<p>PhatAlbert - if I recall correctly, extracurriculars are pretty much open-entry at Swarthmore, except maybe a few of the varsity sports teams. I don't know how this compares to Penn, however.</p>
<p>PhatAlbert,
Can you tell us what you might be interested in doing as an extracuuricular? Then, those of us with kids doing those types of things at Swat, or some of the Swat students who contribute to this forum, might be able to provide a better answer to your question.</p>
<p>I'm considering the debate team and newspaper right now as likely candidates, but I'm not really too sure what else is out there.</p>
<p>I think that the extracurriculars are very accessible at Swarthmore, including debate and newspaper.</p>
<p>PhatAlbert,
Swat has a top-notch debate team, and two newspapers, one of which is a daily posted online, and the other is a weekly, available in both hard copy and online. My sense is they're always looking for reporters/editors. Would you be interested in having your own radio show? There is a meeting at the beginning of each semester for students interested in running their own show for 1-2 hours a week. Students can choose their own playlists and play everything from rock, to blues, jazz, electronica, alternative and run talk shows, too. There are a cappella groups, drama presentations, and lots and lots of political and social activism, both locally and nationally. That's only the "tip of the iceberg" in terms of extracurriculars.</p>
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<p>There's probably a message there, somewhere....</p>
<p>As for extracurriculars:</p>
<p>Debate is fantastic at Swarthmore. The debate team has its own endowment, so they have tons of money to throw what are regarded as some of the best parties on campus when hosting teams from other schools. Or, as my daughter says, "Debate team has the best parties...only at Swarthmore!"</p>
<p>Swarthmore debaters do well in parliamentary debate competitions competiting against Haverford, Johns Hopkins, Penn, Columbia, Harvard, Princeton, MIT, etc. I believe that Swarthmore senior won 1st place speaker in last year's national tournament and the top pair finished 7th in the national standings. I think Swarthmore hosted the national tournament in spring 2004.</p>
<p>The newspaper is well-funded by the school and publishes like clockwork once a week. They are always looking for writers and editors, so you could be as involved as you like.</p>