Swarthmore College

Date: Nov 07 2007
Major: Economics (This Major's Salary over time)
Most sensible Swarthmore students are underwhelmed with their fellow students, their teachers, the food, the administration, and the libraries (probably in that order of importance). In most departments, grading at Swarthmore is quite hard, but I think that grades are usually refelctive of what smart people deserve. I am more intelligent than the average Swarthmore student, but I am not among the smartest. Honestly, I don't work very hard for B+s and A-s. I get As in easy classes. That said, some departments (ie. the natural sciences, math, and classics) are very hard. Despite all of the above, I think that Swarthmore compares very favorably with almost all other colleges and universities; I do not hesitate to suppose that, academically, it must be among the best 10 or so schools in the world. The low opinions that my fellow students have of the school are largely the result of unrealistic expectations. Generally, the faculty are extremely intelligent (well beyond the level found at most prestigious schools), well respected in their fields, demanding yet understanding, and interested in interacting with students. Despite the remarkable salience of vocal exceptions to this rule, the students are quite intellectual, as compared to those found elsewhere. The college is extremely wealthy, and it uses its wealth to provide students with some very valuable resources; however, its budget is not allocated in such a way as to optimize educational outcomes or any other criteria that would be appropriate for a college. Useless, non-market-driven profligacy in staff numbers and compensation packages, in exotic student recruitment efforts, and in response to the demands of "socially responsible" student groups, who don't believe in economics or even in reality, are the fault of the president alone. A change at the top has the potential to make Swarthmore the undisputed best liberal arts college in the U.S., with regard to educational outcomes, image, and U.S. News ranking.