Is Swarthmore as intense as everyone says?

<p>So far I have read several articles stating that Swarthmore is one of the most academically challenging schools. However how would the workload be for someone interested in Theater, English, and Comparative Literature? I searched the most stressful colleges in America and luckily Swarthmore was not part of the list. So how does someone manage a heavy workload at this school and still participate in theater productions and maintain a decent social life?</p>

<p>Swarthmore has long had a reputation for being one of the most, if not the most, academically intense campuses in the country. The workload is heavy. However, the answer might be “be really organized” and “less sleep.” I can tell you that my son who recently graduated was in the Honors program and double major in a science field and in theatre. He was in plenty of theatre productions in addition to singing in an a cappella group, participating on a club team as well as being heavily involved in a couple of other extracurriculars. I don’t want to get too specific because he will become easily identifiable. Honestly, he just got less sleep than he wanted to. If sleep had been that important, I assume he would have dropped an extracurricular. :)</p>

<p>There is a t-shirt which describes Swarthmore. It reads: “Academics, friends, and sleep. Pick two.” You might add extracurriculars to that and say “pick three.” As momof3sons writes, sleep often gets the short straw. I will say, as an alum and parent of 2 Swat grads, that for those looking for the most stimulating academic and intellectual environment there is no better place. Fortunately, there is the rest of their life to catch up on sleep.</p>