<p>I go to one of the three hill schools in the Bronx (Horace Mann, Fieldston and Riverdale). I am currently unsure of whether to apply early to Swarthmore or Columbia. I love Columbia University, particularly its location, its political science and english strengths and I have visited it about 10 times (being only a subway ride away). However, I am worried of becoming overwhelmed by the city, even though I travel into Manhattan about once a week. I had a deeply positive, visceral reaction to Swarthmore when I visited the college, and was impressed by the cohesiveness of the community, the intimacy with the professors and the prospects of being close to Philadelphia and other LAC's of the same tier like Haverford and Bryn Mawr. However, I am worried that I will feel isolated on a small campus and (based on Swat's reputation) that I will have too much work to pursue outside activities, such as my writing, which I am not representing well in this post. What are the key differences between the colleges and who is right for each?</p>
<p>Something to consider: Columbia has a rigid core curriculum; Swarthmore has fewer required classes.
[Contemporary</a> Civilization | Columbia College](<a href=“http://www.college.columbia.edu/core/classes/cc.php]Contemporary”>About Contemporary Civilization | The Core Curriculum)
[Swarthmore</a> College :: History :: Distribution Requirement List](<a href=“http://www.swarthmore.edu/x9773.xml]Swarthmore”>http://www.swarthmore.edu/x9773.xml)</p>
<p>It really sounds like you’d feel better at Swarthmore. If you’re worried about feeling claustrophic in the dense suburb it’s located in, I wouldn’t worry. You have Bryn Mawr and Haverford close by, and of course, UPenn in Philadelphia. <a href=“http://www.swarthmore.edu/x10940.xml[/url]”>http://www.swarthmore.edu/x10940.xml</a></p>
<p>I get the impression that the people who are overloaded with work at Swat (i.e. most of them) are happily juggling many extracurriculars. Writing for any one of Swat’s literary journals or the newspaper could easily be one of your activities. Lastly… Assuming you’ve sat in on classes at Columbia, how do you think you’d fit into a classroom there, compared to at Swat? Is the sense of community and intimacy with professors/students at S something you could do without?</p>
<p>NY is a pricey city which will add up if you’re on a budget. Philly is cheaper but there are some really bad spots. When I visited Swarthmore I immediately crossed it off my list because there were too many super liberal hipsters. I read their campus paper and writers were taking stupid hipster poses and writing a bunch of stereotypical college articles, and there weren’t any interesting or different perspectives offered. I guess Columbia wouldn’t be that much better. If you’re down with hipsters and liberals, you’ll love both schools. Swarthmore is nice because there’s transit to the city. I don’t know how safe it is, but Philly is pretty fun if you go to the right sports. Both are great schools, I think Swarthmore offers more aid, and everyone is nice. Pretty campus, is a safe area, affluent neighborhoods.</p>
Where did you end up going? I have the same dilemma. 