Just wanted to echo this point – Swat is intense, but the intensity is self-imposed, and there’s a lot of collaboration and camaraderie. Or so said my Swatkid.
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The true irony is that he was from a prominent Quaker family…so he likely avoided alcohol.
Anyone who works in Philly has likely run into Drinker, Biddle…his law firm.
The building was named that when it housed the music department (his passion beyond the law), only later to become housing for students.
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Was probably renamed in response to those pesky “truth-in-labeling” laws.
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Thank you; Vassar is a strong consideration.
Is Vassar a very athletic school? I think there is no football there.
Famously no football at Vassar (hence the 'Vassar Football: Undefeated since 1961" tshirt), but has credibility in swimming, volleyball, baseball (though not so much recently) and a couple of other sports.
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From recent experience, no. They may have a team here or there that is strong and does well in conference. But overall Vassar doesn’t make it a priority, at least not relative to some of their Liberty League counterparts or relative to most schools in the NESCAC … or really any school in the NESCAC, a conference noted as among the very best in DIII athletics.
They do recruit though. We went through recruiting with them with two kids in two different sports. Both kids really liked Vassar and arguably didn’t need the athletic support from the coach, but then again, at that level of selectivity, who doesn’t want the extra boost of having a school representative (in any capacity) tell admissions, “I want this kid on campus”? Anything helps, even if just a smidge. But I think at Vassar it is only a smidge.
Mind you, this is based only our our two interactions with Vassar athletics, and what the coaches had to say.
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Where is your son leaning now? My S22 really likes Haverford and Swarthmore as well.
The athletic/ narp divide has been talked about over the years, but for my kids they have been able to cross those lines and count them as some of their closest friends. I think schools like Amherst and Williams are very intentional about the dorm situation and create a diverse pool of floor/entry/roommates which helps, as well as the first year orientation type experiences they have the first week.
As for rural, both are but Williams surely beats Amherst on this. The 5 College Consortium you will see any number of the 30k kids around the town of Amherst. Williams is like a mountain resort town. Beautiful, but a bit out there. I think that if getting accepted into these schools is hard, but staying in them? Then you cant really be out about town every night, so my guess is even places like Columbia U wouldn’t lend itself to take full advantage of the city. These schools know their audience and bring entertainment, food, speakers, etc to campus to make up for it.
I know this is mostly for ED you were looking at, but I would definitely throw in Grinnell as @Publisher mentioned for consideration as another Open Curriculum school that sounds to me like it just may check all the boxes for your kid. I think it is an incredible school that often gets overlooked.
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Hi. I attended Swarthmore 1990-92 (yes, a long time ago) and transferred to Brown. Frankly, from your observations it sounds like the school has not changed at all.
My two cents: Swarthmore is very limiting. It’s one thing to avoid a “party college” - which implies binge drinking, it’s another to forgo a balanced, healthy happy social life altogether.
I recommend considering schools like Brown, which have Greek life but the social scene is not dependent on it.
In fact, not too many kids at Brown join and the campus has something for everyone. There are parties hosted by student organizations (which focus more on a great DJ & dancing), mellow dorm get-togethers, on-campus movies, dinner out on Thayer Street (along the edge of campus; fun and a safe neighborhood). Plus school-sponsored concerts and speakers.
*Plus, Brown’s sports aren’t a big focus and the school is also known for its open curriculum.
My point is - a college can have fraternities without dominating the campus.
Your son could also consider Jesuit schools, which do not feature Greek life at all. Georgetown is theologically diverse and has a strong reputation for history, econ and government.
Keep in mind that course offerings at liberal arts colleges are limited due to their size. I would also be wary of any promises of cross registration that require a commute to another campus.
Pomona or Claremont McKenna would be good options for your son, especially because they are part of a 5-college consortium that exists on one campus. Cross-registration happens seamlessly, online at the same time as regular registration.
Finally, most top tier schools have great study abroad options; they will offer a mix of programs run by the school itself or by others. Don’t let this decide your son’s college.
Good luck. Again, look at Brown, Georgetown, Pomona and Claremont McKenna.
