<p>fyi i think we got trolled.</p>
<p>Interesting discussion. My son visited and liked the school a lot but two separate e-mails more than a year apart did not even merit a response. Had lots of interest & nearly perfect scores across the board but with no response, no “life,” decided to enroll at U Chicago and not even apply to Swat. A shame really (UC is a lot further), but there it is. Maybe they’re overwhelmed?</p>
<p>So far my junior D2 has been on several college visits and got nothing more than superficial vibes from any of them. We’re still trying to figure out how to do them with her so that they have some value to her. </p>
<p>When I took D1 on a serious visit to Swarthmore as a senior some years ago, she said that she got the most out of sitting in a math class, having contrasted that with the same class at other schools. It was very positive. </p>
<p>I don’t think a junior should rule anything out yet. I think these little petty things can get magnified because there isn’t anything else substantive to go on yet.</p>
<p>I agree with the above poster, ppl say it’s important to visit yet often the tour/info sesh routine doesn’t do much to differentiate one school’s culture from another. For me, the number of visits I could do was also limited by financial ability.</p>
<p>Here’s some ideas:
- Ask your counselor for any alumni from your school that currently attends or recently graduated from Swarthmore. Talk to them, they can really help compare your current high school’s environment with the college experience and set a benchmark for exactly what “rigorous” means.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>When visiting, just randomly introduce yourself to a group in the cafeteria and see what they talk about. From experience, that’s the best gauge of a campus “vibe”</p></li>
<li><p>***** and College ******* are the best review sites. Fiske and Insider’s are the best book guides.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>If you talk to enough people, statistically you can form a fairly accurate picture.</p>
<p>Thanks, everyone, for your feedback.</p>
<p>Mom of a varsity athlete D - since your D is very good in her sport, I suggest this fall she attend a recruiting weekend - my D did this and was really able to tell what Swat is like and REALLY liked it!!! Has applied RD for 2012 - we shall see. If she is a junior now, I assume she is already communicating with coaches and as I recall, they extend invitations for those weekends during the summer before Senior year. I recommend your D do recruiting weekends at all the schools she is considering.</p>
<p>My senior Swat D loved it! Quirky, academically rigorous, challenging, silly, fantastic supportive staff through and through. She has been a tour guide for four years and worked with the great admissions staff often. It was her first choice and she was thrilled by being an early write. The best four years of her life to date and friendships that will probably last a lifetime. She was a web ambassador (students that volunteer their time to answer questions from high school students) since freshman year. Not sure if the program is still in place (she was actively answering during her summer break last year) so check the website or call admissions. Don’t forget Swatties can take classes at Haverford and Brywn Mar (sp?)(shuttle service). My D even took a few classes at U Penn for her special major. We both are huge Swat fans so I may be a bit biased! ;-)</p>
<p>tsprite, how difficult logistically is it for a Swat student to take classes at Penn? Is it unreasonable to think that D could take 3-5 classes over the course of her 4 yrs? thanks.</p>
<p>Visit again?</p>
<p>@BDev88, Taking classes at Penn is unnecessary. The courses are noticeably easier than those offered at Swat.</p>
<p>Khalilzhad, thanks for reply. The Penn interest has to do with wanting to take a few classes at Wharton in subjects not offered at Swarthmore.</p>
<p>Not sure if you can take classes at Wharton under the Quaker Consortium exchange from Swarthmore. You’d really have to talk with Swarthmore’s Registrar’s office. Here’s what the Swarthmore Registrat’s office has to say about registering for a course at Penn:</p>
<p>[Swarthmore</a> Registrar](<a href=“http://www.swarthmore.edu/Admin/registrar/page.phtml?sidebar=registrationinfo&content=tricopennreg#penn]Swarthmore”>http://www.swarthmore.edu/Admin/registrar/page.phtml?sidebar=registrationinfo&content=tricopennreg#penn)</p>
<p>I’m pretty sure you can take classes at Wharton. It was amazingly easy to get from Swarthmore to Penn. My daughter, friends and I toured Swarthmore and made a last minute decision to visit Penn. We walked to the front campus gates and there’s the train station. Hopped onto the train, bought for tickets. Twenty minutes later we walked out of the University city train station and onto Penn campus (okay, it’s the edge but Steinberg-Dietrich is close).</p>
<p>Also, Swarthmore covers the transportation costs (train fare) to and from Penn if you take classes there.</p>
<p>It’s funny, but I also have the same feeling as dadx3 that Wharton is excluded from the options at Penn, though it isn’t written in the link attached above. But the good thing is that the attached clearly states what you can and can’t take.</p>
<p>Thanks for the input. that Swarthmore Registrar says nothing about Wharton. I have since had it confirmed that students CAN take classes at Wharton. Heard from current students.</p>
<p>I absolutely love it there! Although I have never been, all the Swatties I have met are amazingly nice and interesting people! I think, and I really hope that I will fit in there. Maybe they are only exceptions? Perhapds you could consider a second visit?</p>
<p>BDev - Sorry - not on for 6 months! The SEPTA train is at the bottom of campus and goes into Philly and is not a far ride (1/2 hour I believe). Check with Swat Admissions for further info. I also don’t think classes can be taken at Wharton but rather UPenn and with specific requirements/paperwork.
Khalilzhad - For my D’s special major she needed to take a few classes at UPenn, one of which was an archeological dig in South Jersey. I will tell you she said, “Easy A” compared to Swat standards! LOL</p>
<p>I visited Swarthmore with my older daughter, now a freshman elsewhere, a couple of years ago, also had a strange visit. I liked Swarthmore a lot more than she did, but it wasn’t a fit for her, so she didn’t apply. Today my 10th grader received one of those admissions emails they send out to many many students, and it made me think of the previous trip, and whether my younger daughter might like Swarthmore. What I liked before about Swarthmore was the sense of community, the multiple paths to getting the education the student is looking for, the academic environment, and of course, the beautiful campus. I would like to know more about the quirky aspects. Could anyone give me examples? I’m not sure my younger daughter is really very quirky. She is an athlete, studious, fun, but maybe more mainstream in her style and tastes. Would such a student fit in at Swarthmore?</p>
<p>Ruby…I’ve heard repeatedly from people with children in their 40’s now through to current applicants that Swarthmore is “weird”…“strange”…the kids are freaks. I’m going to tell you that they are…but for all the right reasons. (Note: I have no affiliation to the school, no children who’ve attended…I feel I’m relatively unbiased).</p>
<p>I get a sense from the few times I’ve been on campus that the kids are genuinely very intelligent, very nice, oddly confident and very focused for their age. They like themselves, their classmates, their professors, and understand the world has room for more than one or two exceptional people. They don’t need to destroy others to be successful…they appreciate that learning from one another makes them all better people. What’s strange, is how rare many of these traits are today. Again…IMO…I think in many ways it’s the most honest and transparent school I’ve visited (probably well over 100 in total).</p>
<p>I attribute that sense of community to the Quaker roots and a careful stewardship by those involved to find like minded students and faculty. I’m not Quaker, but those that I know are as a group very smart, very caring, and very happy. If you’re looking for financial return for an unconscionable amount of money, it’s quite possible this isn’t the right school. If you’re looking for your child to be a happy, productive member of society…this might just be a fit.</p>
<p>Hi EyeVee: What a great answer! I think my younger daughter might be a fit. I will suggest she investigate once her high school finals are over.</p>