Imagine Magazine - Johns Hopkins - November/December 2012 - (Page 45)

What do You like best about swarthmore? Diane Mattis, scOtt arbOretUM “i am most pleased with the general attitude: a highly intellectual atmosphere, without cut-throat grade grubbing. the feeling of learning for sheer enjoyment is pervasive. Very involved faculty help to encourage this.” “my fellow students. they are exceptionally intelligent, ambitious in non-competitive ways, and intellectually and spiritually inquisitive.” i would recommend swarthmore for students who have already experienced many things—like travel, different environments, different perspectives—because it could seem way too insular here if one weren’t aware of the outside world.” “scholarly students. the liberal arts education worked out for me because i continued on to graduate school. however, had i chosen to go directly into the workforce, i feel that i would have been limited in what i was prepared by my swarthmore education to do compared to alumni of more pre-professional institutions.” “the intellectual passion of the students is interwoven with an ethic of social responsibility, a legacy of swarthmore’s Quaker heritage. even the businessmen this place produces are thinking about how to integrate sustainability and community leadership with entrepreneurship.” “most of all, i treasure my friendships and how they’ve enriched me both personally and intellectually. the professors and other students pushed me intellectually farther than i would ever have imagined; they helped me define myself as a person and a thinking human being.” swarthmore College swarthmore, PA 19081 www.swarthmore.edu • 4-year coed private liberal arts college • Campus in a suburban community 11 miles west of Philadelphia if You Had it to do Again, Would You go to swarthmore? All reviewers enthusiastically said yes. • Full-time undergraduate enrollment 2011-12: 755 men; 790 women • Special features: Honors Program modeled on the independent study system at Oxford. As juniors and seniors, honors students take special seminar classes in their major; at the end of the two years, they must complete comprehensive oral and written exams prepared by outside examiners. “absolutely. even when the workload is at its most insane and i feel like a flattened lump of tofu, i still love this place. the combination of intensely challenging academics and truly amazing people is, in my opinion, unsurpassable.” “absolutely. i would go back right now. swarthmore not only pushed me academically, it challenged me to question my assumptions about society. at the end of four years, i came out a more skeptical—and more accepting—person.” “in a minute. to learn from caring people, to be surrounded by brilliant colleagues, to be exposed to so many ideas…and all on the beautiful grounds tended by the scott arboretum. the atmosphere is one of joy in learning.” “there are things i would like to change about swarthmore, but i don’t think any other school has the same combination of highest quality academics, lack of cut-throat competition, and casual social atmosphere. i believe that all of us here have a common bond in that we have never been challenged the way we are challenging ourselves now.” “the lovely arboretum campus provides a perfect backdrop for study and reflection. one of my favorite things was the Crum Woods adjoining the campus. i loved to go for walks or runs there, or just sit on a rock overlooking the creek, thinking and dreaming. it is a beautifully peaceful place, with trails well-maintained by the scott arboretum.” “swarthmore can be a pressure cooker. the workload is tremendous. students have to work hard to keep their personal relationships and aspirations intact in the face of the avalanche of work.” Who Would be Most Compatible with the Academic and social Atmosphere at swarthmore? What do You like least about swarthmore? “swarthmore’s good points carry a downside. it can be very intimidating to be a student here, with seemingly god-like professors and amazing fellow students. also, its small size and intimacy can become suffocating; you seem always to run into certain people, which can either be wonderful or upsetting. everyone recommends that people take a semester away from swarthmore and either go abroad or gain work experience or something. the college encourages and facilitates such semesters away.” “People either love swarthmore or they hate it. there’s no in-between feeling here. it follows that, if you visit the school and hate it, it’s not for you. But if you can see yourself here, chances are you’ll love it. in general, intense, academically oriented, brilliant people tend to flourish here.” “one has to be strongly personally motivated, although not necessarily by grades or rewards, and very curious. Note: The reviewers quoted in the Students Review series are expressing their own views, which are not necessarily those of JHU or CTY. www.cty.jhu.edu/imagine imagine 45 http://www.swarthmore.edu http://www.cty.jhu.edu/imagine

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Imagine Magazine - Johns Hopkins - November/December 2012

Imagine Magazine - Johns Hopkins - November/december 2012
Contents
Big Picture
In My Own Words
Well of Dreams
Making History Personal
A World Full of Stories
The Month of Writing Dangerously
Japan Adventures
Storytelling 2.0
On the Frontline of Digital Journalism
Once Upon a Summer
Awakening the Storyteller
Selected Opportunities & Resources
On the Doorstep of Discovery
When You’re Ready to Do Research
Off the Shelf
Word Wise
Exploring Career Options
One Step Ahead
Planning Ahead for College
Students Review
Mark Your Calendar
Knossos Games

Imagine Magazine - Johns Hopkins - November/December 2012