<p>Thanks you interesteddad, and others. Those are all excellent qualities for Swarthmore, and mostly factors that are important to my D as well. </p>
<p>Some additional factors we are trying to also understand that are important are the academic intensity, the location, the access to (and interest in?) the outdoors, degree of environmental awareness and programs, and suitability for dedicated vegetarians and vegans. My D is a terrific student, works very hard, will graduate first in her class at a quite competitive HS - but does not want to stress out over the academics. She works hard but likes to have a nice balance of acedemics and fun (sports, cooking, “playing”). She leaves the “brainy” stuff in the classroom, and is not real interested in political engagement and debates over the dinner table. She likes to go in to the city now and then, if available, but it is more important to be in a quiet and peaceful environment most of the time, and if there are hiking trails out the back door then that is a big bonus. She wants to be part of a student body that enjoys the outdoors, enjoy participating in sports but are not “jocky”, are environmentally aware and concerned (w/o being hard core activists), and includes plenty of vegetarians/vegans who all have some good options on and off campus. You will never find a place where all the stars line up, so it is a matter of finding a place where most of the more important ones do, and that then has that right comfortable “feel” that just can’t be well described with words.</p>