mtmind
September 27, 2021, 10:59pm
33
Here’s a post from @Corinthian discussing Pomona and Swarthmore, from a thread that discussed all three schools. It might be worth checking out the thread.
All of these schools have strong academics. The only concern on this front is Swarthmore’s reputation as a type-A pressure cooker. When we had a virtual visit, somebody asked what students do for fun. The tour guide scoffed and said “Swatties don’t have time for fun. If you’re looking for that, this may not be the place for you.”
My older D graduated from Pomona in 2019. But she spent an exchange semester during her junior year at Swarthmore , so she was able to compare the Pomona vibe (laid back West Coast) to the Swattie vibe (they sell T shirts that say things like “Swat Life - Anywhere Else it Would’ve Been an A.”) While at Swat she took an advanced Spanish class, real analysis, a computer science class (data structures & algorithms) and an intermediate level economics class. She felt that the two schools were basically identical in terms of academic rigor, grading and amount of homework. But Swatties take pride in their reputation for intensity and sort of a “misery poker” attitude about how hard they work.
One of the administrators she met at Swat told her that if you invite a Swattie and a Pomona student to a party on a Friday night, the Swattie will say no way, I’m too busy and the Pomona kid will say “absolutely” but in reality both will go to the library first to work until 10 pm and then go to the party.
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