Swarthmore College Top Questions

My experience with groups on the edge has been good. They are activist groups and show it. The kind of student who would feel out of place at Swarthmore is not necessarily a "dumb" student, but one who fit into the jock stereotype who was unable to do their work (our athletes not only spend hours practicing, but also manage to fulfill their academic expectations). Most students wear cords/jeans/pants and a tshirt with a jacket to class; it is a rare sight to see extremely well-dressed people, although everyone for the most part looks like they took some time preparing). Different types of students interact primarily through activities, which then leads to interactions in leisure periods. Most Swarthmore students are from the Tri-State Northeast area of the USA or from California. Financial backgrounds most prevalent are middle class. Students are politically aware (more so than not) and predominantly left. Students talk about how much they'll earn only with close friends.

I'm involved in Swarthmore Chrisitian Fellowship. Out of place- close-minded people. Clothes- normal casual. Interaction- yes. Cafeteria tables- sports team, group of friends, black/latino, strangers. Origin- no certain place- everywhere! Financial- middle class? Politically aware- yes, active- some. Predominantly left and center. Earnings- no.

Racial/religious: Swat is a very tolerant place. You could argue it's too tolerant as people are happy to put up with some guy writing completely serious 9/11 conspiracy stories in the school newspaper every other week...not something befitting of a school that prides itself on being intellectual. There's a lot of racial diversity and a fair amount of religious diversity (though many Swatties are atheists like myself), there's a large gay community. Feel out of place: I would say 90{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of the American population would feel out of place at Swarthmore. I love it but you have to have an intellectual bent, even if you aren't an intellectual. Even when you're joking around, be prepared for an Oliver Twist reference or something like that. from where?: Swarthmore students are from all over the country. I actually think the state with the most students is California. But being from California, I feel like everyone i know is from New Jersey. Financial backgrounds: Most families are upper class or middle class, but half the kids are on financial aid. Politically aware/active: Yes, and predominantly left. Talk about how much they'll earn?: No

Swarthmore is such a diverse campus, in racial, religious, sexual orientation, socio-economic, interests, passions, and in every other aspect you can think of. The diversity here is not just represented in numbers or percentage of international students on campus, but the diversity here really exists in the constant dialogue and interactions that occur on campus. It's amazing how accepting and open everyone on campus is, including the faculty and administration. To give an example, at Swarthmore, we have an event called "Coming Out week" every year, which serves as a time to celebrate and support people who identify with different sexual orientations and gender identities and also to engage in discussion about various related issues. One of the various things that happen during this week is the chalkings where students will draw or write messages on the sidewalk. Last year, there was controversy over some of the sexually explicit drawings of penises and vaginas and such, but after much dialogue, involving some anger, frustration, and even tears, the student body as a whole was able to deal with the issue and become even closer. Really, the issue was that students wanted to open up more dialogue, build more trust and understanding, and learn how to be allies for each other in a way that they didn't necessarily know how to. The student body will challenge each other in many ways, but ultimately are there to support and grow together. You will definitely be challenged in one way or another by fellow peers but also you will be surprised how much you will be inspired by and learn from one another. This stands the same for the administration who are in no means going around and erasing these drawings or trying to suppress the students in any way but are there to encourage student dialogue, engagement, and expression. Even when parents who had visited called in about the drawings which they had found offensive, the administration stood by the students' right to freely express and explore whatever they may.

In my experience the support groups are very vocal, though I have run across very few of their members in math and physics. Students mostly wear dirty, ugly clothes. Someone who dresses well would feel out of place, as would someone who wanted to "succeed" in middle class America. The most common parent profession is professor / teacher. Students usually sit by friends, who are usually made Freshman / Sophomore year. There is probably a table of people on a sports team together, there is a table of members of the Science Fiction Club, there is a table of Freshmen from the same hall. Students talk about how much different graduate programs have offered them.

Swarthmore is very diverse - much more than my hometown was. It's been a great experience meeting so many different people and understanding the issues that each group much combat. Different types of students definitely interact - there tend to be very general groupings, as opposed to cliques, but they're pretty fluid. Students are definitely liberal. And the only reason we have to talk about how much we'll earn one day is to pay off all these loans!

I think it's a hard school for conservative students (but they run the world, or did under the Bush administration, so I never really had much sympathy for them)since not just the students and faculty are liberal, but the whole philosophy of the school and pedagogy is liberal. I'm white, queer, jewish, and upper-middle class, so I don't know that I can really speak to the experience of people of color at the school. I have been told it is a good place for people of color, and the school certainly works very hard to make people confront their own internalized racism, classism, etc, but I don't want to speculate on other people's experiences. It was a great school to be queer at. I felt like I got to explore this identity and have a huge, supportive community. Students do not talk about how much they will earn one day. That would be seen as odd. They talk about how they will change the world or what they will study. Making money is seen as suspect.

