<p>How exactly does a college go about teaching a class of 1 in a certain subject (like Chinese studies)?</p>
<p>I took a look at my potential major, which happens to be one of the largest (economics), and there are only 30 people... I find this a bit unnerving</p>
<p>Not only is swarthmore almost half the size of my high school, but, unlike high school, I'll probably be taking most of my classes with the same 30 people</p>
<p>I am a bit worried about stagnation, since there isn't even a decent city nearby. I read that people chose Swarthmore because of diversity, but how can a school with limited people (and thus limited professors), physically separated from the world, be a purveyor of diversity?</p>
<p>Philadelphia is right next door. There's a train station on campus that connects you to Philadelphia. I've heard that it's maybe 10 minutes to get to Philly? Maybe 20? There is definitely a decent city nearby.</p>
<p>Swat is in the suburbs right off of I-476 and Philly is about 20-25 minutes away by train. So, it's certainly not "physically separated from the world". As far as majors go, just because there might have been just one Chinese Studies major, that doesn't mean that that person was in classes of "1". There are people who take Chinese but don't major in it, just as there are lots of people who take Economics classes but don't major in it. That is true for every field of study. For example, someone interested in Asian history might study Japanese but not major in it. And someone interested in history might also take classes in literature, political science, and sociology and anthropology too.</p>
<p>While Swarthmore is close to Philly, I doubt that many people visit it often. When I visited Swarthmore, I liked it because when you were there you couldn't tell that it was close to a major city. It looked like a college hidden somewhere near the forest--especially when you go to Crum Woods. You don't hear cars and you don't get any pollution--it's all calm, serene, really a place filled with trees and opinions. And the people there are very diverse. When I visited for Discovery Weekend I felt very comfortable, I being a person of color. They have a lot of multicultural organizations--in fact, I think that the majority of the social life at Swarthmore revolves around clubs that deal with social issues and things related to diversity. Students at Swarthmore are very open to different cultures.</p>
<p>The web page linked above is not the best reference for number of majors. That one comes from career counseling and only includes part of the senior class.</p>
<p>Here's the official factbook document on the number of majors:</p>
<p>Swarthmore is in the middle of a metropolitan area of 5 million people. Downtown Philly is 20 minutes by train right from campus. </p>
<p>Yes, the campus feels like it's in the middle of the woods, but just half a mile walk straight north from campus is a major shopping mall and all the stores you would expect to find next to a mall -- Target, Best Buy, tons of restaurants, Barnes and Noble, etc.</p>
<p>Acutally, one of the things that is unique about Swarthmore is that it is one of the few top liberal arts colleges that is actually located in a large metro area and the list gets even smaller when you limit it to colleges were urban areas are accessible on good public transporation.</p>
<p>Yes, you will be forced to endure seeing the same people over and over. On the plus side, this can lead to some lasting friendships. On the downside, it can get annoying.</p>
<p>PS -- As far as large metropolitan areas in the US go, Philadelphia totally sucks IMO.</p>
<p>And in a lot of other opinions, Philadelphia doesn't suck at all. :] But I'm biased, and as a Philly native I know a lot of my friends complain about Philly because they just don't know anything about it and are scared to explore. Which is why I make them come with me! Haha. Yes, it's small, but it's usually not ridiculous, and Philadelphia really is right nearby if you need new people.</p>
<p>The smallness is real, and has its positive as well as negative consequences.</p>
<p>People that choose Swarthmore usually like the smallness: </p>
<p>You will almost never be anonymous in your classes. Most of your classes will be small and interactive.</p>
<p>Within a couple of years, you will have several professors who will know you really well, so if you need a letter of recommendation it is never a problem to find someone to write you one. If you want to work on a project with one of your professors, it will be very easy to approach them.</p>
<p>When you look through college brochures, you will know the people in the pictures. When you come to the office, people will know who you are.</p>
<p>But:</p>
<p>You will likely interact with many of the same people in and out of the classroom during your 4 years there. Most people do not see this as a negative, but some do.</p>
<p>You can not skip the class without anyone noticing (except for the relatively large (40-50 people) introductory classes).</p>
<p>You can not come to class with 6-12 people in it unprepared without it being obvious.</p>
<p>As for diversity - it is real as well. Because there is no freshman housing, no theme housing, and the price is the same for all the dorms, and all the activities on campus are free for all, there is much less segregation between different socioeconomic and ethnic groups than you see at other schools.</p>
<p>ee33ee, As has been previously stated, that survey you looked at was a voluntary one. For example, my S, class of '07, is a world class procrastinator. Thus, he turned in his information long after it was actually due, and his plans are not listed on the survey. There are a number of other students who did not turn in their plans.</p>
<p>I suppose metro areas are relative. There are only a handful of top LACs that are located in metro areas. </p>
<p>I might rank Wellesley's location above the Phila LACs, but public transportation isn't as easy from Wellesley and it's not coed.</p>
<p>Barnard is located in NYC, but is not coed and lacks the pluses of a suburban campus.</p>
<p>Davidson is convenient to Charlotte, NC if you have a car. But, no train. I like Charlotte, but I would rank it well behind Phila from the standpoint of a college student (music, art, theater, etc.).</p>
<p>Pomona and Claremont-McKenna are near LA, but a long drive from any of the fun trendy stuff. Gotta have a car in SoCal.</p>
Yeah, relative to Philly, the rest of them are great.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Davidson is convenient to Charlotte, NC if you have a car. But, no train. I like Charlotte, but I would rank it well behind Phila from the standpoint of a college student (music, art, theater, etc.).
