<p>Although since you also mention "intellectually sold," I guess you covered that base hehe. I truly was searching for an argument I could give my parents, but in the end I think UChicago may be as good as Swarthmore academically if you are willing to search out the best classes, etc. And being closer to home means I can spend more time with my lovely younger sisters, who I've been living away from for four years while family life was rocky. If my theory of being able to search out great opportunities and classes at a university proves false, I may take time off from school and try to transfer to a great small school again. But for now I'm just living, spending time with family, and anticipating the start of school with boys:)</p>
<p>Gilead, could you expand on the idea of wonderful profs vs. lousy profs? What made the profs wonderful? What made the other profs duds? Which classes did they teach? I have met a couple of people who were "rah-rah Swarthmore has the best teaching anywhere" -but maybe these people were not from great high schools, and so were especially impressed w/ Swat? Do you think most of the classes are truly more rigorous than classes at any other school?</p>
<p>I've heard that Swarthmore tends to be very academically intense. Are the students obsessive about their school work to the point that they don't have a social life?? I'm a fairly intense person, but I do like to take a break once in a while. Also, is it a really competitive atmosphere? Thanks!</p>
<p>Libs,
My S is a junior. Does he do plenty of school work? You bet! He might have 20 hours of work a week for one class. But, he has also made time to do things like have a show on the college radio station, be politically active, sing with an a cappella group and be very involved with one of the religious groups on campus. He also find time to eat and sleep, as far as I know. I have never heard him say that Swat is "competitive." I think that's one of those nasty urban legends.</p>
<p>Hrm. I am a freshman - I just got here around 2 weeks ago.</p>
<p>So far, I find it academically intense in that people are constantly discussing their classes, and seem really <em>excited</em> about them. I've got a philosophy class, for example, and the class has spawned a running conversation via the whiteboards on each door in my hall on the nature of intelligence, if Bloom's (the president of the college) "ethical intelligence" mantra is at all accurate, etc.</p>
<p>There is a decent amount of work. I can look forward on the various course outlines I've been given, and (particularly in writing classes) there is plenty of HW. However, a whole lot of it is reading, which isn't all that bad if the books interest you (so far, I only have one real 'text book' - otherwise, I've got things like Lexus and the Olive Tree, Elements of Style, and the Whole Shebang which are rather entertaining reads). </p>
<p>People have social lives. There are parties, movies going on all the time, big friendly lounges, etc. <em>Very</em> few people sit in their rooms 20hrs/day doing homework. </p>
<p>And it isn't competitive in my short experience. On the Swarthmore '09 forum - <a href="http://www.swarthmore09.org%5B/url%5D">http://www.swarthmore09.org</a> - there was a thread whdere someone brought up the topics of AP scores. Instead of people constantly trying to trump each other with dozens of tests and dozens of 5s, the thread evolved into a lengthy discussion over why we all hated standardized testing. That generally holds true at the campus, in my experience.</p>
<p>Swatties are a friendly bunch.</p>
<p>Unless my D is lying about the fun she is having at Swarthmore, there appears to be plenty of social life. She says that she has to keep up with the work, but finds time for fun stuff and sleeping 'til noon on weekends and plenty of hanging out with friends during the week.</p>
<p>When we've talked about the workload issue now that she has a year under her belt, her advice is that it would be problem for two types of students:</p>
<p>1) If you didn't study daily in high school and don't plan to study in college, then Swarthmore is not the right place for you.</p>
<p>2) If you are someone who feels intense pressure (either internal or external) to get "all A's" and drive yourself crazy, then you might find yourself in trouble at Swarthmore. Her opinion is that the first semester "pass/fail" is extremely helpful in breaking kids out of the "straight-A, grade obsessive" mindset and approaching college as an enjoyable learning experience rather than a forced march.</p>
<p>There are students who work themselves to a frazzle at Swarthmore, but that is usually a personal choice -- double majors, etc. You have the ability to tailor the workload with careful, balanced course selection. For example, a math/statistics or an art history course balances a couple of heavy reading courses -- not because those courses are "easy", but because they have a different type of workload. </p>
<p>On a widespread basis, Swarthmore is the opposite of "competitive". Discussing grades is taboo and there is a lot of collaborative study such as study groups -- even to the point where friends often pick courses to take together. This leads to a lot of informal discussion out of the classroom, throughout the semester, perhaps over lunch after class or kicking around ideas for the papers or studying for exams.</p>
<p>Again, that's an overall assessment. At most colleges there are certain majors that tend to be more "competitive". I would have to assume that is probably true at Swarthmore as well.</p>
<p>I pretty much agree with ID. My son is considering a dual-major and has quite a reading-intensive course load this semester. He still I think has time for fun. He is coming home this weekend - we're 90 minutes away by car.</p>
<p>So out of curiosity, from you who might know this -is there a direct relationship between # of PhDs produced and strength of programs, or does incoming student population also play a substantial role?</p>
<p>The old "nature vs. nurture" question? To some extent it's both; Swarthmore is a favorite destination for children of college professors, so it is natural that some may want to follow in thier parent's footsteps. But, LACs in general allow students to experience, first hand, what "a life of the mind" is really like. Swarthmore professors live well and enjoy their work; students know this from witnessing it from close up. It should come as no surprise that many of them wind up wanting to teach and conduct research for a living after they graduate from Swarthmore.</p>
<p>
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So out of curiosity, from you who might know this -is there a direct relationship between # of PhDs produced and strength of programs, or does incoming student population also play a substantial role?
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</p>
<p>It is the result of many factors, including both of those you mention and others.</p>
<p>Swarthmore has a mutually-reinforcing synergy between the traditions and culture of the school and the students who decide to attend. This was noted by the most recent accreditation review panel (headed by the Pres of Oberlin). They found that the three main constituencies on campus (students, faculty, administration) were all on the same page and trusted each other to a remarkable degree.</p>