I have really enjoyed being part of the Swarthmore Asian Organization, which I guess would fit into a "racial group" on campus. But most of the groups on campus try to be very multi-dimensional, and I think there is a move to try and promote greater collaboration between many different groups. Open discussions is definitely something that students strive for although it doesn't always happen. Sometimes it does feel sort of difficult to be openly religious at Swarthmore because it feels like you are in a minority. However, I have never noticed any strong religious tensions on campus. There are multiple LGBT groups on campus that a good number of students participate in, and there is a lot of discussion about how people outside of specific groups can still be good allies. I think one of the main problems that students at Swarthmore have is a sort of self-segregation, where people get really comfortable spending time only with people that are the most similar to them in a multitude of ways, culturally, religiously, etc. Students who are not willing or have never experienced a very liberal environment would probably feel out of place. During Sager week for example, which is organized by mainly the LGBTQ groups on campus, many freshmen have expressed shock at the sexually explicit chalkings or the discussion topics. Students wear a variety of styles, but I would not call Swarthmore a very high maintenance or trendy designer kind of campus. Different types of students do interact, but it really depends on the individual. Four tables? There are definitely a few tables that are generally perceived to be tables that specific athletic teams sit at, one for students of color, and sometimes specifically black students, or the Mary Lyons (sort of the Psi Phi crowd) table. Most Swarthmore students are from the Northeast States, California, or Pennsylvania. Swarthmore tries to be need-blind with financial aid, but it is still a really expensive college to attend, and most students come from middle to upper middle class families although certainly not exclusively. There is a significant proportion of the student body that is politically aware, but politically active is another matter. I would say that most students are predominantly leftist in their views. Most students do not talk about how much they'll earn one day, and it is almost taboo to be perceived as someone who is concerned mainly with wealth, but students do care about being successful. (Check out the alumni records for example.)

i think someone who is culturally and socially unaware of problems outside of campus would feel out of place at Swarthmore. because the student body is so small, we have to interact with people we wouldn't "normally" interaact with, which I think is a good thing. I feel that I have met more of a variety of people at Swarthmore than I would have at a larger school.

Swarthmore's somewhat known for having an ugly student body. It's not really that the students are ugly, but that people just don't give a damn and it's widely considered uncool or suspect to seem to care.

Swarthmore is diverse racially, with a good number of Asians, African-Americans, and Hispanic students. We have an outspoken LGBT community and practically everyone is accepting of that. Socio-economically, most people are well off: it's an expensive school. But Swat's financial aid tries really hard to help lower-income families pay for the school. What kind of student would feel out of place at Swarthmore? A really preppy person who cares a lot about what they wear and how they look. Also, someone who flaunts brand-name things or takes pride in them. Also, conservatives, though the college Republicans has reemerged on campus, which I see as a good thing. A lot of people are politically aware and have (liberal) opinions, even if they don't discuss them often. Students often worry about how they're going to find a job in the "real world" and actually make money as opposed to living in a box or working in a Barnes and Noble.

There’s a decent amount of racial diversity on campus—a lot of international and queer students, who integrate well, and a lot of African-Americans, who integrate less well. Ideologically, there isn’t much diversity at all. People are over to the left, period, end of story. They do tend to be respectful of dissent, if you can defend your viewpoint. One of the most popular figures on campus is a College Republican with a great sense of humor. Socially, there’s a strong respect for “safe spaces,” which means, essentially, closed groups, although there’s an ongoing debate about this. The campus is very queer friendly and it’s currently working on being very trans-friendly too. I like being around leftists. I feel comfortable arguing when I disagree with the prevailing orthodoxy, most of the time, and I feel like there’s always something to think about.

Racial, religious, LGBT, class groups are all present on campus. We always have a month dedicated, groups are constantly throwing events to create awareness on campus, and there is a lot of discussions in class over these issues and there social construction. I think anyone can feel out of place here depending if they find their niche or not. Most students wear whatever they feel like wearing, no one adheres to any heteronormative, socially expected way of dress. Different types of students do interact. We don't all stay with like people. Four tables with all kinds of people. Maybe one will have the lacrosse team on it or the baseball team. Most of the tables are filled by teams coming from their practices, but the people on the teams are all unique and different. Most Swat students are from NYC, PA and CA. I would say 70{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of students are on some sort of financial aid. Yes, very politically aware and active, all the time, except the republicans, they don't speak out too much. So we're predominantly left, although even within the left you'll find some mode of conservatism. NO. We NEVER talk about earnings. Most students could care less.