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It’s hard to add anything of value to all the wonderful replies that have been posted here, but I’m simply emphasize that these schools are all wonderful. They have a different vibe, though, and your son has to decide which is best for him, although it’s impossible to go wrong with any of them. My daughter had a chance to visit most of these schools a couple of years ago, although I didn’t accompany her to many of them. For me , Haverford was too small–it is noticeably smaller than the other LACs–but the son of a close friend just graduated from there and had a great experience. My daughter felt that the students there weren’t as engaged as at other schools, but it could have been the class she sat in on. I personally fell in love with Swarthmore’s campus, which is among the most beautiful I’ve ever seen, but would have to agree that the students there are a little intense. We sat in on a political science class on the Israeli/Palestinian relationship that had a large discussion component, and I was struck by how sure the students were of their very strong positions. I was very impressed by the professor, though, who let the students reach their own conclusions without dictating his views, and his lecture was very even. The other schools on the list I did not personally visit, but from what my daughter described, there was a difference in the vibe and how close they were to a real town. She ultimately fell in love with Amherst, applied early decision, and is a Sophomore. It has a perfect balance of what she was looking for, such as the open curriculum and location, although obviously her Freshman experience was a little unusual, because the students were not allowed to leave campus. One thing that attracted her was Amherst’s new science center and the opportunity to take classes at UMass; she is a science major and one of the concerns about an LAC is that they won’t have the breadth of class offerings at other schools. The opportunity to take classes at UMass really relieved much of that concern, although she ultimately may take only one or two classes there. So I would just focus on making sure that the school will be able to provide what your son wants to study, since there could be differences there, especially if it is in the sciences. Good luck!
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I haven’t read all these posts.
I am seriously wondering where you got your information, because I suggest you fire whoever has so badly misinformed you.
Firstly, all these colleges are great. All are rigorous. All have partying. Some have a lot of pot (Wesleyan) some have open boxes of condoms stapled to the wall (Swarthmore, so clearly someone is having some fun.) Greek life is minimal at the ones that have it.
Swarthmore and Haverford are in Philadelphia. It is a major city. They are near each other. Swarthmore is academically intense. Haverford is tiny with only 1200 students. IMO, it has a slightly more sporty vibe than some of the others you’ve mentioned. Wesleyan is hardly in a metropolis. It’s a large town in the middle of nowhere, IMO, but it does have some fun stuff to do. It’s creative, media savvy, intelligent, and very liberal. It’s the most hippy of the schools mentioned. When I think of Wesleyan, I do not think of sports.
I think Amherst was mentioned. Yes, the consortium is there, quite sprawling though, except for Amherst and it’s proximity to U Mass. my impression is that Amherst is less uptight than Swat and Haverford.
Bowdoin is quite a bit more north, a LOT colder, and along with Bates and Colby in Maine, also part of NESCAC. I would not describe any NESCAC school as being overly sporty in nature. There’s a lot of school pride at all those colleges, but they are not rah rah schools. Football at Bates is not quite the same level of rah rah as football at The Ohio State, lololol. I suggest your kid just forget about sports culture at these colleges, because I honestly think it’s not much of a factor.
The gym requirement is really nothing. My D was a little concerned, but it ended up never being an issue and she was actually glad she had to do it or she might have never got much other exercise.
All these colleges have sports teams and all will have recruited athletes. At colleges without Greek life, it’s likely that the sports teams fill the party gap that Greek life might fill elsewhere. And yes, non-athletes will go to the parties. Shock horror, even the non partying types might go to the parties for a bit, just to hang out. At small colleges, even kids who abstain can still have fun with friends who don’t. And there’s other stuff to do that doesn’t involve partying.
Many colleges in America (all? No idea) are part of an athletic conference. NESCAC has some of the best colleges in the nation, so I seriously would not disregard any of them.
I think your son would benefit from spending some time on Niche and look at student reviews for any colleges of interest. I think he needs to do his own research and narrow down which schools seem good fits for him. I know you say he has matches and safeties. Make sure he actually likes them. Fiske Guide is also a great resource.
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Great post.
Unigo dot com student comments can be helpful.
First year at Haverford. The academics are SERIOUS! But the kindness, the friendliness, the way the students help each other in every way and accept each other as individuals no questions asked. It is a most special place. At first it almost seemed fake. But it’s very real. The campus is a haven. It’s hard to believe students can be working this intensely and doing it in such a happy and natural way. This school is full of interesting, kind, inclusive learners who want to push themselves to reach their best potential and bring everybody else around them along with them. It’s so special. I don’t think there is anyplace else quite like Haverford College.
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Swarthmore and Haverford are VERY different. If we are doing generalizations, yes Haverford is more Jocky. Think of Swarthmore as a feeder school for elite PhD programs. It own’s that lane like no other SLAC. If that is what your kid is interested in (and the culture that goes with it…no Frats, few sports, lots of studying on the weekends).
I second the recommendation for Macalester and through in a HUGE recommendation for Grinnell.
Wonder where the student ultimately ED’d and where he is going?
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The OP hasnt been on CC for almost a year. Please don’t reopen such old posts. Closing.
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