[/quote]
Just FYI Davidson is due to get light rail by 2011. Not that it's a big deal, because...</p>
<p>
[quote]
Pomona and Claremont-McKenna are near LA, but a long drive from any of the fun trendy stuff. Gotta have a car in SoCal.
[/quote]
Most places make it a lot less of a hassle to have a car than Swarthmore does. I would be surprised if any of the top 20 LACs outside of NYC has a more restrictive parking policy than Swarthmore. It's nothing short of ridiculous, and really quite anachronistic. Cars are how people in the suburbs get around. Yeah, sure, you can take a train from one station to the next, but you can't take the train to Genuardi's or to the movie theater.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Tell me about Philly again....
[/quote]
It's one of the nation's most miserable places.</p>
<p>A campus that is not dominated by students with cars is one of Swarthmore's big pluses, IMO.</p>
<p>I'm sure there are some spoiled preppies who complain about not being able to hop in their BMW convertibles, but give me a break. It's the same distance from Willets to the mall as it is from the freshman dorm at Williams to the foot of Spring Street.</p>
<p>Walk. Or, god forbid, hop on the #109 bus (that runs every 20 minutes) from the Swarthmore station for the half mile ride up to Baltimore Pike.</p>
<p>Some people probably find just about anywhere they find themselves to be "one of the nation's most miserable places".</p>
<p>dchow08: people totally go into the city. In the music department, MANY kids take lessons in the city––it's very easy to get there. Philly is the fifth largest metropolitan area in the country––and as we know, the larger the city, the more things it can offer.... Philly isn't exactly lacking.</p>
<p>"Barnard is located in NYC, but is not coed and lacks the pluses of a suburban campus."</p>
<p>There are many locations that are pleasing to different people for different reasons. Barnard actually has the feel of a suburban campus! Inside the perimeter it's a whole different world from the bustling city with cherry trees (in blossom is amazing) lawns to sit on, paths to walk on and a really secluded feeling. AND the classes and the campus certainly are coed with Columbia students quite active, so that the only non-coed atmosphere are the dorm rooms.</p>
<p>And let's not forget Macalester which is right in St. Paul.</p>
<p>
[quote]
A campus that is not dominated by students with cars is one of Swarthmore's big pluses, IMO.
[/quote]
Spoken like someone who never went there. Having draconian parking policies is moronic. If a student owns a car and wants to drive around, he should be able to. It shouldn't be a big deal. And I guess it wasn't for the kids who wanted to forge parking permits. But, really, should they have to do that?</p>
<p>
[quote]
I'm sure there are some spoiled preppies who complain about not being able to hop in their BMW convertibles, but give me a break. It's the same distance from Willets to the mall as it is from the freshman dorm at Williams to the foot of Spring Street.</p>
<p>Walk. Or, god forbid, hop on the #109 bus (that runs every 20 minutes) from the Swarthmore station for the half mile ride up to Baltimore Pike.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I had a used Pontiac. It was good to have there. Know why?</p>
<p>Distance from Parrish to Genuardi's: 2.0 miles
Distance from Parrish to AMC Marple 10: 3.6 miles
Distance from Parrish to WaWa: 2.6 miles
Distance from Parrish to Granite Run Mall: 6.8 miles
Distance from Parrish to Barnes & Noble: 4.8 miles
Distance from Parrish to Wine & Spirits Store: 2.4 miles</p>
<p>Know what else? The train doesn't go to these places, and the bus won't get you everywhere you might want to go in DelCo either. Have fun walking to WaWa at 2:00am in January. Or have fun hauling groceries two miles back from Genuardi's (for those all too frequent times when the Co-Op just won't cut it), or trekking 3.6 miles to see a new release at the AMC. Nevermind Valley Forge or King of Prussia or all the other regional sites of interest to many a student.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Some people probably find just about anywhere they find themselves to be "one of the nation's most miserable places".
[/quote]
I guess some people are that way... but I'm not one of them, so your argument is (as usual) irrelevant. I've only felt I was in one of the nation's most miserable places in two cities: Philadelphia and Atlantic City.</p>
<p>Philadelphia does have a lot to offer in terms of restaurants, theatre, the arts, sports, etc. It is easy to get around, having a subway system, and easy to get to from Swarthmore. </p>
<p>This is in comparison to LACs that are near a small town, or 1-4 hours from a city. </p>
<p>I do overall like some other cities better, but that is not necessarily the comparison for LACs.</p>
<p>I think that there are shuttles to Genuardi's and other places. Anyway, my child hasn't felt isolated without a car there. </p>
<p>My S says that he walked to Genuardi's all the time, ONE mile in each direction.
Maybe a 15 minute walk. No, he said, it was not convenient to carry lots of groceries for that distance, but he was never looking to stock up a kitchen. As to the Barnes & Noble, he agreed that it was quite a distance to walk there, but pointed out that there is a Border's Book Store across from the Genuardi's. Did he do these walks in the bitter cold in January? I'm guessing not. But he also did mention the campus shuttle to Genuardi and Target which ran twice a week. He graduated last June.</p>
<p>Did my S WANT to have a car at Swat, for convenience? Of course he did, but we are mean parents and told him that if he could pay the insurance, he could have the car. He declined. ;)</p>