WASHU or Swarthmore?

<p>Hi!</p>

<p>I'm a student from Korea, and I got admitted to WASHU and Swarthmore this yr. </p>

<p>Actually, I had never thought about going to a Liberal Arts School, but people are telling me how great Swarthmore is, and that I should definitely choose Swarthmore. </p>

<p>I'm probably gonna major in one of these: International Relations, Economics, Business, Management,Trade, something like this....
I like city better than country
I'm not actually a big fan of reading/writing/debating.</p>

<ol>
<li>WASHU or Swarthmore?</li>
<li>If my english isn't that great, would i have a hard time surviving in Swarthmore?
cuz i heard that reading/writing/debating is especially important in Liberal Arts schools.</li>
</ol>

<p>Thanks!!!</p>

<p>Swarthmore is an incredible school, but it is very intense, and yes, I think it would be harder for someone with limited English skills than WashU. There’s something intensely personal about a small LAC education that makes it very demanding.</p>

<p>Both schools are in the suburbs with access to cities and the weather is comparable in both places. And both schools are very supportive of their undergrads.</p>

<p>Both schools are going to make great demands of your spoken and written language skills, and you’ll improve rapidly when you are surrounded by English all day-but Swarthmore has a reputation for being especially intense academically. You will not be able to hide out in lecture classes-not that Wash U has a lot of those. That said, there is academic support at both schools for kids for whom English isn’t their first language. Get your papers looked at by a writing specialist before you turn them in. And no one will hold an accent or grammar mistakes against you when you are speaking. </p>

<p>I would suggest that you check out which the school that has the most breadth and depth of coursework in the subject areas in which you are most interested. (Course catalogs should be available on line or have them sent to you.) Read the student newspapers on line to see what students are concerned about. Find out if the schools’ alumni associations have chapters in your country, if you plan to return home after college, and talk to some alums if you can. Find out if the schools have a Korean student association and how many other Koreans will be there-it’s easy to get homesick. Check out the funding for internships over the summer or research in your areas of interest.</p>

<p>In the end, these are both great schools and you can’t go wrong.</p>

<p>No business offerings at Swarthmore. You sound much more “applied” than “theoretical” in your academic interests. I’d go with Wash U.</p>

<p>Hm. I mean, I visited Swarth and I know that it is VERY small and far from city-living. And although I have only wonderful things to say about Swarth, WashU sounds like a more solid decision for you and what you want to major in.</p>

<p>Good luck wherever you end up!</p>