Swarthmore: The Big Picture
Swarthmore's great. There's pressure to do well and work hard, but no real sense of competition. People are very willing to help each other out by sharing notes or study guides, editing papers, etc.
Swarthmore Academic Life
When I first came to Swat I was overwhelmed by the amount of work. I thought to myself, "I am going to die with all this reading." But it's really just a matter of knowing your limits and pacing yourself. You get adjusted quickly. And when everyone else is working hard around you, you feel good about getting work done.
Professors are generally considerate and the small class sizes are wonderful. I have yet to have a prof who doesn't know my name by the second week of the semester.
Swarthmore's Student Body
Everyone is extremely supportive and kind. Students here are generally really kind and quirky.
The one thing that bothers me though, is that the campus is incredibly PC and hypersensitive. Is it always common for a certain group to be "personally offended" by something relatively insignificant. The campus is very liberal and will undoubtedly feel stifling to a student with conservative or even moderate political views.
Swarthmore Student Activities + Social Life
There's always one big party every weekend. Because the school is so small, parties are very inclusive. You will never find yourself in the awkward situation of not knowing anyone at a social event.
There are tons of activities for the politically active. Theater here is kind of a dud in terms of the scale of productions.
