<p>I am trying to decide between Swarthmore and Amherst, having very little context besides what could be gained by two short visits to each. People characterize Amherst as "preppie," and Swarthmore as "nerdy" - both of which seem either outdated or inadequate as descriptors. Can anyone give me a little more well-thought-out characterization or context for either/both schools? Thanks.</p>
<p>I'm sorry, what does "nerdy" mean? What are the characteristics of "preppy?" If preppy means kids wearing polo shirts, swarthmore has a ton of them. if nerdy means spending a lot of time in the library, I know a lot of friends at Amherst who live in their library. If preppy means kids who participate in sports, yeah, Swarthmore is brimming with them. If nerdy means cornering a Professor after class and peppering them with questions, one of my neighbors back home that graduated from Amherst two years ago, tell me that it happens often. So, the characterizations you mention are one hundred percent accurate. oh wait...did you say Swarthmore was preppy and Amherst was nerdy or the other way around?</p>
<p>They are very similar schools in many ways. The things you might look into are location and weather if those are important to you, and open curriculum vs. some distribution requirements.</p>
<p>You can't really go wrong with either choice...</p>
<p>amherst will most likely have more 'athlete' types, due to their success within the NESCAC affiliation.</p>
<p>tklp1:</p>
<p>That is a very tough question to answer for a couple of reasons. First, they are very similar on many of the statistical measures that you would use to compare colleges. Second, while Swarthmore has a very clearly definited "identity", Amherst is very difficult to peg -- in part because it's identity has changed more than any top school I can think of in the last few decades. The end result is that any distinctions you make tend to be pretty narrow. The good news is that they are two of the best undergrad colleges in the world and the vast majority of students happy at one, would also be happy at the other. With that said:</p>
<p>Endowment: Swarthmore has a higher per student endowment and higher per student spending. However, it's very close...both are top-five in per student endowment among LACs.</p>
<p>Diversity: Swarthmore has more ethnic diversity, but it's close. Swarthmore has fewer wealthy full-fare students, but it's close. Swarthmore has fewer very low income students (Pell Grant), but it's close. Swarthmore has more public school kids, but it's close. Overall, I would say that Swarthmore has somewhat more "integration" on campus. There are no divided "theme" dorms, something that has been noted as an issue in Amherst's self-studies.</p>
<p>Career paths: By national standards, both produce very high percentages of post-grad degrees -- medical, law, PhD. Med school is probably about the same. Swarthmore produces significantly more academics and PhDs; Amherst produces more lawyers and wall street bankers.</p>
<p>Campus culture: Amherst definitely has a higher percentage of varsity athletes and the impact of prep/jocks/drinking is more pronounced than at Swarthmore. There's a significant difference in the binge drinking rates, etc. Although technically banned, Amherst has more fraternities than Swarthmore, which correlates with the preps/jocks/drinking. Where this gets a little harder to pin down is that Swarthmore has some of that element and Amherst certainly has an element of "nerdy/diverse" students indistinguishable from Swarthmore. So, we are really talking about a matter of degree, here.</p>
<p>History: Swarthmore has always been co-ed with women playing a major role in governing the school. Amherst barred women until the 1970s. Historically, Swarthmore has always been a "social justice" kind of school with a lot of involvement in social issues -- a tradition that continues today. The mission statement refers to ethical education and social concern and is reflected in the campus culture. Amherst, historically, was one of the more preppie/pre-professional schools in the country (Exeter - Andover - Wall Street). However, recent presidents have made a determined (and successful) effort to change that. That's why I almost feel like Amherst is two colleges in one and why it is hard to characterize.</p>
<p>Location: Swarthmore offers the advantage of a near-urban location with mass transit access to Philadelphia, the international airport, NYC, Washington, DC. Amherst offers a major university town. This is kind of personal preference. For example, with half the students in her high school going to UMASS Amherst, the Amherst location was a negative for my daughter. Or, if you need to fly to college, Philly will be cheaper, easier, and quicker from anywhere in the world (it's 10 miles from the airport by train, shuttle, or taxi with lots of discount airlines). My daughter has used that convenience many times with trips to NYC, Atlanta, Washington, Miami, etc. It's just an easy place to get to and from without a car.</p>
<p>Academics: Swarthmore offers some stuff Amherst doesn't. Engineering, somewhat stronger languages, etc. No point in going down the laundry list, it would be easier to start from what you are interested in. I do think that, on average, Swarthmore is probably a bit more academics-oriented (but, that's true in a comparison of Swarthmore to just about anywhere).</p>
<p>Consortium: More Amherst students take classes at the 5-college cosortium schools than at the Swarthmore students take at Bryn Mawr/Haverford/UPenn. However, my impression is that these consortium arrangements are less important than they look in the viewbooks for most students. But, it depends on what you want to study As an aside, I think you have to have rocks in your head to pay $40,000+ a year and take courses at UMass! </p>
<p>MISC: Amherst, of course, has no distribution requirements, although distribution requirements are only an issue if you are determined to "never take science" or "never take an art course". Swarthmore is pass/fail first semester (a great policy for breaking the "gotta make all A's mindset and transitioning to a high level of college work). Swarthmore has no freshman dorms. There are significant advantages to the daily interaction with mentoring upper class role models. All campus events at Swarthmore are "free". So, there is no pressure to spend money and virtually no distinction between richer and poorer students on campus. Swat's health center is open 24/7 -- unlike many schools that close at night because of alcohol liability issues (check at Amherst, I don't know). Swat does not have a football or ice hockey team.</p>
<p>Good luck deciding. It's a great choice to have. Anyone would be lucky to attend either school. What did you think from your visits?</p>
<p>Great post sir.</p>
<p>Got to second bigblu09.</p>
<p>Although Swarthmore doesn't have an ice hockey team (Division III and all that), if you want to play ice hockey there is always the Motherpuckers, a coed ice hockey club.</p>
<p>Have spent the last 24 months paying attention to LAC especially Swarthmore and Amherst I have to say that interesteddad hit the nail on the head...I have nothing to add nor is there anything I would remove or disagree with.</p>
<p>Swarthmore and Amherst are very good schools, both among the 8 or 10 best undergraduate schools in the country. Go look at them and go where you fell you are the most comfortable.</p>
<p>Good job intersteddad…wish that all kids headed to college could have your knowledge and insight available to them.</p>