<p>I'm absolutely in LOVE with Swarthmore and I'm considering applying there ED. One of my primary interests is in African (not Africana) Studies, which is available to Swarthmore students through the Tri-College Consortium. However, it seems that if I were to pursue African Studies at Swarthmore, I'd be spending nearly all of my time at a different school (U Penn).</p>
<p>Is this accurate? Also, how long does it take to get from one school to another? Is it very inconvenient?</p>
<p>Email me (Timothy Burke, Dept. of History) and I can go over some of this with you. (tburke1 @ swarthmore.edu). We have quite a few classes focused on Africa, and you have access to more through the consortium, but how satisfied you might be depends a bit on how intensely focused you are on this area of study (and which disciplines are most important to you.)</p>
<p>mnt, you should definitely contact Professor Burke–he’ll tell you everything you want to know about Swarthmore’s African Studies offerings. </p>
<p>That said–if there are specialty courses offered at UPenn that interest you, it is worthwhile to know about the consortium. Getting to Haverford or Bryn Mawr takes ~20 minutes for the shuttle, and taking classes there is quite doable. Penn is also not bad, with a ~20 minute train ride and 10 minute walk. </p>
<p>But in both cases the option is not often pursued unless a student has a compelling reason to do so; time tends to be a precious commodity for Swatties, and so most people are loathe to give up the few extra hours per week in commuting time that a consortium class requires. This commuting time also restricts the Swarthmore classes you can take, so that’s something to keep in mind. </p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>To answer the question in the thread title: the consortium isn’t all that convenient. It’s not 100% terrible or anything, but it isn’t very convenient. Beyond the commute time, when trying to make use of offerings at Haverford, Brynn Mawr, or UPENN, you will probably encounter scheduling difficulty and possibly have issues with material duplication in classes. It’s OK for a class here or there, but if you intend to make heavy use of it, you’ll probably be annoyed and/or disappointed.</p>
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<p>Yes, do not matriculate to Swarthmore if you want to major in something at Penn. On the other hand, I’m not sure why someone would want to go to such an inferior institution. ~;)</p>
<p>It’s not as convenient as the claremont or the 5-college consortium.</p>