<p>I am an international student. I will most likely be applying ED to Swarthmore, although Williams is also a possibility. I have a few questions about Swarthmore though. Firstly, how is the food? I have heard that it has become better, is that true?</p>
<p>I want a school where students are very passionate about their academics but also a place where students do socialise, what is the Swarthmore situation in regard to that? </p>
<p>How is the engineering department, too small? or just perfect?</p>
<p>I have visited Swarthmore and it was an incredible campus, and it is also in a perfect location in terms of its proximity to an international airport and Philadelphia.</p>
<p>My D is a freshman this year and she has said the food has been good. She has been told that one will get tired of the repetitiveness. One thing she was concerned with is the lack of spices since we found the food in that area and in the northeast in general to be fairly bland. So far not any complaints in that regard.</p>
<p>I would imagine that someone with older students can address the academics/social life better but so far my D is managing quite well. She is playing a club sport and involved in some other activities. She says she does have to work and that it is definitely hard but she enrolled at Swat for that kind of atmosphere. Everyone she has met have been passionate about one thing or another and loves it there!</p>
<p>I agree with SweetTea, my son is also a freshman (and a very picky eater) but there have been no complaints. He has joined clubs and is definitely socializing which is very different from his high school years. Hopefully, dadx3 or one of the others will pop in with some further comments. But, I think passion is definitely what you would find at Swat. Good luck!</p>
<p>My son graduated from Swat last spring. He wasn’t excited about the food but it was more than OK. He did occasionally complain about the lack of variety which I found very amusing. Swat has a 4 week rotation, so that is 28 different menus. Each of those menus includes several different entrees in addition to the things that are available every night (salad bar, cook your own stir fry, etc). When my son was at home we had salmon one night every week, every single week. We had pasta one night, no choice of sauces! I made dinner, served it, no choices at all, yet he complained about a lack of variety at Swat! He is in grad school now, cooking for himself every night and I think he appreciates those ready made meals much more now.</p>
<p>I have a son who graduated in '07 and a current senior at Swat. They are both passionate about academics, but in very different fields, one an Honors major in the social sciences and the other an Honors and double major in one science field and one humanities field.</p>
<p>My graduate was involved in a number of different activities on campus from an acappella group to a religious group to performing community service in a nearby city preparing tax returns for residents.</p>
<p>My current student has been involved with a club team, an acappella group, tour guiding, a religious group, community service and the college orchestra. Not all at once! He has had to pick and choose because Swarthmore academics are intensive, but he has managed to be able to handle 3 of those activities at once. He and his friends have gone into Philadelphia for Restaurant Week and also occasionally go out to dinner in a nearby town. He also does socialize with different groups of friends who he has met through his extracurricular activities. I think the socializing takes place on Friday and Saturday evenings, but when he has lots of work to do and serious deadlines, the socializing takes a “back seat” to the academics. I think he thinks the food is “tolerable.” :)</p>
<p>I heard Sharples is great, with different types of food, and lots of opportunities for interaction with friends you might not know previously! I am just so excited to be there! I think the engineering department is pretty famous, not too sure though.</p>
<p>I’m a current international student at Swarthmore (from India and Singapore.) The food at Sharples can get a little repetitive, but it is honestly pretty great for a college cafeteria – it has a great deal of variety, and good options for people with dietary restrictions. We also have a small eatery that’s open late nights and hours that Sharples isn’t open, and you can get sandwiches/snacks/drinks/salads there. Plus, there’s a LOT of good food in Philadelphia which is pretty close. There’s also a co-op very close to campus, so buying groceries and cooking is not terribly hard, albeit a little pricy. </p>
<p>Swarthmore’s a great place for people who are passionate about their academics. You’ll find that people tend to congregate in the library, or in dorm lounges, or in the science centre to do work and hang out at the same time. You can definitely surround yourself with an active social life and pay attention to your work at the same time. There are also other opportunities to socialise, like Pub Nite every Thursday, or Saturday night parties, or club sports and other activities. </p>
<p>Our engin department is fairly intense, but I’m not quite sure how big it is. Approximately 45 first year students indicate an interest for engineering every year, if that helps. </p>