<p>Swarthmore used to have their Family weekend in the spring, with the logic that since the college no longer has a football team, there was no reason to have Family weekend revolve around a sporting event as many other colleges do. And for first year students, having family weekend only 7 weeks or so after the start of their college experience means that they may not have learned the ropes of the place enough to be able to show their parents around confidently. Another reason was that for musical and dramatic performances, 6 weeks of rehearsal isn’t enough to have as polished a performance as they would like. </p>
<p>A few years ago they changed the schedule to have Family weekend in the fall, but have an Arts weekend in the spring. There are spring sports events that weekend, but also an emphasis on the performing arts.</p>
<p>I actually liked the previous schedule somewhat better. A first year student is still pretty new to Swarthmore in the third week of October, but should be much more at home, with deeper relationships with other students, faculty, and involved in activities by the middle of Spring semester.</p>
<p>So my take would depend a bit on what activities your student is involved with. If they are on a sports team that plays in the fall, then the official Family Weekend might be the time to visit. If they are involved in a sports team that plays in the spring, or involved in a performing arts production, then I’d prefer the spring Arts weekend.</p>