Swarthmore College Top Questions

I think the most popular activities on campus would be the frats, rhythm and motion, and other groups that add to the diversity (social, cultural, and racial) here at Swarthmore.

i have no idea, yes they leave them open, athletics are pathetic, dating scene is a bit incestuous, i am watching a movie, learning on my accord, drawing, wasting time because i have no work for this semester, people party every weekend, you can do alot of things on a saturday without drinking but theres nothing to do on campus. you need to get off. go to galleries, museums, movies, restuarants.

There is plenty of social life here. Although the fraternities are not that popular, their parties have been gaining some momentum lately. In case people do not find enough to do on campus, they can take the train into Philly. There have been some thefts from rooms and public places, so students usually keep their dorm rooms locked. The one thing that I think is definately not popular are athletic events. There are some people who attend the events, and the local newspaper even has 2 pages reserved for various kinds of sports, but I get the impression that nobody really cares.

I'm part of The Phoenix, the only campus publication. Make sure whatever extracurricular activity you choose, you really really are passionate about it and it's not just to pad your resume. If you're not passionate about it, you're not going to make it because there's no way you can balance Swat academics with extracurricular activities without going a little insane. I really love my work at The Phoenix and I think, as it is with most other groups, you get to be really close with the groups you work in because they tend to be fairly small and personal. The Phoenix is run by like 15 people, it's not some huge conglomerate like the newspapers at Ivy Leagues. As for Social Life, the main venue to go for some dancing is Paces. It's this kind of tiny room with dim lights, sticky floors and nasty alcohol. Chances of having fun here are about 50-50 depending on the DJ, the amount of people who show up and not seeing anyone you know eating each other's faces. For such a small college, we do have some seriously cool events like TC Boyle coming to read, Margaret Cho's comedy routine or The Roots (!!!) but I do wish they came more frequently. We have music performances at Olde Club pretty often, mostly indie bands I've never heard of because I'm a big music poser and only listen to Top 40. The unfortunate thing is, a lot of events can be really poorly attended because people are busy studying or running off to their activities, which can put a damper on things. But there are always big events that everyone shows up for en masse.

Most dorms are very social, with everyone leaving their doors open and people getting to know hallamtes very well. A lot of my friends live on my hall, and I met my closest friend because she lived on my hall this year. The dating scene is pretty beat, because everyone knows each other and all of the mystery is pretty much gone. The hookup scene is extremely popular, even though there is always the awkward Sunday brunch where you run into your Saturday night hookup and have to see them in the light. If I'm awake on a Tuesday night (which I usually am), I am working. Procrastination is a way of life, and as a result, people stay up really, really late here. The biggest traditions are probably Sager and Screw Your Roommate. Sager is a "genderfuck" party where "guys wear a dress and girls wear less." It's part of the annual Sager symposium, which was started by an alumni in order to raise awareness on queer issues. The party is an excuse to dress like a slut and make bad decisions. Screw Your Roommate is much more tame. Roommates find a blind date for each other and dress each date as something (i.e. one person might be peanut butter, the other one jelly), then the pairs are set loose in Sharples (the dining hall) and have to find each other. Massive chaos and long lines for the pasta bar ensue. On campus, there are only two fraternities, both of which host campus-wide parties throughout the year. A lot of people party, but it's usually a set group of people who go out and a set group of people who stay in. Last weekend, I went to First Friday in Philly with a couple, which involves going to some really cool galleries and getting free food and free drinks, then we ate at a restaurant in Chinatown and returned to campus. We went to Paces, which is a student-run cafe during the week and a "nightclub" on the weekends. Then, we went back to a friend's room to chill and made a 4 AM run to Wawa, a local convenience store. There are always lots of activities that don't involve drinking including movie screenings, karaoke parties, etc.

Swarthmore is ridiculously conducive to gossip because of its tiny size, its fascinating cast of characters, its isolation, the fact that everyone can recognize at least 50{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of the students by face if not name, and the tremendous amount of fucking that happens. This gossip is fun to participate in, but the system can turn on you.

i think the frats are popular, the soccer teams. i manage soccer, basketball, and work with a lot of the other sports teams. most students in dorms have their doors open. not mine though, but strath is the exception. people party a lot, but i don't

Its better than you'd think at a school like this. and basically, there is a lot of free booze and whatever else you like.

the most popular roup on campusis the Swarthmore College Balkan Ensemble. I am involved in the Swarthmore College Balkan Ensemble. ppl leave their dorms open but i think someone boxed my food once. i have been unable to locate the dating scene i met my closest friends in my mind. at 2am on tuesday i am filling out a survey intead of doing my lab report. ppl party dumb mad a lot but not ery hard. fraternities are there. last weekend i went to saer for 5 minutes and then i danced to mad far out jazz with some hep cats on kyles' hall. off campu i am at home.

students at swarthmore got into swat b/c they were passionate about something in high school, not because they listed twenty clubs on the common app. rather, they listed one club, a group that they truly care about and that enabled them to pursue a cause in which they found a meaning for. this continues at swat. there is no most popular club or group, ppl do what they are passionate about and they do it big. sports. we have athletes that love what they participate in. we train hard and compete hard. truth told, we aren't really that good at anything, but we enjoy what we do. quaker roots. everything on campus is free and open to all students, always. good school = successful alumni who give lots of money back to swat. -> 6th largest endowment per student. there is tons of great stuff going on every weekend.