Swarthmore College Top Questions

I would change this entire school, i will remember how much i should have gone to a different school, people have no idea what swarthmore college is when i tell them that i go there, too small, i spend most of the time in my room or the labs or in the studio, away from other people, worst college town ever, admin is ok, school pride sucks because sports suck, i dont care about other students complaints

This school is small, but I like it that way. Usually people have no idea where Swarthmore is, but I don't think that's a disadvantage. I spend most of my time in the library or other academic buildings.

Swarthmore is a small liberal arts college that is absolutely gorgeous and very fond of its quirky Quaker reputation, so you get a lot of enthusiasm for events like the Pterodactyl Hunt and the Crum Regatta. It's very academically rigorous and a very elite school, but no one has ever heard of it. They'll think it's either a community college or one of the lost Seven Sisters colleges. Swarthmore is the place to go if you always want to see a friendly face. While this makes dating and hooking up fraught with the awkward at times, it's a wonderful feeling to always know someone you can sit down and chat with. It can be a little claustrophobic at times, but honestly, Philly and even NYC aren't too far off. I can always pop into Philly to eat someplace other than Sharples or into NYC for a Broadway play. That's another thing--Sharples. I'm sorry, but for almost 50k a year, Sharples has got to be destroyed. The worst is when the dining hall tries to go ethnic. Indian Bar set back U.S.-India relations for AT LEAST 30 years.

When I told people that I was going to go to Swarthmore, they thought I was totally crazy. Everyone warned me about the "super liberals" and the "weirdos" and the fact that the student body is "teensy." But I came anyway. The student body is super small, but I kind of like it. Even though knowing everyone and their mom kind of kills the dating scene, it's worth it that I can go anywhere on campus and know someone. I spend most of my time on campus in my dorm. I live in a pretty small dorm, and have really bonded with a lot of people in it. I think that the campus is kind of geographically divided. Most of my friends are either in my dorm or in nearby dorms. I think people have trouble branching out. Unfortunately, branching out is kind of necessary in Swarthmore, PA. The town, which we call "the Ville" is cute, but kind of sucks. It's always overrun with "Ville rats," teenagers that have nothing better to do than sit around on the streets. There isn't much to do there and I personally only use the bank in the Ville and the Co-op, which is an overpriced grocery store. Philly is great, but I'm kind of biased because I grew up there. My friends and I have gone to a bunch of art galleries and restaurants that were really amazing. Train fare is expensive, though, and most people never get off campus and go into the city. I can't really complain about the administration because I've gotten to know a lot of them through working for the Phoenix and really like a lot of them personally. That being said, they're really into raising money, raising awareness of Swarthmore, raising our admissions yield, and especially raising our US News and World Report rankings. There is not very much school pride and I have occasionally been berated for wearing my Swarthmore hoodie. Pretty much only athletes care about athletics, but there are a lot of athletes and some of our teams are actually really good. I'd say that the most frequent student complaint is lack of time. Everyone is so overscheduled here that they just don't have time to do what they really want to do (relax, sleep, shower, eat).

The college town--most students' only interaction with it is going to the co-op for groceries, to Renato for pizza, or to one of the strangely abundant hair salons for a haircut. Vaguely charming and certainly inoffensive. School pride--no, at least none expessed in the traditional fashion of chants and pep rallies or what have you. Students express school pride backhandedly by discussing how miserable the school makes them. Swarthmore students secretly believe that suffering is noble, thus griping about workload should be taken as a boast rather than a complaint. When you tell people you go to Swarthmore, nine out of ten times they won't know what it is, so they'll ask where it is, smile politely after you tell them, and in their heads think, "This person goes to a no-name school. He's an idiot." Other people will confuse it with Skidmore. A tiny percentage of people will be genuinely blown away. The administration is whatever, not exceptional in any regard. Not that the students have any interaction with him, but there's ill will toward president Al Bloom for no other reason than he's a short weenie.

i love the community. it's small, everyone generally knows and loves one another. the people here are passionate about what they do, whether it's sports, academics, or art. most people have never heard of swat, or they think it's an all girl school. the people who do know it think im smart because they've heard it's hard. i generally am in the science center where all my classes are because i hate going back and forth to my off campus dorm, or im at the gym. i think there's school pride here. i definitely have some.

the best thing about swat is that the classes are so small and the professors are so available. that just makes for a great learning experience. also, if you are involved with other stuff outside of classwork, a lot of people will know you within the administration. there is just something that makes this campus one big family.

We are too small. Why are we so small. I only came here cus i did not get into caltech

Swarthmore: The Big Picture At swat, bounderies are realigned and stereotypes are blurred. Being one of the best liberal arts schools in the nation, we attract the best students. Everyone that comes to swat is an incredible individual on passionate pursuit of knowledge in order to leave a positive impact on the world. The applications read as wide as any other institution: jock, computer geek, math genius, history buff, amazing musician, national champion this and that....etc. Our student body is an eccentric group of kids pulled from every clique and every stereotype in high school. What makes swarthmore so unique is that these labels are left at home. we come together as a community that is striving towards great things and pushing through rigorous academics. at swartmore, you are a swattie.

Swarthmore is a very intense place, and anyone who tells you otherwise is lying. Tour guides at any school will always tell you how amazing a school is and only show you the perks. What I write here is real. If you don't want to work, if you don't want to challenge yourself, don't come to Swarthmore. Here, you will be pushed outside of your comfort zone, you will encounter issues of prejudice and bias, you will question whether you are truly tolerant of all classes, races, sexual orientations, etc. You will become extremely involved with your studies and see the importance in the tiniest details or phrasings. If you are ready for this, welcome to our "bubble".