Swarthmore College
Swarthmore College is a small and private liberal arts school. It is one of the more traditional liberal arts schools that is home to more than 1,447 undergraduates and located in the town of Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. This school is well known for the way that they challenge each student with is special liberal arts curriculum that they use and the intimate nature of each class. In other words many students will have to work twice as hard to make sure that they receive an A in their class.
Many students are not used to this challenging work and the school and its alumni and teachers are aware of this. That is why freshman students are given a bit of slack and are worked with closely in order to help acclimate them to the way the school works. Swarthmore students take their academics and grades very seriously, and are usually highly motivated individuals and often perfectionists. The college is actually split into three smaller divisions which include natural sciences, humanities, as well as social sciences. There are many undergraduate majors offered within these three divisions, however, some of the most popular with students include majors in the areas of economics, political science, English literature, biology, as well as psychology.
Trying to get into Swarthmore College is not easy because they are very selective about who they choose. You have to prove to them that you are successful in academics and are well rounded. Last year 4,000 students applied – but only 370 were accepted. The ones that were accepted had a combined average SAT score of 1340 to 1530 and an average ACT score of 30 to 34. Close to 92% of these accepted students were ranked in the top 10% of the graduating class in their high school with a GPA of 4.0.
Swarthmore College has an outstanding student to faculty ratio of about 8:1, and it is rare to find an undergraduate class with more than 10 or 15 students. Most of the classes are held in small discussion seminars, and all students are taught by highly touted professors, including freshmen. Students and teachers work side by side, and there is always a clear line of communication between both parties. In fact, some teachers even hold monthly dinners at their homes for their students, and they are also known for handing out their home phone numbers in order to truly be available 24-7.