<p>Keilaxandra,
My daughter is a sophomore this year. The only bugs she has mentioned are stink bugs. They seem to be in abundance this year all over the Mid-Atlantic. (we have them in Maryland too) I don’t think they are specific to any dorm though.</p>
<p>^^I heard about the Danabugs. <em>shudder</em></p>
<p>Keil, you probably shouldn’t look at the cartoon in this week’s Phoenix. :D</p>
<p>^Oh dear, now I have to go look. :/</p>
<p>Having read it (<a href=“The Phoenix - The Independent Campus Newspaper of Swarthmore College since 1881”>The Phoenix - The Independent Campus Newspaper of Swarthmore College since 1881; for those who don’t want to go searching), I’m glad that ML Basement is currently not open in room draw. Let’s hope it stays that way. Ick.</p>
<p>Keil,
My son, class of '07, drew into a single in the ML basement his sophomore year. He so desperately wanted a single that he was willing to take it. He is a loon. :rolleyes: I’m sure he realized it was a mistake, but he refused to admit it. The upside was that he got singles in Wharton for junior and senior year. :)</p>
<p>They had 1353 students living on campus last semester, plus another 5% living in off-campus apartments, commuting, etc.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.swarthmore.edu/Documents/administration/ir/ResOnCampus.pdf[/url]”>http://www.swarthmore.edu/Documents/administration/ir/ResOnCampus.pdf</a></p>
<p>There are 1370 beds in the minimum configuration, using none of the overflow options (converting lounges in Parrish or Hollowell, ML basement, etc.) and without dipping into the Dean’s stash of four empty rooms (useful for dealing with roommates that are about to kill each other, etc.).</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.swarthmore.edu/Documents/administration/ir/ResHalls.pdf[/url]”>http://www.swarthmore.edu/Documents/administration/ir/ResHalls.pdf</a></p>
<p>The thing that really screws up housing more than anything is a huge imbalance in fall versus spring study abroad (as happened in 2006-2007. I think the Off Campus Study Department is now actively tryng to balance that.</p>
<p>One of my children would like to transfer to Swathmore, currently at a top LAC but finds the abundance of partying and lack of academic atmosphere not their style. What do students at Swarthmore do on the weekends, or weeknights are far as that goes? Is there a genuine desire to learn? For lack of a better word, are the students “nerdy”? What is the economic background of the students?</p>
<p>Generally Swarthmore students are “nerdier” than average, though there is of course a lot of individual variation. Almost everyone is excited by and engaged in at least some of their classes, and in that respect “nerdy” about their major. Some are traditionally nerdy in all domains of their life, others still like to go out to frat parties or indie music concerts on the weekends–and you’d never guess that they were “geeky” by their looks!</p>
<p>On weekends, there is a party scene, both college-sponsored public parties and small private in-dorm affairs, for those who are so inclined. There are also people who go into Philadelphia or Media for dinner, concerts, etc. as well as lectures, plays and events on campus. Most Swatties spend at least part of the weekend working (Sundays, especially). Thursday night is Pub Nite, which is a popular event. But weeknights in general are likely to involve some combination of doing work, extracurricular activities, and hanging out with friends (often while simultaneously “doing work”). As a Swattie who doesn’t really participate much in the party scene, I feel that there are plenty of people and activities to keep me busy, and certainly almost no pressure to party. </p>
<p>Economically, there is quite a bit of variation, from wealthy full-pay to full financial aid students. While class issues are certainly present at Swarthmore, I find that the campus culture is less class-salient than other schools where I have friends. There are many free, on-campus activities (including parties), so not having much of an entertainment budget doesn’t mean you’re always excluded from “what everyone is doing”. And there is not much emphasis placed on fancy dressing and status symbols–no competition about who has the nicest designer clothes.</p>
<p>Do I need to bring a printer? How much ($$ or page limit) is printing in the library?</p>
<p>What kinds of on-campus jobs do freshmen usually get? I had “assumed” dining services, but apparently Swarthmore doesn’t hire students for that. (For which I am not complaining.)</p>
<p>There is a computer/printer in every dorm and double-sided printers in the library. My daughter took her little printer and had it in her room, but very seldom used it because that would have meant buying her own cartridges and paper. She just sent print jobs to the library and then stopped by on the way to class to pick them up.</p>
<p>So far, they haven’t implemented fees or limits on printing, although I think there are some efforts underway to print less.</p>
<p>Keilexandra: S didn’t have a printer during his 4 years at Swat & never had a problem using the dorm or library printers.</p>
<p>My daughter brought a printer, but never ever used it. She donated it to charity at some point.
I don’t think there are any page limits, though printers run out of paper sometimes in the dorms.</p>
<p>@Keilexandra:
Some students work at the library.
I think you will have a good chance to be nominated for WA, in which case you will have a paid tutoring job starting sophomore year.
You can also get a TA job in some departments.</p>
<p>There are paid student jobs in admissions, too – including giving tours, plus organizing overnight hosting, etc.</p>
<p>There are a bunch of science tutor jobs now, too. Part of the HHMI grant.</p>
<p>I would love to work as a WA; we’ll see if I’m good enough. But I really enjoy critiquing (have done some friends’ college essays, short stories, two published manuscripts).</p>
<p>I guess my question is specifically about freshmen, though, without the necessary experience for tutoring or TA’ing. Library and/or admissions would be really great.</p>
<p>It is not very obvious how WAs get selected. The initial nomination is based on the quality of writing (which I believe you have a very good chance getting), but there are interviews after that, and sample editing, and the final decisions are not always predictable (there are always several candidates for every spot). But not getting to be a WA certainly does not mean that you are “not good enough” writer.</p>
<p>The Swarthmore website is a valuable resource. Under Administration, there is a Student Employment Office link. From that link, you can download the 14 page PDF master list of campus jobs, by department. The levels refer to pay scale, with level 3 being the highest, although the spread is fairly small. I have no idea what jobs are available to first-year students, although you can probably make some educated guesses.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.swarthmore.edu/Documents/administration/hr/_master_seo_student_job_listing.pdf[/url]”>http://www.swarthmore.edu/Documents/administration/hr/_master_seo_student_job_listing.pdf</a></p>
<p>^Thanks for the link! I tried searching “workstudy” et al, but didn’t get anywhere.</p>
<p>Daughter got a work-study job with the Peace Collection in McCabe for freshman year. Was nominated by her peers to be a WA at end of frosh year, was selected, & has been WAing since. Graduates in May. Here is the how to become a WA link.</p>
<p>[Swarthmore</a> College :: Writing Program :: Becoming a WA](<a href=“http://www.swarthmore.edu/x9302.xml]Swarthmore”>Becoming a Writing Associate Fellow :: Writing Associates Program :: Swarthmore College)</p>
<p>Some silly questions:</p>
<p>1/ How does one get from Philadelphia international airport to Swarthmore?
2/ Is there anything for parents during freshman orientation?
3/ What do students bring for their dorm? Where’s a good place to buy sheets that fit on Swarthmore beds?</p>