#swarthmore vs bowdoin

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eager smelt
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Schools: swarthmore vs bowdoin ( i have not received my financial aid offers for both schools. so i am comparing in the assumption that the price is equal)
Intended major: psychology, specifically industrial-organizational psychology
Similarities: good weather, prestigious lac school, great graduate admissions outcomes

Swarthmore
School 1 Pros:

  1. First semester (pass or fail to explore interests)
  2. Various internship and job opportunities that are listed numerous times on the website
  3. Seems very supportive of people who are considering going into grad school
  4. Tri-college consortium (meaning i can take courses at Bryn Mawr, Haverford, and UPenn)
  5. no greek culture

School 1 Cons:

  1. Notorious for harsh course rigor
  2. bad food?

Bowdoin
School 2 Pros:

  1. providing every student a 13-inch MacBook Pro, iPad mini, and Apple Pencil
  2. Thrive program that supports low-income and first gen students like me
  3. great peer and alumni mentoring

School 2 Cons:

  1. students with title 9s?
  2. lots of drinking?
  3. overemphasized athletics?
  4. sketchy area?

Tiebreaking considerations:

  1. grad outcomes at both unis for psychology
  2. how easy it is to make friends and avoid people who you dont like
  3. financial aid
trim coral
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I would go for Swarthmore, but I am a little biased as a Haverford pre-frosh/Discover Swarthmore fly-in participant.
Swarthmore is located very close to the city of Philadelphia, so that may be a plus for you if you're looking for internships, jobs, or maybe a night out.
To address your cons for Swarthmore, I heard that many students there definitely spend a lot of time studying, but it's manageable, especially considering the large number of athletes who have even less time for schoolwork. Students are collaborative and help each other out. Many employers/schools are aware of Swarthmore's rigor which may benefit you. There's also an honors program that looks very good when applying for graduate school.
You can also eat food at other colleges in the Tri-Co. I heard Bryn Mawr's food is the best of the three. There are also a lot of FGLI/QuestBridge students at Swarthmore but other than that I can't say much.
You can look at Swarthmore's alumni first destinations by major report here: https://www.swarthmore.edu/sites/default/files/assets/documents/career-services/2020 Post Grad Plans by Major (for print non-color coded).pdf
That's it bye

eager smelt
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@trim coral ok ty for the insight!