Swarthmore College Top Questions

I love its size. It does start to seem small by your third year or so, when you realize that you know everyone and everyone knows too much about you. But I wouldn't change it. What college town? The Ville and the College have a love-hate relationship. Without much love.

Swarthmore is small, and you'll end up knowing a lot of people, which can be good or bad, depending on your preference. Don't expect the vast majority of people in the real world to have heard of Swarthmore-- but the ones who do usually know that it's a great school. There's not really a lot of school spirit, mostly because athletic events are not a big thing on campus (there's no football-- which I see as a good thing), but most people are proud to go here. The town of Swarthmore is dead-- don't expect any great hangouts, it's mostly really small stores that close at 6 pm. Oh, and the campus is GORGEOUS. love it.

By junior year, a lot of Swatties chafe at the limited size of the school, but I don’t really mind. Yes, it’s annoying trying to hide from people I wished I hadn’t hooked up with, but even that adds tension to the day. I like recognizing most people around campus, or at least their names; I like how familiar and close the community is. The “college town” is a big weakness. Everyone rolls their eyes at the Ville. It’s tiny and unaccommodating and DRY, so there are no off-campus bars. I love having Philly so close and I go pretty often, once every week or two weeks I guess; people who whine should go more. There’s lots in Philly that’s exciting and cheap. You can’t measure school spirit in typical ways here. People tend to be critical of everything—that’s how they show their love. Still, most students here wouldn’t go anywhere else. They may get tired of the way four years here feels like in-depth sensitivity training but they recognize that they’re surrounded by the kind of strange, brilliant, often hilarious people they couldn’t really find anywhere else. No one is crazy about our president. The best thing you can say about him is that he’s mostly harmless. The rest of the administration though is responsive and interested, and I’ve always appreciated their policy towards alcohol and drugs (essentially, be responsible and don’t get arrested or hospitalized). The fact that events on campus are all free makes me feel especially generous towards them.

Swarthmore, the people. Even if they are socially impaired at times I love them. My friends are my friends for life, I can guarantee that. I would have a student center, I would change the social dynamics of the school. It is kind of monotonous. School is way too small, everyone always knows everyone elses business. People react as if I were a genius. Like I am special for being here, and I consider myself very privileged to be in a highly academic atmosphere. Most of my time is spent in my dorm room, hanging out with friends, but I believe this is because I am a senior and am going to leave therefore I feel the need to always be with my friends since we wont be together next year. There is no town. The ville has basically nothing. The new DUnkin' Donuts was all the rage. But Philly is 20 min SEPTA ride away! Swat's admin are nice, they are here to take care of you. Any problem it's fixed. Seriously, they care more about the students than any other college I've experienced. They are all easy to approach and easy to talk to. Biggest controversy was the College Republicans making a come back and using queer terminology to promote their campaign, such as "Coming Out". There is some school pride, sports pride have gotten bigger but its not significant part of our lives. Unusual, everyone is unusual. I will always remember the night my friends and I had a bonfire with guitar and music and booze, and it was the most amazing night I've had. Not a good social scene, monotony, more mainstream people in the school, guys are not good looking.