Swarthmore College Top Questions

Social Life I would rate social life as medium. The parties aren't as great as bigger universities but they suffice for most. Most parties happen at Paces or Olde Club and usually involve music and alcohol. However, if you aren't into that, you can hit up one of the Parrish Parlour Parties for some sober fun. On a Saturday night, there is a wide variety going on. Some are sleeping at 9p.m., some watch movies, and some drink and dance until the wee hours of the morning. It's all about personal preference.

Swarthmore has a wide variety of events (shows, parties, speakers, movies, etc) and a ton of clubs for everything you could think of. Athletics exist but are not widely attended at all. There are definitely parties on the weekend (sometimes at our 2 fraternities) but I would say that only some of the student body attends these types of parties.

small social scene but there is complete and utter freedom on campus

There is social life at Swat but not as much as at some other colleges and universities. The parties are mostly of the same type in the same place. They're pretty predictable. Swarthmore does provide some big events that most of the student body comes out to. I met my friends through Rhythm and Motion and Essence of Soul. They are two popular groups on campus. Some people party very often. I try to balance it, although I enjoy being social and having fun. There's not a big greek life at Swat at all. There are only fraternities and I don't really consider them "real" frats. There's quite a bit of drinking on campus. Dry parties are thrown but people still show up drunk sometimes. After a certain time though, there's not much to do except hang out with friends in your room.

The social life is is pretty active. There are always tons of activities and fun things planned. The school is very willing to fund student activities as long as they are open to the whole campus, and a lot of unique fun things result. Examples inlcude the famous pterodactyl hunt, or keilbasafest and worthstock. There are also plenty of parties during the weekends, though there is no pressure to go to them.

Parties can be found thurs-sunday. If there is not an official party you can hit up a frat. Alcohol can be found any where, yet many people are fine without drinking and fun is easily accessible for them too.

Prior to 2006, we only had two fraternities on campus. Sororities were banned in the 1930's and since then, there have been multiple failed attempts to re-establish them. In 2006, one of my friends and I started a group called the Ladies Soiree Society (LaSS) and it has since been dubbed a "quasi-sorority". We're all-inclusive and currently the largest womens group on campus. Although many of our members are close friends with the fraternity brothers, our goal in creating LaSS was to equalize the social scene on campus (why should we have to depend on men to have a night out?). Although the campus was hesitant to accept us at first, we've gained a lot of support and popularity due to some of our events. The most successful is by far our Mr. Swarthmore Competition, a male beauty pageant in which male representatives from various groups and activities on campus compete in formal wear, tropical wear, talent, and a Q&A section.

While frisbee isn't the most popular group on campus, it's still a lot of fun. We can come to practice when we have time, hang out with friends, get exercise, and practice. If a door's open, it's probably a freshman door, because we're all dying to meet new people. Upperclassmen normally have their friends and tend to not be around the dorm as much it seems. If we're up at 2am on a tuesday, we're either doing homework or talking in the lounge after doing work. But it's mostly the work.

There are a lot of groups and organizations on campus, whether they're varsity sports, club sports, volunteer or activist groups, radio groups, identity focused groups, etc, and they're a great way to meet people. Students tend to be friendly and trusting, leaving items around and leaving doors open. Theater, dance and music performances are highly attended...sports, not so much. The dating scene is absolutely horrendous- people, for the most part, are either hooking up or 'married.' I met my closest friends because we lived in the same dorm my freshman year. Speaking of dorms, the fact that there are no 'freshman' dorms on campus was extremely helpful to me: I got to actually meet upperclassmen, some of whom I became very close to. If I'm awake at 2 am on a tuesday, I'm leaving the library. There are a lot of fun traditions at swarthmore every year: the pterodactyl hunt (I'll leave that to you to research), Screw Your Roommate (set roommate up on a blind date, with a twist: the 'paired' roommates are wearing a set of costumes and have to find each other. for example, my freshman year, I went as Miss Piggy and my date was dressed as Kermit the Frog), the Willets carnival (carnival activities outside Willets dorm), Worthstock (an all day music fest), Kielbasafest, the block party, the Crum Regatta, the Sager Symposium and Genderfuck party, etc. These events really do bring the campus together. The fraternities are friendly places that aren't really like real frats. The brothers are pretty welcoming and never turn anyone away. They just dole out lots of free beer, and hold a few big parties each semester. Not a lot of people go there except to the big parties. There are no sororities. People usually party on Thursdays and Saturdays. Thursday is the best night of the week: Pub Nite. A senior class fundraiser, Pub Nite is a weekly event held in the Paces student-run cafe/party space where the senior officers buy 5 or 6 kegs, and for $4 you can drink unlimited beer from 9-12. People play games, listen to good music (the music is very important and regular pubniters vie for the chance to make the pubnite playlist each week), and eventually as the drunkenness ensues, dance. Off campus, people tend to go into Philadelphia for dinner, or Media for a little bit of closer fun. but the train tickets can be pricey.

The cultural groups have a tremendous role in organizing social events on campus, from speakers to parties. Some students leave their doors open, but not all. A substantial portion of students are in relationships, but many more engage in a hook-up culture here. The party scene is great for first year students, but can get boring quickly for other students.