Swarthmore College facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Swarthmore College

Motto	Mind the Light
Type	Private liberal arts college
Established	1864; 161 years ago (1864)
Academic affiliations	COFHE TCC Space-grant
Endowment	$2.7 billion (2022)
President	Valerie Smith
Academic staff	207
Undergraduates	1,699 (2022)
Location	Swarthmore , Pennsylvania , United States
Campus	Suburban, 425 acres (172 ha)
College newspaper	The Phoenix
Colors	Garnet and White
Nickname	The Garnet
Sporting affiliations	NCAA Division III – Centennial Conference
Mascot	Phineas the Phoenix

Swarthmore College is a private college in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. It focuses on liberal arts education. The college was founded in 1864. Its first classes began in 1869. Swarthmore was one of the first colleges in the United States to accept both male and female students.

It was started by the Religious Society of Friends. By 1906, the college became non-religious. Swarthmore offers only undergraduate degrees. It is part of the Tri-College Consortium with Bryn Mawr College and Haverford College. Students can also take classes at the University of Pennsylvania. This is part of the Quaker Consortium.

Swarthmore offers over 600 courses. These are in more than 40 different subjects. It even has an engineering program. The college has 22 Division III sports teams. They compete in the Centennial Conference.

Many famous people have graduated from Swarthmore. This includes five Nobel Prize winners. It also includes 11 MacArthur Foundation fellows. Many alumni have won Tony Awards, Grammy Awards, Academy Awards, and Emmy Awards.

Explore Swarthmore's History

Parrish Hall, named after the first president, Edward Parrish. It holds offices and student housing.

Alice Paul and David Kemp are newer buildings. They won awards for their design in 2010.

The name "Swarthmore" comes from early Quaker history. Swarthmoor Hall in England was important to the Quaker movement. The college was founded in 1864. Deborah Fisher Wharton and her son, Joseph Wharton, helped start it. They worked with Quaker groups from Philadelphia, New York, and Baltimore.

Swarthmore was the only college started by the Hicksite branch of Quakers. Other Quaker schools, like Haverford College, were from a different branch. Classes at Swarthmore began in 1869. Edward Parrish was the first president. Lucretia Mott and Martha Ellicott Tyson were Quakers who wanted the college to be coeducational. This means it would be open to both boys and girls.

Edward Hicks Magill was the second president. His daughter, Helen Magill, was in the first graduating class in 1873. In 1877, she became the first woman in the U.S. to earn a Ph.D..

In the early 1900s, Swarthmore had a strong American football program. It played against bigger schools like Navy and Princeton. In 1921, Frank Aydelotte became president. He helped the school focus more on academics. He started the Honors program.

During World War II, Swarthmore was part of a Navy training program. This program helped students join the U.S. Navy.

Famous psychologists like Wolfgang Köhler, Hans Wallach, and Solomon Asch taught at Swarthmore. They made the college a center for Gestalt psychology.

The 1960s and 1970s saw new buildings added. These included Sharples Dining Hall and Lang Music Building. During this time, African-American students held a sit-in. They wanted more black students to be enrolled. This led to the creation of a Black Cultural Center in 1970. An Environmental Studies program started in 1992. The Lang Performing Arts Center opened in 1993.

In 1999, the college started buying renewable energy credits. These came from wind power. In 2008, Phineas the Phoenix became the first official mascot.

Swarthmore's Academic Programs

Cunningham House

Swarthmore has an Honors Program. It was started in 1922. This program lets students take special seminars. These are like small classes with four to eight students. Honors students often write long papers or theses. At the end of their final year, they take exams. These exams are given by experts from outside the college.

Swarthmore is special for a liberal arts college because it has an engineering program. Students can earn a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering. Other interesting programs include peace and conflict studies and cognitive science.

The college has about 1,620 undergraduate students. There are 187 faculty members. Almost all faculty members have the highest degree in their field. This means there is one teacher for every eight students. The college offers over 600 courses in more than 40 subjects.

Popular Majors at Swarthmore

Based on 2021 graduates, these were the most popular majors:

• Economics (53 students)
• Biology/Biological Sciences (37 students)
• Computer & Information Sciences (36 students)
• Engineering (23 students)
• Mathematics (18 students)
• Research & Experimental Psychology (16 students)

College Rankings

Swarthmore is often called one of the "Little Ivies". These are small, highly respected colleges. U.S. News & World Report ranked Swarthmore as the fourth-best liberal arts college in the nation in 2024. It has been ranked number one six times.

Forbes magazine ranked Swarthmore twenty-fifth among all U.S. colleges in 2019. Swarthmore also ranks very high for the percentage of graduates who go on to earn Ph.D.s.

The Princeton Review has named Swarthmore a "Best Value" private college many times. This means it offers great academics at a good price.

