Swarthmore vs. Pomona vs. Smith

interesteddad
Wed, 04 Apr 2012 11:34:16 +0000

Swarthmore and Pomona do have the enviable luxury of being conservative with their annual endowment spending. This was huge during the recent endowment collapse as both schools were able to weather the storm with far less drastic cuts than most schools. For example, Smith was forced to reduce the size of their faculty – which certainly has an impact on the day to day experience of students.

Simply put, Pomona and Swarthmore spend more, per student, each year than almost any other liberal arts colleges (or more than any other schools period when it comes to undergrad spending). It shows up in many small ways, not of all of which may seem important until you need it. For example, Swarthmore’s health center is open and staffed 24/7. Smith’s is closed nights and weekends, so if you have a vicious stomach bug (and all that entails), you have to gut it out in the dorm.