what makes swarthmore special

dramatica
Sat, 17 Jan 2009 16:52:17 +0000

I have been thinking about this one and having said goodbye to my freshman d this morning at the airport, I was thankful that she was going back to a school where she feels everyone treats one another like family. She had a wonderful first semester and was eagerly anticipating the beginning of the next. She has been very, very happy and has met some wonderful new friends.

I believe that Swarthmore is special because there is a pervasive feeling of caring. It is the little things that abound that make it a wonderful place to attend school. I will just note two minor ones because I want to keep this brief.


At lunchtime nothing is scheduled so that all students can eat together. The school essentially “shuts down” and all students can eat in one place, at the same time. It has been said that one of the activities that helps keep a family together is having meals as a family. I think that it is a very nice “touch” for the students at Swarthmore to be able to congregate in one place, at the same time, every day, if a student chooses to take advantage of this.
School provides vans to take students to a number of places, but my favorite, and the one for which I am most thankful as a parent, is the airport shuttle. I think that it is really caring and thoughtful for vans to be provided for students flying to and from school during breaks. While her friends have to struggle with cab$$$ and public buses/trains at other schools, and just like her brother did all through college and grad school at two Ivies, she gets to hop on a free school van and rides to and from school with friends. I know that this is not a big deal, but it is a really nice touch.


And it is the many little things that when added together make a place feel special…