Getting into Swarthmore

Admissions statistics
2022 entering classChange vs. 2017
Admit rate	6.9% ( −3.8)
Yield rate	42% ( +3)
Test scores middle 50%*
SAT EBRW	710–770 ( +20 median)
SAT Math	730–790 ( +20 median)
ACT Composite	32–35 ( +1 median)
High school GPA†
Top 10%	89% ( −2)
Top 25%	100% ( +1)
*2022 data among students who chose to submit †Among students whose school ranked

Swarthmore is known for being very selective. In the 2016–2017 school year, only 10.7% of applicants were accepted. This was the highest number of applicants in the college's history. Many accepted students are the first in their family to attend college. Also, 94% of accepted students were in the top 10% of their high school class.

What Graduates Do

After graduating, 15% of Swarthmore students go straight to graduate school. Within five years, 75% of alumni are in graduate or professional programs. Many go to top universities like Harvard, Yale, and Princeton. They often study math, science, humanities, or engineering.

Swarthmore graduates tend to earn good salaries. Their average starting salary is around $70,800. Mid-career, it rises to about $142,900. This places them among the highest earners compared to graduates from other colleges.

Paying for Swarthmore College

Swarthmore is a need-blind school. This means they decide who to admit without looking at how much money a family has. Then, they figure out how much financial aid a student needs. The cost for tuition, fees, room, and board for 2024–25 was $85,802.

The college meets 100% of a student's financial need. They do this without using student loans. This is important because loans have to be paid back. Instead, Swarthmore gives scholarships and grants. About 56% of students receive financial aid. The average aid package was $50,361 in 2017–18.

Swarthmore has one of the largest endowments per student in the country. An endowment is money given to the college to help it run. In 2007, the college decided to stop using student loans in financial aid packages. They now give more scholarships instead.

Exploring the Campus

Parrish Hall seen from Magill Walk.

The campus covers about 425 acres. It is centered around Parrish Hall. This building holds offices, student lounges, and housing. The college radio station, WSRN-FM, is also in Parrish Hall. So is the student newspaper, The Phoenix.

Magill Walk is an oak-lined path. It leads from the train station up to Parrish Hall. The campus is also home to the Scott Arboretum. This is a beautiful garden. In 2011, Travel + Leisure magazine called Swarthmore one of the most beautiful college campuses.

Most classrooms are north of Parrish Hall. There are also several dorms nearby. McCabe Library is to the east. Other dorms are also in this area. To the west are more dorms and the Scott Amphitheater. This is an outdoor theater where graduations are held. The Crum Woods are west of the main campus. Many buildings have views of these woods.

South of Parrish is the Dining Center. Other dorms and athletic facilities are south of the train station. The college has three main libraries. They also have seven other special collections.

Friends Historical Library

The Friends Historical Library opened in 1871. It collects records about the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers). These records go from the 1600s to today. The library also has important information about the history of the middle-Atlantic region of the U.S. It also covers American social reform. Quakers were involved in many reform movements. These include ending slavery, women's rights, and prison reform.

The library also keeps the Swarthmore College Archives. It holds the papers of the Swarthmore Historical Society. Inside the archives is the Swarthmore College Peace Collection (SCPC). This collection includes papers from Jane Addams. She was a Nobel Peace Prize winner. The SCPC has materials from over 59 countries. It focuses on women's activism around the world.

Student Life at Swarthmore

About 1,647 students attend Swarthmore. They are often called "Swatties." Student life is known for being very focused on learning. Many students come from families with higher incomes.

Mock Trial Team

The Swarthmore mock trial team started in 2000. They did very well in national competitions. In 2000, they placed tenth at the national championship. They were named "Best New School." In 2001, they placed second. The team has won many awards. They have over 25 members.

Sports and Athletics

Swarthmore has 22 varsity sports teams. These include badminton, baseball, basketball, cross country, field hockey, golf, lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, track and field, and volleyball. The football team was stopped in 2000.

The college also offers club sports. These include men's and women's rugby, ultimate frisbee, and fencing. About 40% of students play on a sports team or club.

Swarthmore is part of the Centennial Conference. This group includes private colleges in Pennsylvania and Maryland. It is also a member of NCAA Division III.

The men's basketball team has been very successful. In the 2018–19 season, they reached the NCAA Division III Championship Game. In 2019–20, they started the season with 26 wins and no losses. They were ranked No. 1 in the nation.

Swarthmore has won 26 Centennial Conference team championships. They also claim four national championships in men's lacrosse. They have won four national championships in men's tennis.

Campus Media and Groups

The Swarthmore Phoenix Newspaper

The Swarthmore Phoenix is the college's independent campus newspaper. It has been published since 1881 or 1882. The phoenix bird is a symbol for Swarthmore. In 1881, Parrish Hall was badly damaged by fire. It was quickly rebuilt, like a phoenix rising from ashes. After that, the newspaper was named The Phoenix.

The newspaper started as a monthly publication. It became bi-weekly in 1894. Now, it is published every week. The Phoenix first appeared online in 1995.

