@SchoolNews I’m not EyeVee, but DS is a Swat engineering grad. There was one
engineering course at Penn he really wanted to take, but couldn’t fit into his schedule. Lots of labs makes things harder. He did take a couple of courses at Bryn Mawr though, which he really enjoyed.
Swat is a great place for someone who wants engineering but has many other interests s/he wants to explore. DS took courses in philosophy, education, anthropology, etc., and his writing and oral presentation skills strongly benefited. Engineers write lots of reports and have to make presentations to clients, so those are good skills to have.
It is a special place; do you know why your son is set against it? It’s collaborative rather than competitive, but the students are very smart and it can be intimidating.