<p>Don't let the board die. Someone must have questions... if not about Swarthmore, about music, politics, metaphysics, the OC...</p>
<p>i've visited swarthmore along with haverford and couldn't really distinguish between the two.</p>
<p>one can take classes at both, caliber is around the same, architecture is same, puritains, and beautiful campus.</p>
<p>so what are some big differences between the two?</p>
<p>You can reply to my "What a reach. But chances?" post! That'd be nice. I'm a rising high school senior. I have an interest in Swarthmore. I'm into Politics/International Relations and feel like, even if I do get into Swat, would I be better off, resources-wise, in a D.C. school? Any input?</p>
<p>chameleon, I'm a fellow rising senior. Nice to meet you!
In terms of Swat vs. a DC school, I can definitely see your point--be closer to internships, resources, etc. But on the other hand, those DC schools are probably chock-full of Politics/IR majors and competition for resources, professors' attention, etc. might be more intense. Summer internships are a way you could get the feel of DC while still going to college at Swat. Just my two cents.</p>
<p>mkevb, I agree that the two colleges are very similar. Some differences that pop to mind are that Swarthmore has engineering and linguistics, while Haverford (and Bryn Mawr) have different departments (East Asian Studies? Archaeology? I don't remember exactly). The Haverford and Bryn Mawr campuses are very closely linked, both academically and socially, so that would be another difference.
Do keep in mind that Haverford and Swat are not just around the corner from each other: you can take classes at the other school but it requires some planning and the shuttle ride is not a trip I'd be jumping to make very often.
Haverford puts more emphasis on its formal Honor Code.</p>
<p>One thought is that neither are Puritan - I think Haverford is still formally a Quaker school, while Swarthmore is technically not religiously affiliated with anything, although it keeps a Quakery flavor. How is Swarthmore Quakery? No event on campus (besides a fundraiser) costs money to attend, because egalitarianism is important to Quakers, and it wouldn't be fair to have some people able to afford events and others not. Also there are lots of grants to enable people to do community service type work - which can include working for non profits, working in government etc. I think this is linked to Quaker ideas about being useful to the world, etc.</p>
<p>Other differences - Haverford is quite a lot smaller (1100 students vs 1500 students?), although combined with Bryn Mawr, its quite a bit bigger.</p>
<p>Swarthmore has the honors program, Haverford does not.</p>
<p>Haverford has the Honor Code, and its a big deal. Swarthmore does not have an honor code (not just because they're lazy, there are specific reasons). </p>
<p>Swarthmore is a little bit more ethnically diverse (around 38% students of color vs. around 31% at Haverford). Haverford probably has more quakers.</p>
<p>This is probably the least important thing - Swarthmore is a little harder to get into, with admissions rates about 5% lower, and SAT scores of freshman class about 80 points higher. </p>
<p>The feel on campus is a little different - probably more similar than in most other schools though, so I'd imagine many people who'd be happy at one would be happy at the other.</p>
<p>chameleon, I have no idea what your chances are. My only experience in the Swarthmore admissions process is with 2 people, and n=2 is not enough to really know anything. It seems like you are not out of your league in any way, and therefore should strongly consider applying - more than that I do not know. Sorry I am not more helpful! Perhaps your high school has the results of past students who have applied to Swarthmore and comparable schools, and can tell you how you measure up compared to those folks. Good luck!</p>
<p>I heard Swarthmore was full of pretentious b****es. Any thoughts?</p>
<p>Yes, don't apply.</p>
<p>awe snap...</p>
<p>omg are you serious?! Swat is a good school. damnnn</p>