Swarthmore College
Amongst the whirlwind of college mail (virtual and otherwise) that I was sent in my junior and senior years of high school, it became almost impossible to select the schools to which I wanted to apply, let alone the school I wanted to attend. In all honesty, I had never had that “Dream School” feeling, and was being driven solely by statistics and experiences, until I finally found the school for me: Swarthmore College.
Firstly, the location. Despite being exhilarated by cities, I always appreciated the ability to retreat and collect myself. Swarthmore’s location lends itself easily to retreats into nature, especially with its status as a live-in museum. As any representative will tell you, the school is an arboretum and owns the nearby Crum Woods, which makes it almost a dream come true for environmental science majors, nature enthusiasts, and introverts in general. However, for those of us who don’t have a thing for foliage, an on-campus train is available for trips to Philadelphia and beyond, academic or recreational.
Speaking from an academic perspective, however, Swarthmore was the only college to which I was accepted that didn’t carry my desired major, let alone have a department dedicated to it. The academics at the school, however, were worth the loss of a potential major pathway. Firstly, Swarthmore being a liberal arts college provides many an opportunity to explore one’s passions. The requirements for graduation include classes from three divisions: humanities, natural sciences and engineering, and social sciences. Aside from being one of few liberal arts colleges that offer engineering coursework, the diversity of the education one receives at Swarthmore helps account for a person’s growth as a person and as a student as their interests and potential majors develop. When the average student changes their major at least three times during college, Swarthmore at least allows a student breathing time between high school graduation and major selection.
As a small school, with about 1500 students, Swarthmore is also aware of its limitations. While its classes provide both breadth and depth into many subjects (see classes like Lesbian Novels Since WWII and Is God a White Supremacist?), the school’s Tri-College and Quaker Consortiums provide for classes that a student wishes to take at Bryn Mawr College, Haverford College, and the University of Pennsylvania, should they need a class that Swarthmore does not carry. And while all of this sounds well and good, many prospective students feel left out of the equation when it comes to the social atmosphere and general environment of their prospective schools. Of course, the only sure-fire way to assess the ethos of a school is to visit, but the accounts of visitors is a great supplement to that.
Swarthmore’s size may lead some to mistake it for a cesspool of gossip, or otherwise an inescapable bubble. From my experience, this cannot be further from the truth. Small groups of very, very stressed people eventually become friend groups of very, very stressed people at Swarthmore. We eat under one dining hall roof, we play on the gigantic lawn leading up to the administration building (yes, one building for all administration), and we experience our undergraduate years together. Whether due to its Quaker values or not, the school’s students are accepting, encouraging, and resemble more a family than a student body. And, honestly, would you rather play bubble soccer or pick out your classes with your uncle Bobby, or with your new Swat friends?
As with most schools, resources are available at Swarthmore that make integration easier. Centers like the Black Cultural Center, the Interfaith Center, the Women’s Center, and the Intercultural Center, alongside many clubs aligned with political affiliations, LGBTQ status, and other racial groups, provide safe spaces, information sessions, and other valuable resources in addition to more formalized institutions like the Health Center and CAPS for psychological counseling.
Once all this is said and done, however, there is always the question of financial aid. Luckily, Swarthmore is a need-blind institution, and will supply its students with as much financial aid as is necessary. Additionally, Swarthmore has a no-loan policy, so any financial aid package is free of loans given directly by the institution. Overall, the decision is left up to you. The goal of this really is to open your eyes to the possibility of a life at Swarthmore and, if you choose us, I hope to see you next fall.
