I'm at Swarthmore College which was listed last year as the number one liberal arts college in the nation by the U.S. News and World Report (not that that means much).
I love it here. A few great things about Swarthmore:
1. If you don't want an urban college but also don't want to be isolated, Swarthmore is ideally situated. The college itself is in a suburb with lots of trees and such, but Philadelphia is a short train ride away (the train station is on campus).
2. Swarthmore is a small college (if that's your thing) with about 1700 students. There is a definite sense of community about the place, and professors will actually know your name.
3. Excellent liberal arts education. I like liberal arts education because it makes sure to expose students to a wide variety of disciplines (at Swarthmore, you are required to take intro courses in six departments). You will definitely learn a lot and develop a good grounding from which you can enter any field you wish.
4. Campus is gorgeous.
Swarthmore is also very intellectual which may be a plus or a minus for you. It's not unusual for a discussion of bosons to enter a dinner conversation (although it never gets very deep). Swarthmore students are pretty heavy thinkers.
About the only problem I have with Swarthmore is that the population is very liberal. I don't have a problem with liberalism itself (although it sometimes gets ridiculous), but there are very few people you might even consider to be politically centrist. Also, it seems like a week never goes by without somebody getting offended by something and making a fuss.
When all my letters had come in, I had been accepted to Johns Hopkins University and Swarthmore College. I probably would have still gone with Swarthmore if I'd gotten into Harvard. The undergrad education is just better.
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