Swatties or Swarthmoreans?

Swarthmore College campus 

We all woke up early to attend the tour and information session at Swarthmore College in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania today. Swarthmore College is a liberal arts college which was founded in 1864 by the Society of Friends, otherwise known as the Quakers. The school still focuses heavily on its Quaker values and maintaining a  liberal community. The campus was very lush and green and the school obviously has a passion for the environment and environmental awareness. Everyone who spoke to us about Swarthmore were warm and excited about the school. As our tour guide said, "Swarthmore is made up of quirky intellectual people who end up forming a community." 

Swarthmore College Amphitheater

I liked Swarthmore for many factors, such as the pass and fail system enacted during first semester freshman year. For a student to receive a pass or a fail on their transcript the first semester really helps them to not be overly stressed about school work while trying to become acclimated to moving away from home and living on their own. I also liked that about 40-50% of students study abroad, and that learning a language is a requirement at Swarthmore College. Housing on campus is guaranteed all four years, and the freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior classes may sometimes mix. I enjoyed the community aspect of Swarthmore and the dedication to have the students learn but also enjoy their time.

Swarthmore College seems to be a great school, and if I decide that I am ultimately looking for a liberal arts college, then Swarthmore is definitely at the top of my list.

Swarthmore, Pennsylvania

After the tour and information session, we still had plenty of time before our train back to Philly, so we walked around the neighborhood of Swarthmore checking out the sites. Swarthmore is small and nice with affable little restaurants. The neighborhood reminds me of a larger and more historic version of mine back in the Bay Area. 

By the time we came back to Philadelphia it was still quite early in the day, so we all went to the UPenn student store and the Penn Book Center. Jun, Michael, and Kai explored the bookstores looking for a good read, while Hannah and I went in search of the textbooks for our class. Afterwards, we all went back to the hotel and relaxed in our rooms.

Around 6:00 PM we all walked to Distrito, which is a gourmet Mexican restaurant owned by Jose Garces the Iron Chef. We ordered a countless number of dishes Tapas style and everything tasted absolutely delicious. The food tasted differently than Mexican food back home, but that was because this was a modern take on the Mexican cuisine. It was different, but very good.

Today was fun and I really enjoyed seeing and taking in the different parts of Pennsylvania!