<p>I loved my visit to Swat-- the campus, the sense of community, the facilities. And the location--near Phila, but not so much. Also, I am not a big jock. Seemed just right, in other words. But people tell me the academic scene is INTENSE. If I am lucky enough to get accepted, will I have any fun? I don't need to be idiotically happy--but I don't want to feel like I have to be a supertotal achiever either, or that the work load is backbreaking... I love books and ideas, but not the grinddddd...any insider wisdom for a guy like me?</p>
<p>Yes, the workload is intense. I have one son who’s graduated from Swat and one who will be a sophomore in the fall. Both sung with acappella groups, the older one was heavily involved with a religious group on campus and did some community service work. The younger, in addition to acappella, participated in a time-consuming club sport, played in a campus musical group and was a tour guide. Be organized and love to learn and Swat will be the place for you to work hard and have fun!</p>
<p>That just about sums it up! Swatties are often very busy people, and the workload is intense, but everyone carves out time to have fun in their own way, whether that’s partying, watching hours upon hours of Gilmore Girls reruns, an a cappella group, a club sport or whatever else.</p>
<p>Is the workload <em>really</em> tougher than it is at other competitive schools? Also, do students talk about grades, or are grades kept private?</p>
<p>most students don’t really talk about grades, but amongst friends you might. and there are always obnoxious people who are telling you about every grade that they’ve gotten. it’s obviously difficult for someone to tell you what their workload is like in comparison to schools that they haven’t gone to; from personal experience i can tell you that i spend a lot more time on schoolwork than friends i have at ivies and other t20 universities (hint: it’s not because i read slower than them or am stupider them). there ARE easy classes at swat, so this also depends on courseload – if you’re pre-med you’re screwed in terms of work (though orgo sucks at any school), if you’re engineering you have your work cut out for you starting the first semester of freshmen year. so in sum world spirit, swat gives you the resources and classes to be spending all of your time doing coursework, perhaps more easily than might be possible at other institutions – another factor to take into account here is the fact that students encourage an environment dominated by academic masochism and self-proclaimed nerdery which doesn’t help the situation.</p>
<p>as a note to the OP: as said, swatties are really busy. but people definitely have fun. thurs/sat are the party/go out nights for most people. there are people who are ‘mole people’ and never leave there room and only do work, and there are people who i’m not quite sure when they get work done (they’re either in a bagillion extracurricular activities or just always hanging around or whatever). the experience is pretty flexible but is obviously inclined (by the ‘vibe’ of the place and the students that that vibe thus attracts) to be more intense than not. it’s definitely not easy, but it’s not as impossible as a lot of students like to make it out to be (whether this is because they’re getting b’s or c’s or just overexaggerating to fit in we will never know).</p>
<p>My d is a rising senior. I agree with much that’s been said. I would only add that neither my d nor her friends feel they are in an environment dominated by academic masochism. In addition to hard working they are very fun loving. And swat has been a great place for my d.</p>
<p>It all depends on what classes you take. Some classes are very time-consuming, some have a reputation of being easy. Last semester I took the heaviest workload yet (3 honors seminars and an English class where we read War and Peace, Ulysses, and One Hundred Years of Solitude)–I don’t want to repeat that workload. But the semester before that wasn’t bad at all. Friday nights are typical for students to relax–the library is pretty empty at that time. Thursday night is Pub Nite, which is popular, and of course people party on Saturdays. I can’t tell you how the average Swattie workload compares to workload at other top colleges. I have a feeling that it’s comparable, though. It’s really important to make the time to chill with friends.</p>