Brown v. Swarthmore

interesteddad
Mon, 09 Jun 2008 21:48:17 +0000

1. swarthmore does have a large per student endowment, but it also has very few students and a mission that requires more endowment draw (they have less grant funding, direct-use gifts, etc).



I don’t believe that’s true. Swarthmore actually has a very low endowment draw – they target an average of 4.75% of endowment in spending just under $80,000 per student per year (not including financial aid). Of course, being much larger, Brown has some economies of scale that make up for spending less per student per year.



2. the PhD data is likely true but one has to be careful interpreting it because of the obvious self-selection bias. one (unverified) way to interpret it might be that brown political science concentrators are more diverse–pursuing doctoral programs as well as medical school, law school, immediate public service, and other options. another, is that those who to pursue PhD’s at Brown, on average, get into better schools.



I would be surprised. Heres’ the list of immediate post-grad plans for Swat poli sci majors. This isn’t complete, this is just those who knew what they were doing and filled out the questionairre before graduation:



• Legal Assistant, Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP, New York City, NY
• Teacher, Teach for America, Raleigh, NC Legal Assistant, Sanford, Wittels & Heisler, LLP, Washington, DC
• Teacher, Teach for America, (in or near) Gallup, NM
• Teaching in Jerusalem and joining the Peace Corps Teacher, Teach for America, New Haven, CT Legislative Correspondent, Senator Dodd's Office, Washington, DC
• Research Analyst, Cannondale Associates, Wilton
• Teacher, Veritas Preparatory Academy, Phoenix, AZ
• Parliamentary Intern, Canadian Parliament, Ottawa, QC, KHM
• Marketing Associate, Advisory Board Company, Washington DC, DC
• Research Analyst, Fannie Mae, Washington, DC
• reporter/journalist
• Community Rebuilding Intern, NeighborWorks America, Washington, DC
• Paralegal Specialist, US DOJ, Criminal Division, International Affairs, Washington DC
• Clerk, Morristown Running Company, Morristown, NJ
• Paralegal, Federal Trade Comission, Washington DC, DC
• Research Coordinator, UPenn, Philadelphia, PA
• Financial Analyst, Nikko Citigroup, Tokyo, JPN
• Paralegal/Associate, Baker&McKenzie, Chicago, IL
• Business Analyst, McKinsey and Company, New York, NY
• Astronaut, NASA, New York City, NY
• President, Genocide Intervention Fund, Washington, DC
• Assistant d'Anglais/ Research Assistant, Paris, FRA
SWARTHMORE COLLEGE
Post-Graduation Plans by Major
2004-2007
13
• Editor, Clear Admit, Philadelphia, PA
• Library Associate, The Swarthmore College Library, Swarthmore, PA
• International Database Coordinator, Aids Healthcare Foundation, San Francisco, CA
• Marshal's Aide, Supreme Court of the United States, Washington, DC
• Political Organizer, Industrial Areas Foundation, Tuscon, AZ
• Paralegal, Federal Trade Commission, Washington, DC
• Assistant Canvass Director, Grassroots Campaigns
• Program Assistant Intern, Quaker United Nations Office, New York
• Consultant, Ernst & Young LLP, Washington DC
• Research Analyst, Suss Consultin, Jenkintown, PA
• Regional Director, Moving America Forward, Santa FE, NM
• Research Associate, Council on Foreign Relations, Asia Department, New York, NY
• Research Assistant, Columbia University, New York, NY
• Business Analyst, Deloitte Consulting Group, Philadelphia
• Canvasing Director, Democratic National Committee
• Financial Analyst, Goldman Sachs, New York, NY
Graduate/Professional School
• J.D., Law, Yale Law School, CT
• JD, University of Pennsylvania Law School
• Masters of Social Work, Social Work, University of Michigan, MI
• MA, International Relations, University of Chicago, IL
• JD, Law , Harvard University
• non-degree, Center for Arabic Study Abroad, American University in Cairo, EGY
• JD, Law, Vanderbilt Law , TN
• M.A., Strategic Studi & Intr'na Econ, J.Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, DC
• M.Sc, Comparative Social Policy, Oxford University, GBR
• PhD, Government (Political Science), Harvard University, MA
• AAS, Advertising and Marketing, Fashion Institute of Technology, NY
• J.D., Law School, Boalt Hall (UC Berkeley), CA
• J.D., Law, Harvard Law School, MA
• J.D., Law School, University of Michigan, MI
• Masters, Economic History, London School of Economics, ENG
• J.D., Harvard Law School, MA
Other
• Studying/working in Morocco/Israel
• Fulbright in Cyprus
• Look for jobs
• Internship (which will hopefully become a job)
• Student teaching in the fall, teaching afterwards
• Teach English in China
Travel
• Internship in Sierra Leone
• Around the world
• Arabic study in Cairo





if you are interested in an academic career (getting a PhD) after college, there will be little difference in opportunity between swarthmore and brown. at the top programs, brown may have an edge because the presence of graduate students allows their political science department to maintain a more robust research enterprise and retain more reknown faculty.



Actually Swarthmore probably has a slight edge because of its reknowned honors program. However, I agree with your basic premise…any given student entering Brown or Swarthmore or any other top school will have the equal potential to go anywhere and do anything.



3. neither school is necessary more challenging. it will be what you make of it



I think that, on average, Swarthmore is more demanding simply because that’s the culture of the school. The ony people who go there are “golfers” who want to “play a really hard course”, so to speak. But, I totally agree that either school can be equally demanding depending on what the student makes of it.

I don’t think the poster can go wrong with either choice. If I were faced with that choice (and it’s a common one, Brown is one of Swarthmore’s top five cross-admit schools along with Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and Stanford), I would decide based primarily on size and whether I want a small boutique-store educational experience or a larger, more full-service experience with a broader selection. Both are equally valid choices.