is swat ideal for me?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Swarthmore College
1

<p>i want:
-pretty campus with grassy quads, nice buildings, etc. don't know why but it's important to me.
-in a suburb, preferably. big cities can be overwhelming/sketchy and middle-of-nowhere farmville isn't too appealing.
-strong international relations, economics, poli sci; basically, strong social sciences
-good grad school placement
-intellectual atmosphere/ not too preprofessional
-on that note, i want intellectual but also social... not people who don't like to interact wiht others and would rather work all day instead of going out to a party or being silly... i consider myself to be intellectual/ a lover of learning but i also don't take myself too seriously/ like to just be silly and goofy at times.
-friendly, welcoming student body
-liberal campus with political awareness and activism. not too edgy though bc i'm not one for dreadlocks, tattoos, etc. But i also don't like the vanderbilt/ SMU fake blonde preppiness.
-small classes. however, i know it is inevitable for some intro classes to be large.
-residential campus. i want most people to live on campus so that, on the weekend, there are lots of diff things to do... like on-campus parties, concerts, i think you get the gist. </p>

<p>yall aren't my college counselors so i'm not asking you to evaluate my chances, but tell me, personality-wise, is swat for me? i think that it is and it seems like it from the people i have talked to. i guess i need more validation because i am 99% sure im doing ED and i guess.. go over this list and tell me what you think!
interesteddad- you seem to have an abundance of knowledge soo any feedback would be greatly appreciated.
thanks!</p>

2

<p>shoegal2,
My S is a junior at Swat.
Spectacular campus-nationally recognized arboretum.
At the edge of a suburban town with mass transit to Philly at your doorstep.
Economics and poli sci are the most popular majors along with Bio.
Great grad school placement.
Intellectual atmosphere to the max.
Silly, goofy stuff? Find pix and articles about the pterodactyl hunt by reading the Daily Gazette online. Look at pix of the "Crum regatta" held over Parents Weekend.
Friendly student body and faculty.
Politically liberal and active? Uh, yeah.
Small classes? Don't think there is a place on campus which would hold much more than 80 students in a classroom. My S has never had a class with more than about 30 kids. His current classes have 9,11,12,13 and 26 kids.
Well over 90% of Swat students live on campus all four years.
If your stats and overall "package" match up, sounds like ED would be the way to go for you! Have you visited?</p>

3

<p>Swarthmore matches everything you described to a "T". That's pretty much what my daughter was looking for in her ideal school.</p>

4

<p>I went to Swarthmore (graduated '03) and Swarthmore matches that description almost perfectly.</p>