On the site it talks about some buses and trains, but there doesn’t seem to be any uninterrupted transportation that doesn’t need a separate connection elsewhere. It seems like a lot of switching from train to bus.
Similarly, how far away is the bus station from campus? Cab fares costs? Could current students please discuss transportation and how it works out when traveling to NYC? Thanks.
I know you want to transfer to be closer to NYC. Honestly, students at Swat don’t have time to travel to NYC a lot, they are way, way too busy. You also said you are at a “top 100” LAC. Swat is a “top 3” LAC, and I suspect quite difficult to transfer into. I think you might want to look at other schools.
@intparent Are you a student there? Your response seems to indicate that you don’t believe I can get accepted to Swat, and to be honest it sounds a bit pretentious. My wanting to be closer to NYC is not out of some immature reason like partying or something. It’s very legitimate and very personal. And it wouldn’t be a weekly occurrence. I am a strong student and I work very hard, just as I imagine Swats do. I know the transfer rate is low, but that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t even bother.
The easiest way to get from Swarthmore to NYC is to take the SEPTA train (which has a station essentially on campus) to 30th street station in Philadelphia. Then you can get an Amtrak train (not inexpensive) directly to Penn Station in NYC. Pretty straightforward. Many years ago when I was a poor student, instead of taking Amtrak I took a Pennsylvania commuter train from 30th street to Trenton(as I recall) then transferred to NJ Transit to continue. (Much cheaper than Amtrak) At the time they set up the trains to allow that to be easy. I don’t know if they still do that but you could look into it. I have no idea about buses; I know that there are buses from Philly to NYC that are inexpensive, but you’d need to take the train into Philly to catch them.
I agree that the train is the easiest way to travel between Swarthmore and NYC! However, Amtrak is pretty expensive for me and a lot of others probably, so I’d recommend the NJ Transit route even if there’s an extra switch. But either way, the trip takes a good 3 hours, so you will not be going to NYC every weekend.
The least expensive easy way to go is take the train from Swarthmore to 30th street, and then the Bolt Bus from 30th street station to NYC. 2 hours on the bus, with a cost of $14 or less ($10 for a trip today (weekday), $7 next week, this weekend is $14). Spotty Wifi and non-stop (or maybe 1 in NJ).
Megabus is another very cheap, nonstop alternative.
OP, I am a parent whose kid was accepted at Swat. One reason she applied there was the reputation for academic rigor; she was also accepted at U Chicago & Harvey Mudd, also known for (honestly) grindingly difficult academics. She picked one of the other schools, but it is clear that students at Swat aren’t heading off campus much over the weekend, whether for partying or other reasons. Also, she had 2380 super scored SATs with 2 800 subject tests; I think you said your SAT was a lot lower on another thread (1960). That is not in the ballpark for Swat, it is below the 25th percentile for incoming freshman. So no, I don’t think you would be admitted, and I don’t think you would hardly ever get off campus for a weekend if you were. What about Bryn Mawr or Haverford? They are really close to Swat, and your admissions chances and academic workload would be better at either of them. They are nice schools, too.
@intparent I considered Haverford. I was having a hard time finding the differences between the two schools. Swarthmore seems like a better fit for me socially than Haverford. But then again, idk. Is Haverford sort of liberal and somewhat progressive?
violetz,
I have two kids who went to Swat, unlike some parents who post here. My kids used several different ways of getting up to NYC. They all started with getting on the SEPTA train at the foot of campus and heading into 30th St. station in Philly. From there the choices are:
Good luck with your transfer application!
You would need to visit. Swat is stronger academically and more intense. From visiting Haverford twice, I came away with the impression that they are an especially community oriented school (one of my kids loved that, and one hated it!). Haverford is a really nice school – I like the campus, and it has fine academics. Both schools are fairly progressive, as is Bryn Mawr. You are going to find that the transportation option are pretty much the same from all 3.
Thank you, everyone you replied! I’ve decided to go with Haverford.
I hope you realize that Swarthmore, Haverford, Bryn Mawr, and U Penn can all cross register in each other’s classes.