<p>
[quote]
This may be an incorrect bias... but Pomona seems strongest in Humanities and Swarthmore seems like it would be better in math and science. But that could just be my west coast perception?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I'm not familiar enough with Pomona to compare. However, I would say that Swarthmore is strong across the board. I really can't think of a bad department. Arts and music are small, but OK. Dance and Theater is good. Languages are solid for a school that size. Philosophy and linguistics are excellent. History and English, like most places these days, depend on the professor. If you want a gender this or gender that Prof, you can find one in those departments....or not. One of Swarthmore's most popular professors is an Africa specialist in the History Department, although he teaches all kinds of stuff including his "History of the Future" seminar, which looks at how "the future" has been viewed over the course of history. Swarthmore is strong in the sciences, math, and engineering. However, I would say that Swarthmore's signature specialty is the social sciences, especially Economics and Political Science. Swarthmore produces more Social Science, more Economics, and more Poli Sci PhDs per graduate than any other college or university in the country and is up there in Sociology and Psychology. More than that, a lot of Swarthmore students have historically pursued careers in public policy. Today that translates to a lot of students interested in global cultures -- Asia, Latin America, Africa. </p>
<p>For example, Swarthmore students took a leading role in organizing Dharfur Genocide campaigns. One of MTV's three Dharfur correspondents is a Swarthmore student from Rwanda. A large number of Swarthmore students have been to DC for rallies and lobbying their homestate congressmen (my daughter was assigned John Kerry's office when she went). Similarly, there's considerable political involvement, heightened by the fact that Swarthmore's congressional district is a key swing district in Pennsylvania and national elections. It's a great school if you are really into politics and public policy. Perhaps a bit "too much" if you hate politics and "issues".</p>
<p>
[quote]
Relating back to Swarthmore: I love the laidback atmosphere of Pomona. Is Swarthmore cutthroat? How are athletics (school spirit wise)? Describe the typical Swarthmore student.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Swarthmore isn't cutthroat at all. It's taboo to compare grades. In it's own way, it's laid back (you can wear pajamas to class and nobody would care -- they'd look at you like a freak if you did your hair, makeup, and broke out the Coach purse for class). However, this gets into that whole west coast/east coast thing. No East Coast school will be Southern California "laid back, dude". People from Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and DC simply aren't like that. It's a cultural difference.</p>
<p>Athletics are OK. A slightly higher percentage of Swatties play varsity sports than at Pomona, but it's close. Some teams win, some lose. There's no football, so all of the athletic slots go to all of the other sports. I wouldn't say it's a big rah-rah campus. The athletes are Swatties, just like the dancers, the musicians, or whatever. There isn't a big divide between jocks and non-jocks.</p>
<p>Impossible to say what the typical Swattie is like, other than the fact that they are all smart and a higher than average percentage really enjoy their courses and the ideas they wrestle with. I check out the reading list or syllabus for each of my daughter's classes. I'm usually blown away. I really like the open-ended nature of the assignments. Professors aren't looking for students to just spout answers, but to really think. For example, the take home exam in the Intro to American Politics class had one question, "What good is judicial review...really?" Now, it would be impossible to write a coherent answer to that question without understanding the roles of the executive branch, the Congress, and the Courts in the American political system and without being able to come up with an historical issue that involved all three....but, a student could take that question in any direction and would be forced to actually think about the role of the Courts. That's kind of Swarthmore in a nutshell. It works because the students and faculty tacitly agree that students do the reading to get "the facts" ("coverage" as one professor calls it) and can, therefore, move on to the next level.</p>
<p>It's ethnically very diverse, one of the most diverse schools on the East Coast. Accepting environment. Comfortable for gay students, etc.</p>
<p>BTW, you don't give some of the key stuff (like ethnicity) in your stat list to give you hard "chances" estimates. However, based on what you provided, I'd say that you have the raw materials to write an application that could get you accepted to either Pomoma or Swarthmore ED (I think the two schools are essentially identical in degree of admissions difficulty). Learn as much as you can about the schools and then try to focus the stuff on your app in way that lets the admissions office instantly see you as a well-adjusted, successful contributor to the campus community.</p>