Ask a Swat Freshman

<p>I know this is a forum for questions, but I just wanted to thank you all for the help. I had a video chat with my S (freshman) yesterday and he had the biggest smile that I had ever seen on his face!</p>

<p>What’s the workload like? How many hours do you/your peers study each night?</p>

<p>Overseasmom, that’s great to hear!</p>

<p>Soccercrazzy-the workload at Swat is intense. If peers at other schools put in two hours outside of class for every hour in class, students at Swat may put in 3-4 hours outside of class for every hour spent in class. I have a Swat grad and a curent junior and we have had this discussion.</p>

<p>Hi,
I’m very seriously interested in Swarthmore (though I’m a mainly self-taught homeschooler and have no idea whether I could get in). I love what I’ve found online about the commitment to social responsibility, the diversity, the strong political science, all the environmental clubs (fracking, MT removal . . .), the left-leaning politics, and the academic rigor. But one of my greatest interests is ecology and environmental sciences, and I’m wondering how strong Swarthmore is in those areas. Are the biology, botany, ecology professors good? Is the interdisciplinary minor in environmental studies rigorous and valuable? Are there many other students interested in these areas? Are they interested to the point of wandering in forests barefoot, stalking squirrels to figure out what they’re eating, sniffing canid urine to determine the species, learning the latin names of mosses, or sitting around dissecting scopes arguing over the length of glumes, the presence of glandular hairs, or the glabrousness of leaf surfaces? </p>

<p>I know that Environmental Studies is not offered as a major, and am willing to adapt by pursuing some form of political science/social justice as a major or double major with biology(focusing on ecology/environmental science). Or I might attempt to design my own major in Political Ecology (which is a recognized academic discipline - though I don’t know whether by professors at Swarthmore). Would that go over okay?</p>

<p>Thanks, anyone, for taking the time to respond! I’m really interested in Swarthmore, and I’d really like to know if I could pursue my all my passions there effectively.</p>

<p>I’m not familiar with the environmental studies area or whether you can design your own major; however, your desire for hands-on science is exactly what you will get in biology classes. Daughter just graduated with a biology major. Professors were fabulous and work their tails off for their students. All biology courses feature integrative learning. Exams are not focused on rote memorization but on synthesis of learning. Lab experiences are at the core of every course and students engage in extended projects in which they learn experimental protocol, work with fancy equipment, and basically have the kinds of learning challenges that most students don’t get until graduate school. Students make the arboretum and Crum woods their lab for some courses (squirrels included). Daughter’s semester-long hamster hormone project (for Hormones and Behavior) featured hamster urine. I do not believe that entailed HER smelling it; but it was very important for the hamsters to do so! The plant biology class (not botany) has a strong genetics basis, as do almost all biology classes. Daughter grew corn in the greenhouse and got to do cool things with a $100,000 microscope. Marine biology featured lots of field trips to the ocean and various other marine environments , including a collecting critters from hip-deep mud for one experiment (plus returning all critters to the mud after the experiment was over). In sum, biology at Swat is intense, always fascinating, and one of its strongest majors. Daughter hung out in Crum woods on a weekly basis (it’s on campus) but one cannot go barefoot in it. In fact, because the county in which Swarthmore is set has one of the highest percentages of deer ticks bearing Lyme disease in the county as well as the country, during tick season she went well covered, put her clothes in a plastic bag when she got back, and showered.</p>

<p>How difficult is it to double major at Swarthmore?
I’m really interested in poll sci/ international relations, but I also have a passion for theatre. How is Swarthmore’s theatre program?</p>

<p>I can’t speak to the theatre program, but it’s generally simple to double major at Swarthmore. This is especially true for political science, as it has fairly lax requirements (1 theory course, 1 credit in each of the 3 subfields, 8 credits total mininimum).</p>

<p>What are the student perks that Swarthmore boasts? I mean, for example, Barnard gives free concert tickets and discounted Broadway tickets. What kind of perks do Swatties get?</p>

<p>Also, I heard about the fantastic Screw Your Roommate tradition from a friend. What other annual events are hosted at Swarthmore?</p>

<p>How is the interracial dating scene at Swarthmore, if there truly is a dating scene. Also, is it common for students to go to Philly during the weekends.</p>

<p>Bump! Does anyone have answers to the two above posters? </p>

<p>Sent from my DROID RAZR using CC</p>

<p>it’s very common for students to go into Philly, it is almost outrageously easy (train station at foot of the campus). every time I’ve been on the train I’ve seen 3-4 swatties with me.
if you have a free afternoon off from work (ha ha…) then it’s definitely a weekend possibility.</p>

<p>as to the racial dating scene, I don’t know much about the dating scene, sorry :/</p>

<p>It’s such a coincidence, when I was visiting Swarthmore I explicitly asked about interracial dating at a couple of cultural organizations. The answer is, from couples I see walking around, it is pretty common here. Of course, I can’t deny that cultural similarities that come from race do play a factor, but overall I’d say students here are pretty open, both romantically and especially platonically, to getting to know you no matter what your race is.</p>