Voices Magazine

Voices was founded in 2017. It is an online news publication. It aims to share stories from different student groups. It was created after some controversial articles in another campus publication.

Student Magazines

Swarthmore has several magazines. Most are published twice a year.

• Spike is the college's humor magazine. It started in 1993.
• Nacht publishes long stories, fiction, poetry, and art.
• Small Craft Warnings publishes poetry, fiction, and art.
• Scarlet Letters focuses on women's literature.
• Enie is for Spanish literature.
• Visibility Zine features literature and art by historically marginalized groups.
• OURstory is about diversity issues.
• Bug-Eyed Magazine is a science fiction/fantasy magazine.
• Remappings is published by the Swarthmore Asian Organization.
• Alchemy collects academic writings.
• Mjumbe is published by the Swarthmore African-American Student Society.

There is also a magazine for French literature. Pun/ctum is a photography magazine.

College Radio Station

WSRN 91.5 FM is the college radio station. It plays many types of music. These include indie, rock, hip-hop, and jazz. It also has radio talk shows. In the past, WSRN had a strong news department. Today, it mostly focuses on entertainment. However, some news shows are still broadcast. "Oído al Tambor" is the longest-running show. It focuses on news and music from Latin America. It has been on air since 2006.

Swarthmore SEPTA Station at the foot of campus.

Student Groups

A Cappella Groups

Swarthmore has several collegiate a cappella groups. These groups sing without instruments.

• Sixteen Feet is the oldest group. It was founded in 1981. It is an all-male group.
• Grapevine is the all-female group. It started in 1983.
• Mixed Company is a co-ed group.
• Essence of Soul is the all-black group.
• OffBeat was founded in 2013. It is open to all genders.
• Chaverim includes students from the Tri-College Consortium. They sing music from around the world.

These groups often travel to other schools for concerts. Once a semester, all groups perform together at an event called Jamboree.

Swarthmore Fire and Protective Association

Swarthmore College students can join the local emergency department. This is the Swarthmore Fire and Protective Association. Students are trained as firefighters and emergency medical technicians (EMTs). They are qualified at state and national levels. The fire department responds to many fire and EMS calls each year. A fire horn on campus is a common sound.

Swarthmore College Computer Society

The Swarthmore College Computer Society (SCCS) is a student-run group. It is separate from the college's official IT department. SCCS runs servers that provide web applications for the college community. They offer email accounts, Unix shell logins, and web space. SCCS hosts over 100 mailing lists for student groups. They also host over 130 organizational websites. SCCS also has a computer lab and gaming room for students.

SCCS has been recognized for its work. PC Magazine listed Swarthmore as a "Top 20 Wired College" partly because of SCCS. Papers related to SCCS have been accepted at important computer system conferences.

Notable People from Swarthmore

Famous Alumni

Swarthmore has many successful alumni. This includes five Nobel Prize winners:

• John C. Mather (1968), Physics Nobel winner in 2006.
• Edward Prescott (1962), Economics Nobel winner in 2004.
• David Baltimore (1960), Physiology or Medicine Nobel winner in 1975.
• Howard Martin Temin (1955), Physiology or Medicine Nobel winner in 1975.
• Christian B. Anfinsen (1937), Chemistry Nobel winner in 1972.

Swarthmore is second only to Caltech and Harvard for Nobel winners per graduate in the U.S. It also has 13 MacArthur Fellows. Many other alumni are leaders in law, art, science, business, and politics.

Here are some other notable alumni:

• Michael Dukakis (1955), former Governor of Massachusetts. He was a presidential candidate in 1988.
• Sandra Faber (1966), an astronomer known for her work on how galaxies change.
• Christiana Figueres (1979), a diplomat from Costa Rica. She led the UN climate change efforts.
• Jonathan Franzen (1981), a famous novelist and essayist.
• Josh Green (1992), the current Governor of Hawaii.
• Stephen Lang (1973), a Tony Award-nominated actor. He starred in Avatar.
• Carl Levin (1956), a former U.S. Senator from Michigan.
• James A. Michener (1929), a famous novelist. He left $10 million to Swarthmore.
• Isabel Briggs Myers (1919), who helped create the Myers–Briggs Type Indicator.
• Ted Nelson (1959), who created the terms "hypertext" and "hypermedia".
• Alice Paul (1905), a leader in the suffragist movement. She founded the National Women's Party.
• Sally Ride, an astronaut and physicist. She was the first American woman in space.
• Nancy Roman (1946), NASA's first Chief of Astronomy. She is called the 'mother of the Hubble telescope'.
• Peter Schickele (1957), a musical composer and satirist.
• Robert Zoellick (1976), former president of the World Bank.

Notable Faculty

• Solomon Asch, a psychologist known for his conformity experiments.
• Wolfgang Köhler, a Gestalt psychologist.

See also

In Spanish: Swarthmore College para niños