Swarthmore College Top Questions

yes, they all learn your name. Favorite class was probably history of the future with Burke. Least favorite: stat for econ with hollister. students study: my friends probably an hour a day, unless there's a paper due, though this is much, much less than the average. I think students are less competitive than they are at big universities where classes are huge and curved, there are lots of pre-meds, classes are more impersonal, etc. most unique class: im in a class called contemporary japanese visual culture right now. Major: I'm econ/poli sci. the poli sci department is so strong, i have not had a poli sci professor that I didn't really like. The econ department is one of the weaker ones here, though there are some good profs. Profs outside of class?: I don't, other people do. Academic requirements: Swat's academic requirements are less stringent than any other college I know of. They want you to take whatever classes you feel like taking. Learning for its own sake, but it's great for both. Econ, bio, and engineering majors definitely outnumber english and philosophy majors. And a lot of the english majors go to law school or something like that.

One awesome opportunity at Swarthmore that most everyone takes advantage of is the first year seminars. These courses are offered to first-year students, capped at a maximum of 12 students, and provides an awesome small classroom experience where you get to know your fellow classmates very well and also your professor. They have some amazing courses on an array of subjects, such as Usually, at the end of the semester the professor will invite the class over to his/her house for the very last class. One of my favorite classes that I've taken at Swarthmore is the Introduction to Education first year seminar. I came in a biology major and pre-med and since that class, have changed gears, dropped pre-med and am now looking to minor in education and also get teacher certified in biology. There will be at least one class or one professor, if not multiple, that will change/inspire you in a way you might not have expected and that's always an exciting experience.

Swarthmore really is an unusually wonderful learning environment--the Religion department especially. Professors are brilliant, but approachable. By and large, they care about student welfare and enjoy their jobs as teachers (at least in humanities departments.) Class participation is necessary and common. Students study A LOT--even students who party every day still study hard and care very much about performing well in their classes. Some students are competitive, but you can ignore or avoid them pretty easily. Swarthmore students have academic conversations outside of class all the time. The education one gets from Swarthmore will not help you do anything useful (build things, communicate with non-academics, clean, cook for yourself, etc. etc.) but it WILL help you write very, very well and analyze everything you read, hear, or see critically.

I am a math and physics double major. My professors know my name. My best classes are hard with enthusiastic professors. My worst class had a professor who seemed uninterested in the material. Students study for at least four hours every day, probably more like eight. Most students participate in class and discuss their work outside of class. Students are not competitive at all. The education is geared towards graduate study. Applications are largely ignored. History courses spend a lot of time on historiography.

This is my favorite aspect of Swarthmore - hard, but really satisfying classes. You leave feeling as though you actually know something. The professors are really great and easily accessible - every professor I've had knows my name. In terms of competitiveness, we're all competitive with ourselves - but not each other. I rarely if ever talk about my grades. The students are also a great source of knowledge - I've probably learned just as much from my friends as from my classes. If you come here, though, be prepared to work!

The classes are tiny and never taught by TA's, so the professors know your name and remember who you are. I had great relationships with professors. They were supportive and interested in their students. Not all profs know how to teach, but that's true everywhere. I now work a several large elite colleges and I see the difference between those schools and Swat - the professors really don't (can't) have a relationship with all the students in larger schools. That said, a relationship with professors isn't necessarily the most important thing. Sometimes the course offerings felt too limited at Swat. You can take classes at Penn, Haverford, and Bryn Mawr, but it's kind of a pain to get to them. Students study all the time and feel guilty whenever they are not studying. It's very competitive. The best part of Swarthmore may be the conversations you have outside of class - everyone, even in different departments, is getting the same kind of education, asking the same kinds of questions, being forced to abandon their old ways of viewing the world and learn about a post-modern view of the world, and everyone wants to talk about that all the time. I still keep in touch with some of my professors at Swat. I saw them outside of class, they had students over to their homes for end of semester parties (sometimes for class itself). Swarthmore is an intellectual school, they aren't trying to prepare you for jobs, they are trying to prepare you to be a certain kind of person in the world (and to become an academic). Everything at swat is infused with a political mission, to make you good global citizens who think about and problematize everything, every decision. Though you are not being overtly prepared for a job you do come out of school with valuable skills that you can apply to most work situations - you can write, speak articulately, formulate new ways of approaching problems, etc.

Professors definitely know your name because with the exception of general requirement courses, most courses are around 20 people or less. My favorite class that I have taken at Swarthmore was a first year seminar about the History of Food in America. It was a really interesting historiography based course that focused on looking at the development of America through different food trade, agriculture, and the effects it had on people and society. My least favorite class was probably my engineering class on Engineering Probability, which was really a statistics class in disguise. Students study a lot I would have to say compared to what I have seen at many other colleges and universities. Class participation is very common and encouraged. Swarthmore students are constantly engaging in intellectual conversations outside of class. Many of them are initiated by organizations, but many of them are also just spontaneous. I should be careful not to generalize too much, but for the most part students are much more collaborative than competitive. The most unique class I have taken thus far has probably been my History of Food class because we combined discussions with a research project that involved writing down your own family recipe, writing about one specific food item, and making a recipe using that food item as the main ingredient. My major is engineering, and all of the engineering professors I have had so far are very supportive of students. They definitely make efforts to assist students and to be available. However, one of my major gripes with the department, which I think they are trying to correct now, is a lack of mentors. I think if a really strong mentorship program was enacted in it would help a lot of students through some of the most challenging courses as well as with the overall difficulty of taking a lot of natural science, mathematics and engineering courses in conjunction with each other as well as trying to have a social life! Most of the time I have spent with professors outside of class has been in office hours, which may or may not count as class. But, I know many students who have developed really close relationships with one or two professors and have worked on projects or research with those professors as well as who have gone to their professors houses for extra help or for seminar dinners. Swarthmore has challenging but not unreasonable academic requirements for the most part. I think education at Swarthmore is geared at making people good critical thinkers who can succeed in academia or in the professional world. One thing with engineering at Swarthmore is that it is very generalist so someone looking to major in a specific field of engineering should probably choose a school that excels in that particular field. But, for students interested in studying engineering as well as getting the liberal arts background should definitely look into Swarthmore.

