Swarthmore College
Swarthmore College is a private school located in Swarthmore, PA, which is suburb of Philadephia. The campus is located 11 miles southwest of Philadelphia. The College was founded in 1864 and has been coeducational from the first day it opened its doors to students.
This is a small College, with only 1,500 students taking classes. Since the student-to-teacher ratio is only 8:1, the students get to know the faculty members well. Along with Bryn Mawr College and Haverford College, Swarthmore is a member of the Tri-College Consortium. Students enrolled at Swarthmore can also attend classes at the other two Colleges. The three schools also share a library system.
Majors & Degree Programs
Swarthmore offers a number of undergraduate degree programs, including:
• Art and Art History
• Biology
• Black Studies
• Comparative Literature
• Dance
• Economics
• Film and Media Studies
• Gender and Sexuality Studies
• Medieval Studies
• Peace and Conflict Studies
• Political Science
• Psychology
• Religion
• Sociology and Anthropology
• Theater
Admission Requirements
The Admissions staff at Swarthmore look at more than a prospective student’s marks when considering their application for admission to the College. Your class rank, letters of recommendation from two of your teachers and your guidance counselor are also considered. The College will also want to know about your extracurricular activities. You will be asked to submit a personal essay with your application, as well as the results of the SAT or ACT tests.
Swarthmore strongly recommends (but does not require) that applicants have an interview as part of the application process. You can submit your application by regular mail or online. To apply under the Early Decision track, the deadline is November 15, and you will have a decision by December 15. Regular Decision applications are due by January 2 and you will be notified on April 1 whether you have been accepted to Swarthmore. Previous applicants to the College can apply for consideration by sending in a new application package.
Swarthmore Tuition
Full time students at Swarthmore pay $36,154 for tuition. Room and board comes in at $11,314. The cost of a room only is $5,800. Students are charged $336 in mandatory fees to attend Swarthmore.
Sports at Swarthmore
Swarthmore College has 22 varsity teams competing in the NCAA Division III. The athletic program has been running since the 1870s, and teams have won 260 All-American awards. Teams compete in badminton, field hockey, golf, lacrosse, soccer, swimming, track, and more.
Intramural sports are very popular at Swarthmore, too. Teams play basketball, flag football, soccer, and softball. Some team sports are co-ed. Club sports are part of life at Swarthmore as well. There are teams playing fencing, rugby, ultimate Frisbee, and volleyball. Students are also able to use the athletic facilities available at Swarthmore, including a 10-lane swimming pool, 400-meter track, and a fitness center.
Swarthmore College provides a quality education to its students, and it’s no surprise that the school has been included on more than one list of the top 50 liberal arts colleges in the country. Online reviews are usually positive and you can see some examples here:
