Swarthmore College

Swarthmore, PA · founded 1864 · 1,650 students · liberal arts college · Centennial Conference

Known for: Swarthmore is a highly selective liberal arts college renowned for its rigorous Honors Program, strong commitment to social responsibility and Quaker heritage, and its exceptional engineering program within a liberal arts context.

Rankings

U.S. News liberal arts: #4
Forbes: #17

Top programmes

Engineering
Biology
Political Science
Economics
English Literature
Mathematics

Notable alumni

Nancy Grace Roman — 'Mother of Hubble' and NASA astronomer
Michael Dukakis — Former Governor of Massachusetts and Democratic presidential nominee
Sonia Sotomayor — Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States (attended for two years before transferring)
Carolyn Porco — Planetary scientist and leader of Cassini imaging team
John C. Mather — Nobel laureate in Physics
Jonathan Franzen — National Book Award-winning novelist
Sally Ride — First American woman in space (attended before transferring)
Christoph Waltz — Academy Award-winning actor

Traditions

Crum Regatta
Ivy Ceremony
First Collection
Scott Arboretum plantings

If Swarthmore College were…

As a food: Alinea's edible balloon dessert — Intellectually ambitious to the point of performance art, slightly intimidating, definitely not for everyone. You'll either find it transcendent or wonder why you're working this hard for dinner — but you'll remember it
As an athlete: Megan Rapinoe — Elite performer who's equally known for athletic excellence and outspoken activism. Swarthmore students don't just compete academically — they organize, protest, and challenge systems while maintaining impossible standar
As a person alive today: Cory Booker — Swarthmore alum and Rhodes Scholar who embodies the college's combination of rigorous intellectualism and social justice commitment. Earnest, hardworking, sometimes exhaustingly idealistic — classic Swattie energy.
As a historical figure: Alice Paul — Swarthmore alum and suffragist who literally went on hunger strike for her beliefs. The Honors program's intellectual rigor meets Quaker-rooted activism in one fierce, uncompromising package.
As a movie or TV show: The Paper Chase — Relentless academic pressure, Socratic seminars that leave you questioning everything, and the sneaking suspicion that your peers are all smarter than you. Replace law school with Honors external exams and you've got Swa
As a US president: Jimmy Carter — Deeply principled, committed to human rights and social justice, sometimes exhaustingly earnest, and more interested in doing the right thing than being popular. The Quaker roots show.
As a city: Portland, Oregon — Earnestly progressive, slightly self-serious, beautiful but intense, where everyone composts and has strong opinions about local politics. Small enough that you can't escape your reputation, activist enough that you're a
As an element: Uranium — Incredibly dense, unstable under pressure (misery poker is real), and capable of sustained chain reactions — both intellectual and activist. Small amounts produce massive energy output, but handle with care or you'll bur
As a car: 1984 Volvo 240 Wagon — Swarthmore is the boxy Swedish intellectual's choice—safety-conscious, built to last through endless seminar debates, perpetually spotted at farmers markets with Amnesty International bumper stickers and a trunk full of

Campus life

Swarthmore's campus life is intensely intellectual, politically engaged, and community-oriented. The workload is famously heavy, but the atmosphere is collaborative rather than cutthroat. Social life is largely campus-based, with many student-run events and a strong tradition of activism.