<p>You probably know this, but I'd advise you to visit when the college is open and also not during exam time (May). I could ask my son to talk to your family if you want to. He's personable and also is known for not varnishing the truth (if I may say so myself).</p>
<p>achat it sounds like your son is quite happy at Swarthmore. Would you say that he is glad that he chose this school? Was it his first choice? Thanks, my son has applied there RD.</p>
<p>Hi, his first choice was Columbia. He applied there ED and did not get in ED and did not get in RD either. He applied to Swarthmore RD and only because I asked him and said he had nothing to lose but the $60 application fee. I was impressed with all the info they were sending us by mail. He was, too, but his GC had sort-of discouraged him by saying it was a huge reach. He warmed up to Swarthmore after he got in and after we visited. His initial reaction was, it was a small school and he would find it too claustrophobic.</p>
<p>He is glad he chose the school. He works hard but he came from a rigorous high school as well. Swat is a bit more rigorous than high school but not much more according to him. I hope people don't think I am being blasphemous. He can manage his work and other activities so far. On the other hand, he is not a science/engineering/premed student. He enjoys his courses, especially this semester his Poli Sci course. He loves the small class size and personal attention. He even managed to get a recommendation from one of his professors for summer work.</p>
<p>As far as claustrophobia, well, it is a small school. But he can get away to Philly when he wants and he does that quite often for a few hours. The only thing he does not like is the food at Sharples. He eats at another small cafe in the school but he says the food is nothing to write home about.</p>
<p>
I get the very same feedback from mine. Certainly enough down time to engage in every type of activity.</p>
<p>Great. Thanks for the info. We'll see what happens in April.</p>
<p>There is a livejournal of this young freshman kid on Swat's admissions webpage. You can get a feel for Swat, or at least Swat from a freshman's pov from reading it. He's been writing since he went there.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.livejournal.com/%7Enlaporte/%5B/url%5D">http://www.livejournal.com/~nlaporte/</a></p>
<p>Hi achat, I didn't mean to ignore your kind offer a few posts back. My D has decided that she doesn't want to apply to Swarthmore because it doesn't offer Chinese, which she is determined to take in college. They have Chinese Culture classes but no language.</p>
<p>Hi, I didn't think you were ignoring me, this is a public board with a lot of viewers, I was just answering andi's questions. Btw, there was a discussion on Chinese language classes at Swat, so I think your daughter might be wrong there.</p>
<p>ps - But I don't know the subtleties, so I could be wrong too!</p>
<p>Swarthmore <em>definitely</em> offers Chinese classes! In fact, we have an excellent Chinese Language department. Best class I've taken at Swat, hands down.</p>
<p>yes, they definitely have a chinese language class. not sure if it goes to advanced levels though.</p>
<p>ooh, i visited the Swat foreign language department in november. </p>
<p>Gilead, do you know if anyone found the messages i'd doodled on the chalkboards? i blighted several classrooms with my writing. ("hay una gran venta de abrigos en el primer piso! vengan ahora!" and "je suis une ananas!")</p>
<p>Thank you all. My mistake! I was thinking of SLC, not Swarthmore! Huge difference, sorry.</p>
<p>achat, thanks for the link to the journal. Fun reading - will pass along to son.
andi</p>
<p>excuse my ignorance. what's SLC?
sweet n' low college?</p>
<p>LOL! It's Sarah Lawrence College.</p>