Swarthmore College: Statistics

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Position Category
#949 of 14,131 In the World
#283 of 2,597 In North America
#252 of 2,496 In the United States
#10 of 155 In Pennsylvania
#378 of 2,908 For Classics and Ancient History
Top50% For 79 other topics
Subject rankings

Quick Review

Acceptance rate
7%
Average SAT
1525
Average ACT
34
Avg. cost to attend
$22,469 /y
Aid receiving
66%
Undergraduates
1,623
Male:Female Ratio
47:53
Control
Private
not-for-profit
Highest Degree
Bachelor's degree

Swarthmore College Acceptance rate and admissions statistics

Swarthmore College has an acceptance rate of 7% and is among the top 1% of the most difficult universities to gain admission to in the United States. The university reports the admission statistics without distinguishing between local and international students.

Total Men Women
Acceptance Rate 7% 8% 7%
Applicants 13,065 5,746 7,311
Admissions 975 465 510
Freshmen enrolled full time 427 203 224

SAT scores

Among admitted applicants
168 or 39%
submitted SAT

25% of them
had 1490
or below

75% of them
had 1560
or below

Typical SAT scores of first-years in Swarthmore College are 1490-1560 (middle 50% range).

ACT scores

Among admitted applicants
69 or 16%
submitted ACT

25% of them
had 33
or below

75% of them
had 35
or below

Typical ACT scores of first-years in Swarthmore College are 33-35 (middle 50% range).

Admissions requirements

Recommendations Required
Secondary school record Required
College-preparatory program Considered but not required
Formal demonstration of competencies Considered but not required
SAT/ACT Considered but not required
Secondary school GPA Considered but not required
Secondary school rank Considered but not required
TOEFL Considered but not required
Other Tests Neither required nor recommended

Enrollment demographics by race or ethnicity

White 490 (30%)
Asian 268 (17%)
Hispanic 251 (15%)
Nonresident Alien 219 (14%)
Two or more races 185 (11%)
Black or African American 153 (9%)
Race or Ethnicity unknown 47 (3%)
American Indian or Alaska Native 5 (0.3%)
Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander 2 (0.1%)

Costs per year: Tuition, Housing, Fees

The average net cost to attend Swarthmore College is $22,469 per year, calculated as the sum of the average cost of tuition, room and board, books, and supplies, reduced by the amount of average financial aid received.

The final cost of attendance varies for each student based on household income, residency, program, and other factors.

Net average cost to attend
$22,469/year
Average aid awarded
$61,634
Students receiving aid
66%

Average costs by household income

<$30K $7,690
$30-48K $4,951
$48-75K $11,444
$75-110K $22,443
$110K+ $47,544

Tuition and fees

Undergraduates
Tuition in-district $65,058
Tuition in-state $65,058
Tuition out-of-state $65,058
Fee in-district $436
Fee in-state $436
Fee out-of-state $436

Room and board costs

Dormitory capacity 1,585
Combined charge for room and board $20,308
Room charge $10,478
Meal charge $9,830

Swarthmore College majors

Swarthmore College has granted 426 bachelor's degrees across 50 programs. Below is a table with majors that lead to degrees at Swarthmore College.

Major Bachelor
Economics, General 57
Computer and Information Sciences, General 56
Engineering, General 29
Mathematics, General 29
Research and Experimental Psychology, Other 23
Biology & Biological Sciences, General 22
Political Science and Government, General 22
English Language and Literature, General 15
Neuroscience 15
Philosophy 13
Education, Other 11
Sociology and Anthropology 11
Environmental Studies 9
Art History, Criticism and Conservation 8
Biochemistry 8
Physics, General 8
Chemistry, General 7
Fine & Studio Arts, General 7
Linguistics 6
Drama and Dramatics & Theatre Arts, General 5
History, General 5
Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution 5
Medical Anthropology 4
Religion & Religious Studies 4
Cognitive Science, General 3
Dance, General 3
Film & Video and Photographic Arts, Other 3
Music, General 3
Political Science and Government, Other 3
Russian Language and Literature 3
Social Sciences, Other 3
Anthropology, Other 2
Asian Studies & Civilization 2
Astrophysics 2
Biophysics 2
Education, General 2
Fine Arts and Art Studies, Other 2
German Studies 2
African Studies 1
American Indian & Native American Studies 1
Ancient & Classical Greek Language and Literature 1
Chemical Physics 1
Classical, Ancient Mediterranean, and Near Eastern Studies and Archaeology 1
Comparative Literature 1
French Language and Literature 1
Islamic Studies 1
Japanese Language and Literature 1
Latin Language and Literature 1
Psychology, Other 1
Social Sciences, General 1
Grand Total 426

Swarthmore College has a graduation rate of 92%, which is among the 4% highest for universities in the US.

