<p>I visited Vassar today and found it to be an extremely "artsy" school. All they seemed to talk about where all the theaters and productions, and all the people I met were heavily involved in some form of the arts. I was wondering if I should expect S to be the same.</p>
<p>No.</p>
<p>Swarthmore has a strong theater program with alumni who are making names in theater circles; however, I would not describe Swarthmore as an “artsy” school. Certainly not to to same degree as Vassar which is known as a “New York artsy” college and where “artsy” is a dominant vibe.</p>
<p>For one thing, Swarthmore is considerably more diverse than Vassar. It also is more academically oriented (future PhDs, etc.), with strength in social sciences (poli sci, econ, llinguistics) and science/engineering. </p>
<p>My Swattie daugther visited study abroad friends at Vassar several times and felt that Vassar had a more decidedly “rich kid” vibe than Swarthmore. That is not to say that Swarthmore doesn’t have well-heeled students, but it’s downplayed in the campus culture.</p>
<p>I do think Vassar and Swarthmore frequently end up on the same college lists. They do have some shared attributes – specifically, they tend to attract “city” kids, they are gay friendly, they tend to be a bit less preppy than some LACs, and so forth.</p>
<p>Swarthmore tends to attract “city” kids? According to my first semester math professor, Swarthmore tends to attract more of the suburban types, not kids from large cities.</p>
<p>Swarthmore attracts many students from large cities and many more students who chose Swarthmore, in part, because of its easy access to large cities such as Philadelphia, Washington, and New York. My daughter has close Swarthmore friends whose families live in the District of Columbia, in Manhattan, and in downtown Boston. Remember, most LACs are out in the boonies.</p>
<p>If a student grew up in a city, like the ones ID listed with major public transportation systems, then students at any of the Tri-Co campuses are going to appear to a “city kid” to be by and large more suburban than urban. I’m basing this on observations in their dining areas or other communal spaces. Those students did not have the affect of a city kid.</p>
<p>And, in general, given the larger number of students from the suburbs most campuses will primarily reflect that.</p>