The rumors are true: Academics are strong and difficult at Swarthmore. Students spend a lot of time working for classes, but I think most people enjoy it. Even though people always complain about how much work there is, I think most students are interested in what they're working on, especially once they get into their majors.
I know that all of my classes this semester are incredibly interesting to me. So, even though I bitch about the amount of reading and the papers piling up, I am honestly interested in what I'm learning about. I'm taking 3 classes for my Sociology/Anthropology-Education major right now, and I really enjoy each of them. Two of the courses are on the larger side, with about 30 students, while the other has 12 students for a seminar. My fourth class, Social Psychology, is a lecture with about 80 students, so I have a wide range of class dynamics this semester. They're all good in their own way. The lectures in social psych are interesting and entertaining, and the large class size means that there are tons of people to study with. The 30-ish classes give small groups opportunities for discussion and presentations, which allow you to get to know people in this larger class. They provide a good combination of lecture and group discussion. Finally, the seminar gives me an opportunity to really think critically on my feet. It's a challenge, but it's also an awesome chance to get to know the students and the professor.
Professors at Swat work really hard to get to know each of their students. Even in the 80+ person lecture, my social psych professor tries to remember students' names, and he's getting pretty good. Plus, at such a small school, you see your professors outside of the classroom. Although it can be startling to see your professor at the gym, it does give you a unique opportunity to interact in a non-academic setting, which is really cool.
Swarthmore boasts having an "ethical education" meaning that you learn about life and how to address issues of social change in addition to learning about academia. I think they can do a better job of this, but there are definitely aspects of this in a lot of courses. For me, it was most clear in one of my first year seminars called Social Change and Social Responsibility. It was an awesome class that really made me think about the different avenues of creating social changes in different communities.
On a different note, Swat's requirements are pretty reasonable. They aren't too much, and they give you a good opportunity to learn about different subjects.