What is Swarthmore College Known For?

I opened up a letter from Swarthmore today and the letter alone has made me consider applying (it was hilarious) but I don’t really know where Swarthmore’s strengths lie. Any info?

It is an excellent small liberal arts college. With U of Chicago and Reed, it enjoys a reputation as one of the three most intensely “intellectual” colleges in the United States. It has an honors program and sends many kids on to get their doctorates-- one of the top producers of future PhD’s of any college in the nation. It is a very pretty campus with nice stone buildings and an arboretum. It has had a liberal bent for years and Spiro Agnew is said to have called it “the Kremlin on the Crum;” the Crum is the creek on which it is located. It has delightfully quirky traditions like an annual Pterodactyl Hunt and a Screw Your Roommate tradition in which pairs find each other based on matching costumes like Ketchup and Mustard…or sine and cosine. It is part of a Quaker Consortium with Penn, Haverford and Bryn Mawr, where you can take classes at any of the four and a bus is provided to H and BM. There is a train station on the edge of campus for trips to Philadelphia. Unlike many small liberal arts colleges, Swarthmore offers engineering. It is academically strong across the board.

The most common “negative” stereotype (and yes, it is just a stereotype, with many people on this site arguing that it is not the case) is that students are extremely overworked here and more likely to complain of being overwhelmed, compared to at other small liberal arts colleges of comparable quality (Haverford, Amherst, Pomona, etc.).

Great school. If it appeals to you, you should visit if you can.

Thanks so much for the answer! Do you know of any popular majors there?

It’s a good all-around school in general, so all of their departments and majors will be good. Really, pick a major on the basis of your own interests.

What is Swarthmore known for?

  1. A spirit of intellectualism . . . and plenty of work.
  2. A far-left campus culture and an embrace--some might say an over-the-top embrace--of progressive activism.
  3. Funneling students to graduate school and thence to academic careers.
  4. Being a liberal arts college with an engineering program.

Full disclosure: My dad–who was both a professor and a student of the college scene–considered Swarthmore to offer the best undergraduate education in the US. Many moons ago, when I was applying to colleges, it was my top choice. I got in, but financial considerations led me to a different school . . . which I hated. However, times change, colleges change, and people change. I’m afraid that I would now find it torture to attend the 2017 edition of Swat, but if postmodern progressivism floats your philosophical and ideological boat, Swarthmore is still as fine as any college in the land.

Had I known of it back in the day, it would have been my dream school. You will get a top notch education, but it does have some downsides. It is quite academcially intense, though the first semester for freshmen is on a pass-fail basis, to reduce stress. It’s also really small, about 1500 students. You need to be sure you can handle four years at a tiny college. The consortium is doable and will give you more options.

About the letter, be aware it is advertising. They will send letters to thousands of stduents in the hopes that they might apply. But it’s very selective and if you don’t have a stellar GPA, your chances are very slim. The work load is rigorous and they will accept students they are sure can handle it.

Swarthmore students are a diverse bunch that get mislabeled. Whose grads have the highest GMATs of any college or unversity according to Linkedin? Whose student body is 30% comp sci and econ majors? Whose student body was polled as 85% “like” frat parties. Whose students are 25% NCAA athletes and get to the playoffs (albeit occasionally). These measures are not measures of quirkiness. Is it time to lose the quirky descriptor?

Would a student who is not politically to the far left be out of place? S1 might have a chance to go there, but he despises having extreme politics of any persuasion shoved down his throat.

57SPECIAL – sure my kids would fit right in at more conservative schools but what would be gained socially? The kids are a nice bunch. As long as Swarthmore’s fraternities continue to exist it remains diverse.

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