What makes Swarthmore so popular?

the_daydreamer
Mon, 20 Oct 2008 19:04:44 +0000

I was just thinking about this today. Swarthmore is for a very specific type of person. (I know that probably a lot of you will jump on me for saying this, but I believe it’s true.) Or at least, there is a common thread (from what I understand) joining all Swatties. And this common thread seems to be a passion for learning instead of achievement, a love of collaboration over competition, a willingness to really challenge oneself and challenge societal norms.

I know very few people who genuinely embody those characteristics. And it seems to me that there are very few people (at least at age 17) who really crave learning and find a kind of beauty in it.

And yet, Swarthmore’s acceptance rate is 15% and bound to decrease even more drastically this upcoming year. I don’t really understand it. I mean, I love Swarthmore (I’m applying ED), but I’m just so surprised that the mainstream has embraced it to the extent that it has. I would think it would be treated more like Reed: wonderful but obscure; an intellectual haven-- but only if you’re the right match. And yet, Swarthmore is in an entirely different league admissions-wise.

Any thoughts?