<p>What's the difference in partying, alcohol, and sports at Swarthmore and Haverford. I'm really looking to go to a non-partying, no alcohol, not very interested in sports, very small school that emphasizes thinking, and I've been leaning towards these two schools. Thank you.</p>
<p>I’ve posted on this topic before but CF won’t seem to cough up what I said. I’d say Swat is your school (whether admissions thinks so too would be a different question). Swat students are distinguished from Haverford students by their unhealthy pallor: too little sun, too much hard work. My daughter visited both as a prospective student and chose Swat because the dark circles under her own eyes reassured her that she would fit right in :). Haverford students look healthy and athletic. Haverford students tend to be obsessed with their honor code; Swat students roll their eyes at the thought of an honor code. Swat students are quirky; Haverford students are far more preppy. That said, these are, of course, HUGE generalizations (as they were the first time I posted on this topic). Despite my daughter’s appearance, she and a lot of her friends do work out at the gym etc. What is the case is that you can take classes at Haverford as a Swat student but the course grades do not count towards a Swat gpa. A visit to each college will help you arrive at your own views on similarities and differences.</p>
<p>When I visited Swarthmore it seemed very intellectual and the classes I sat in on definitely emphasized student participation and discussion. I don’t think they are very sports oriented. One thing I liked about it was that some of the students I talked to really liked partying and drinking while some had absolutely no interest and both were fine and had good social lives. So while I definitely wouldn’t say Swarthmore is a non-partying sober school, I think you could go there and be sober and not go to parties and still have fun and a good social life:)n</p>
<p>“I don’t think they are very sports oriented.”</p>
<p>I disagree. Swarthmore has some very good athletics programs. Soccer, I believe swimming, and Baseball are all very good. From what I have learned during my visits and elsewhere is that those who are involved in athletics are VERY involved. They take their sports very seriously, both the guys and the girls, and the teams are very closely knit. Classes are very difficult, but they are small so the teachers really make an effort to get to know you. The campus is very liberal, though, so don’t be surprised if you see some people doing things you may not have been exposed to in high school. Also, there are definitely people who enjoy going out and having a good time; it is college so there will be alcohol and there will be parties. But, the thing I noticed as well was that there was a large group of people who were content in seclusion or in non-partying/non-drinking activities only. The great thing about Swat is that nobody judges you if you decide one way or the other. So I think you would definitely be able to make your choice without peer pressure at Swat, but remember that it is college and there will be partying, alcohol, and those types of things. To try and stay away from them is fine, but in any private (or public for that matter), non-religious, liberal college atmosphere there will be people experimenting and altogether just trying to have a good time.</p>
<p>While some other LACs have a more sports oriented student body, the stereotype that Swat is not sports oriented is wrong. Swat has an excellent men’s soccer team (briefly ranked #1 nationally in Div III in the past 2 years) and several other high qualities teams including baseball and men’s tennis. And there are lots of students who cheer them on. Prospective students will find plenty of opportunity to participate in sports at Swat (including club teams) and/or cheer the league teams on.</p>
<p>as a Swarthmore athlete I can attest that sports do exist at Swat. But by no means does that mean that you have to be involved. It is very easy to get by at Swarthmore without any interest in athletics, and you will have no problem finding a group of friends who feel the same. Swat and Haverford are both fairly non-party, non-drinking (compared to the national average) - they are both very academically challenging, and students attending these colleges are looking to the future, not a weekly binge. That is, of course, a generalization - there are student at both schools who drink. </p>
<p>Overall I would highly recommend Swarthmore. Haverford is a great school, but to me, it just doesn’t match up academically.</p>
<p>So far as parties… anytime I’ve been there to visit a friend, it seems like Swatties know how to let loose. Parties certainly aren’t the focus, but the students–who study to a ridiculous degree during the week, for the most part–let go on the weekends a bit. Last year in Alice-Paul, one of the new dorms, the entire table downstairs was covered in liquor bottles, and the student lounge was completely filled. Just as an example (: But it’s definitely not an every night thing, more of a Friday or Saturday only thing, and the “party” only lasted until about 12/1 am haha. If you go there just be prepared for Friday/Saturday nights to be a little rowdy. Really, though, that’s any college campus; you won’t find a “no alcohol” campus unless it’s explicitly listed as dry.</p>
<p>You won’t have a hard time AT ALL finding people who are strictly about academics. The majority of people I’ve met at Swat are that way, or are at least highly academically focused (like 80% studying, 20% whatever else they want for fun).</p>
<p>Also, just throwing this in there, I’ve heard some people at Swat call Haverford the “safety school” haha (: It seems like with your interests you’d be a good fit at Swat.</p>
<p>^to clarify, during games between Haverford and Swarthmore, fords chant “swat sucks” and swatties chant “safety school”.</p>
<p>There is a definite party and athletic culture at Swarthmore. Both are widely accepted. There are also parts of the campus that don’t party and don’t participate in sports. Everyone’s accepted. That said, alcohol is widely available on campus and is really not prohibited underage.</p>
<p>Swat athletes take themselves seriously, but the reality is that no one else cares at all (except maybe for soccer when we are good)</p>
<p>And yes, Swat kids drink a lot. Maybe not to the level of a big state school, but way more than the stereotype would suggest.</p>