Swarthmore College

Swarthmore College is a private institution that was founded in 1864. It has a total undergraduate enrollment of 1,534, its setting is suburban, and the campus size is 426 acres. It utilizes a semester-based academic calendar. Swarthmore College's ranking in the 2015 edition of Best Colleges is National Liberal Arts Colleges, 3. Its tuition and fees are $46,060 (2014-15).

Swarthmore College is located just 11 miles southwest of Philadelphia-far enough away to have a 425-acre campus that is designated as an arboretum. The school was founded by the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), but has no religious affiliation today. Almost half of students study abroad, and Swarthmore offers programs in more than 100 locations. The school also has more than 100 organizations students can get involved in on campus. Swarthmore has 22 NCAA Division III varsity sports teams cheered on by mascot Phineas the Phoenix. The school only has two fraternities and no sororities, as they were abolished in the 1930s. Although only freshmen are required to live on campus, about 95 percent of students continue to live on campus.

Swarthmore College is part of the Tri-College Consortium with Bryn Mawr and Haverford. Students can take courses from these colleges. Unlike other liberal arts colleges, Swarthmore also offers a B.S. in engineering. Swarthmore has many unique traditions, including the Crum Regatta, where students race homemade boats down Crum Creek; and Worthstock, the school’s take on Woodstock, featuring outdoor live music, dancing and food. Notable alumni include Nancy Roman, NASA’s first Chief of Astronomy in the Office of Space Science and "mother of the Hubble telescope;" former Massachusetts Governor and presidential candidate Michael Dukakis; and Robert Zoellick, former president of the World Bank.