Swarthmore College

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Hallmarks and Quirks

Things I'm Good At:

My world-famous Honors program is based on the Oxford tutorial system. You take small seminars, get to know your professors super well, and write a thesis about the things you like best. At the end of it all, you'll sit down for a conversation with external examiners—an expert in your field.
Multi-tasking. Everyone here does a billion things, and my students are known for that. So if you're the class president and valedictorian who simultaneously captains the Academic Decathlon and basketball teams, while starring in the school plays and doing community service work in your free time, this is the place for you.

My Top 5 Must-Haves:

A heightened awareness of political correctness. Be very careful where you tread. It's easy to say the wrong thing here, and I won't let you off the hook easily.
Sunglasses and snow boots, for the exact same reason. The rose garden in springtime is to die for. A nice hike through the snow-covered Crum Woods feels like a fairytale adventure, so don't miss out. You'll need to be prepared for all seasons, but studying inside when you could be outside always feels like a mortal sin.
Some Aleve. You will get carpal tunnel. You will get a migraine. You will carry around 750 pages of reading a week, and then you're gonna read it all. Get ready for a crash-course in self-care.
Batman mask. Here's the thing about being so small: everybody knows everything about everyone. If you have a great night with your crush, everyone knows by brunch the next day. If you have a bad night...well, get that mask out. (Other superheroes are also acceptable.)
Ethernet cable. SwatNet does not work. You have been warned.

Why You Might Have Heard of Me:

You've confused me with Skidmore. I am not Skidmore.
You've confused me with Hogwarts. Like, seriously? Not even the same continent.
You think I'm an all-girls school. It's simply not true.
I rejected Barack Obama in 1979. That seemed to work out pretty well for him, no?

On a regular Saturday night, you can find me...

On any given Saturday night, half of my students will be at the library and half will be out partying, depending on who's presenting in seminar that week. I like to mix things up.

The social life isn't just limited to Saturday night, though: you can find me at an a cappella concert in the bell tower, or on a French class field trip to a fancy restaurant in Philadelphia. More often than not, I'm at a midday lecture by some awesome person you've never heard of, but who I happen to be studying in two classes at once.

Otherwise, you'll find me studying, but that's social, too. In the coffee bar, the library, or outside on a beautiful spring day, I'm always reading for class or doing a problem set. But I'm doing it with my friends, and we're having fun.

Favorite Hangouts:

Sharples Dining Hall. I only have one dining hall, so you will always see your friends at mealtimes.
Parrish Beach. that's what they call the big lawn that everyone sits on once the weather gets nice. Students play Frisbee, sunbathe, and read—just like at a real beach.
Pretty much anywhere. like I said, I'm a beautiful place. People will hang out anywhere.

Quirks:

Your first semester here will be Pass/Fail. You'll still take courses, get grades, and receive feedback, but consider it being on training wheels. Your GPA and transcript won't show any difference between an A or a C, so you don't have to worry so much about MLA format or if you spelled that word right. Go out and make friends. That's what your first semester here is for. You have seven or so more chances to worry about your grades.
You have to pass a swim test to graduate. That's so you don't accidentally drown one day. You're welcome.
Every Valentine's Day, there's a party called Screw Your Roommate. No, not like that. You set your roommate up on a blind date in costume (romantic, platonic, whatever). So, for example, peanut butter seeks jelly. Where's Waldo seeks Carmen Sandiego (or the other way around?). Rosencrantz seeks Guildenstern.
Each fall, there's a Pterodactyl Hunt, during which the great winged beasts emerge from a rift in the fabric of time and space, chasing down heroes, and you must slay them with your foam sword. It's like a live-action video game, and it's great fun.

Famous Alumni:

Alice Paul, suffragist and women's rights activist, Class of 1905
Michael Dukakis, 1988 Democratic Presidential candidate, Class of 1955
Stephen Lang, the bad guy from Avatar, Class of 1973
Ben Brantley, chief New York Times theater critic, Class of 1977
Jonathan Franzen, essayist, novelist, and egoist, Class of 1981