. I knew plenty of people that hated studying...were not nerdy and were ready to get down on fridays and saturdays.

These stereotypes certainly do account for some of the student body, but definitely not all of.

Yes.

For the majority of the campus, yes.

Somewhat. Swatties are not all nerds and are not all socially inept. the majority of swatties are pretty "normal" people, so to speak. The sports, while they are definitely not a major part of the college life, are important to those who participate in them. Yes, the majority of swatties are quite achieved academically and are socially conscious/informed. Swatties are characterized by passion, to the point of being overzealous in their endeavors to be a "good, benevolent person" who does not fail to see every insignificant angle to every single issue. Many Swatties tend to be highly critical of any statement or belief - If one swattie isn't offended by a statement, another will be and will not be afraid to let everone know. However, not all swatties are this way.

Yes to the first two, but that's fine with me. I wanted to come to a school where the other students were equally serious about academics (aka, not a party school) and it's comfortable to be in an environment where we all joke about how awkward we are because it allows to be less self-conscious. The last two stereotypes that I mentioned - that we're really liberal and socially active - really aren't that true in my mind. Yes, most students are liberal you can count the number of people who are willing to call themselves Republicans on one hand, but one can easily avoid the social activism aspects of Swarthmore and there are plenty of times I wonder just how committed Swatties really are to the idea of social activism.

Swatties are very intelligent and the academic environment is not a cake-walk to say the least, but Swatties know how to get it down too. Any college that has Pub Night every Thursday where unlimited beer is sold for $4 seems like it can party it up too. Life can be chilled out at Swat even though there are times where it is intense.

Some are, some aren't. I'd say that most students here came from a certain high school mold--a bit repressed socially, sexually, but certainly not academically--who have finally arrived at Swat and among peers can finally be themselves (with some interesting consequences). But saying that we're out of touch with the real world is only so truthful. Much is made of "the Swarthmore bubble," but it's not so isolated. And I'd wager that the thinking/questioning skills that Swat ingrains in us in fact help college grads be successful in the real world.

For some people, yes. But it's hard to have an accurate stereotype about a school as diverse as Swarthmore.