YES, PROFS KNOW MY NAME! Even if I've never spoken to them, so they make it a priority, and they usually love to talk to you outside of class. Most of them see you as human rather than just student. Students study all the time. At all hours of the day, you can find someone studying. You will work a lot here, but not all the time- don't worry. My favorite class was Intermediate Macroeconomics, with Professor Kuperberg. He is amazing. This class is hilarious and informative and just take it. Students are a little competitive, depending on your academic discipline. Social Science/Humanities people care less, pre-med people are uber-competitive. And yes, I do spend time with professors outside of class. I will go to office hours to chat for an hour, we've been on "field trips" together, I've had drinks with professors. It's chill. The education at Swat is DEFINITELY geared towards learning for learning's sake. We don't have practical majors, or real-world classes. Except a couple in sociology. The requirements are very doable and a lot less rigid than at other schools.

Professors are exremely accessible and love it when you talk to them. they will help you if you need help and give you an extension if you need it. Classes in general (especially in the social sciencesand humanities) are very discussion-based and you have to know your stuff. classes don't get cancelled because of under-enrollment. i once had a class with three people (including myself). The learning is based on the idea that learning for learning's sake is very important. when i was a freshman, i had the opportunity to take a very specific class: family, gender, and sexuality in the islamic middle east. study abroad is encouraged, but generally study abroad programs are not half as rigorous as Swarthmore.

My professors all know my name, where I'm from, how many dogs I have, and often my favorite band. Students fill all uncommitted hours with studying. The workload is like a gas, it will fill all the space you give it, so you just have to be sure not to give it too much. I can assure you though that people still get drunk of weeknights, have sex, and do stupid things just because they're young.

Professors do make an effort to know your name, which isn't really hard since most classes are small. Swatties definitely have intellectual conversations outside of class. Students aren't competitive, I haven't heard anyone compare grades here. I haven't spent much time with professors out of class, but it's really up to how much of an effort you put into it. If you do make an effort, professors are usually really responsive and nice. The academic requirements are okay-- at least you can choose which classes to take in each division (ie: you're not forced to take math if you don't want to, or english if you hate it). Chances are you'll end up fulfilling most requirements without trying too hard.

Yes, professors know our names and we know theirs. I’ve gone to several of their houses (they’re within walking distance) and I’m familiar with the details of the personal lives of several too. Professors really seem to care about us, which is cozy. I’ve also run into problems with them and their flakiness—is it because they’re so smart and that they’re allowed to get away with forgetting to return papers? Still, I’ve learned a huge amount from them and from even my crazy classes like “Vampires.” I almost never woke up and didn’t want to go to class. It helps to be in a community where intelligence is valued. Virtually everyone at least considers going on to grad school, even if some students whine that it feels like we’re already there. Classes are very theory-heavy. Some students enjoy that; I get irritated sometimes at how jargon-y and insular theory can be. It is a sign that professors take us seriously, I guess. I wanted more practical classes. The film department, for example, only had one actual film-making class and they had to call in a visiting professor to teach it. And there aren’t many creative writing workshops. I had to go to UPenn to take Screenwriting. Even in more standard fields like fiction and poetry, though, the Quakers’ subtle bias against art comes through: none of the professors had MFAs. They were all just English teachers who liked writing. Swarthmore is definitely a learning-for-learning’s-sake kind of place, and an applying-lessons-to-life kind of place too. It’s common for students to use deconstructing techniques to analyze everything, from the seemingly harmless, like Disney movies, to the more insidious, like political campaigns. Nobody is so crass as to talk about wanting to make money when we graduate. Most people dream of non-profits and, if anything, just paying off their loans. (Also a lot of people have rich parents but they don’t talk about that either.)

Yes. All Professors know my name in the department of my major, even though there are 30 majors. My favorite class was Evolution with Colin Purrington, the man is just amazing. Social Psych with Andrew Ward. Intro Philosophy with Schuldenfrei. Animal Physiology with Sara Hibert Burch. Any class with Rachel Merz. Any class with Diane Anderson in the education department. Least favorite class was with a visiting prof, so that's good. Students are constantly studying, as a matter of fact that is what I should be doing rather than filling out this survey. Class participation is very common except in big lectures, usually intro classes. Once you become a senior they are not many intellectual conversations and more of life/future conversations. I had them more when I was a underclassmen. Students are absolutely not competitive at all. We reinforce each other and care about each other and help each other succeed. The most unique class I've taken was Social and Political Philosophy with Schuldenfrei. The biology department is AMAZING. They are attentive, caring and generous with their students. I went to several large conferences for Genetics, and so have my peers in their respective submajors. They allow every student to form their own curriculum with some rigidity but general freedom. They want you to succeed so much they have a science associate program to tutor students. I am a science associate and I think it's an amazing program. You can always do your own research and they always provide us with amazing opportunities to grow as biologists. I spend time with my prof's outside of class, they don't mind. Swat has rigorous academic requirements but they are fit so each student has a great liberal arts education. It's geared toward's learning for its own sake. some of it might be for jobs, but mostly not.