<p>My daughter considered two of the schools on your list, Williams and Swarthmore – although she was familiar with all of them. She was kind of the inverse of dadx3’s. Went to a decent but hardly intense public high school, was never terribly concerned about being able to handle the academics at Swarthmore, although she did do an overnight, talk to a lot of people, and sit in on classes to size it up for herself. Applied early decision, did fine, and loved pretty much every minute of her four years there, with the possible exception of the tail end of sophmore year when she was ready for a big study abroad adventure. A semester later, she was equally happy to be returning to Swarthmore from Argentina, China, and India.</p>
<p>While all of the schools you mention are fine schools and anyone would be lucky to attend any of them, they are almost jarringly different in some important ways. So maybe the thing to do would be to focus on the qualities that make Swarthmore unique (or more unique) in that comparison group.</p>
<p>[ul][li]I don’t mean to take anything away from Williams and Haverford, which are as good as it gets academically, but Swarthmore is a championship caliber course played from the back tees. There are no easy birdie holes and par is a good score. There is something very special about the dynamics with students fully engaged in academics and challenging their professors. It is an amazingly cooperative acadmic experience with study groups, peer mentoring, and friends studying together as a part of daily life. For example, Swarthmore’s student writing center is a model program that other liberal arts college wish they could match. IMO, it’s the best undergrad academic program in the United States. Bio, Econ, and Poli Sci are the three most popular majors. A higher percentage of Swarthmore grads get Econ and Poli Sci PhDs than at any other college or university in the country. Swarthmore is third on the per capita Biology PhD production list, just behind CalTech and Reed College.</p>[/li]
<p>[li]Swarthmore has by far the most ethnic diversity of the colleges you mention. It is one of the most diverse elite colleges in the country (only 56% white US students) and diversity is a defining quality of the school and the campus culture. There are no racially segregated theme dorms; the students won’t allow it. The school has been co-ed since its founding and the bylaws have always required an equal number of men and women on the governing board. The campus culture and the curriculum in almost every department is very heavily focused on international cultures. The diversity hits you instantly at any campus function – orientation, parents weekend, etc. It’s quite remarkable.</p>[/li]
<p>[li]Swarthmore and Haverford share a location that is very, very different from the other schools you mention. They are not in the middle of rural New England, hours away from the nearest large city. From Swarthmore’s campus, a shopping mall is a ten minute walk, downtown Philadelphia is 20 minutes from train station on campus. New York City is two hours by train. The airport is 20 minutes by car, less than an hour by train. Swarthmore appeals to students who occasionally take a break from the ivory tower to sample life in the city whether it’s rock venues, symphony orchestra, art museums, theater, or just dinner with friends. A day trip on a charter bus from Swarthmore is going to Washington to lobby Congressmen about Darfur. Weatherwise, suburban Philly is a fairly mild climate with just enough winter for a taste, but not the heavy cold and snow of rural New England.</p>[/li]
<p>[li]I believe that Swarthmore’s mission statement is unique among the schools you mention in that, in addition to academics, it emphasizes two additional aspects of a Swarthmore education: ethical intelligence (the ability to examine all aspect of a complex problem and arrive at ethically sound options) and training to use the elite education to improve society in some way.</p>[/li]
<p>[li]Swarthmore has the lowest binge drinking rate and fewest alcohol poisoning hospitalizations of the schools on your list, by a significant margin in several cases. While it has a sizeable per student athletic budget, Swarthmore has the least “jock” feel in term of campus culture, again by very significant margins in some cases. Swarthmore’s athletics are much more of a old-school student-athlete endeavor. Swarthmore does not have freshmen ghetto dorms. First year students, in all cases, live in dorms with experienced college students, which is a huge advantage in learning how to become a successful college student and in passing along a palpable campus culture. This is likely a major factor in the lower binge drinking rate.</p>[/li]
<p>[*]Swarthmore has the largest per student endowment (right at $1 million per student) and largest per student expenditures ($70k to $75k per student per year, not including financial aid). Williams is about the same. None of the others are close.[/ul]</p>