Total Men Women
Graduation rate 92% 92% 92%
  • Full-time retention rate - 94%

Publications & Citations

Swarthmore College has published 8,536 scientific papers with 253,265 citations received. The research profile covers a range of fields, including Liberal Arts & Social Sciences, Computer Science, Philosophy, Physics, Political Science, Biology, Engineering, Environmental Science, Law, and Sociology.

Publications
8,536
Citations
253,265

Publication / Citation count by topic

Liberal Arts & Social Sciences
5,598 / 172,455
Computer Science
3,432 / 115,616
Philosophy
3,220 / 96,970
Physics
3,167 / 105,352
Political Science
3,095 / 82,196
Biology
2,983 / 112,908
Engineering
2,863 / 86,080
Environmental Science
2,834 / 87,600
Law
2,794 / 76,537
Sociology
2,614 / 91,214
History
2,138 / 42,479
Psychology
2,081 / 106,032
Quantum and Particle physics
2,020 / 72,313
Chemistry
1,994 / 71,434
Medicine
1,975 / 76,999
Geography and Cartography
1,729 / 46,069
Art & Design
1,517 / 29,870
Linguistics
1,434 / 46,778
Mathematics
1,389 / 56,263
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
1,274 / 50,824
Geology
1,243 / 45,054
Business
1,206 / 34,200
Archaeology
1,202 / 29,726
Economics
1,182 / 37,871
Biochemistry
1,067 / 42,352
Genetics
1,039 / 41,710
Ecology
1,020 / 40,161
Optical Engineering
912 / 33,700
Astrophysics and Astronomy
891 / 26,438
Paleontology
885 / 37,757
Social Psychology
883 / 60,752
Materials Science
868 / 24,396
Statistics
819 / 36,112
Organic Chemistry
794 / 29,715
Neuroscience
769 / 37,333
Computer Vision
716 / 24,841
Theology / Divinity / Religious studies
668 / 12,323
Literature
618 / 14,155
Library and Information science
613 / 10,734
Psychiatry
573 / 24,916

Annual publication & citation counts

Year Publications Citations
1993 88 1057
1994 86 1334
1995 117 1335
1996 82 1366
1997 124 1431
1998 110 1755
1999 117 1762
2000 141 2407
2001 166 2447
2002 133 2801
2003 184 3545
2004 143 3433
2005 160 4136
2006 129 4366
2007 179 4931
2008 150 5659
2009 171 5843
2010 220 6824
2011 188 7697
2012 206 8134
2013 133 8632
2014 213 9777
2015 239 9898
2016 224 10386
2017 245 10609
2018 234 12070
2019 318 14167
2020 339 15463
2021 277 15288
2022 272 15131
2023 273 15419
2024 228 14265
2025 131 11623
Academic rankings

Swarthmore College alumni

  1. Alex Grant

    Alex Grant
    Born in
    United States Flag United States
    Years
    1973-.. (age 53)
    Enrolled in Swarthmore College
    Studied in 1995
    Occupations
    painterdraftspersonartist
    Biography

    Alexandra Grant is an American visual artist who examines language and written texts through painting, drawing, sculpture, video, and other media. She uses language and exchanges with writers as a source for much of that work. Grant examines the process of writing and ideas based in linguistic theory as it connects to art and creates visual images inspired by text and collaborative group installations based on that process. She is based in Los Angeles.

  2. Stephen Lang

    Stephen Lang
    Born in
    United States Flag United States
    Years
    1952-.. (age 74)
    Occupations
    television actorstage actoractorfilm actor
    Biography

    Stephen Lang is an American stage and screen actor. He gained fame for his role as Colonel Miles Quaritch in James Cameron's Avatar (2009), for which he won the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor. Lang reprised the role in the sequels.

  3. Michael Dukakis

    Michael Dukakis
    Born in
    United States Flag United States
    Years
    1933-.. (age 93)
    Occupations
    university teacherlawyerpolitician
    Biography

    Michael Stanley Dukakis is an American politician and lawyer who was governor of Massachusetts from 1975 to 1979 and from 1983 to 1991. He is the longest-serving governor in Massachusetts history and the second Greek-American governor in U.S. history, after Spiro Agnew. He was nominated by the Democratic Party for president in the 1988 election, losing to the Republican nominee, Vice President George H. W. Bush.

  4. Christiana Figueres

    Christiana Figueres
    Born in
    Costa Rica Flag Costa Rica
    Years
    1956-.. (age 70)
    Occupations
    climate activistpoliticiandiplomatpodcastereconomist
    Biography

    Karen Christiana Figueres Olsen is a Costa Rican diplomat who has led national, international and multilateral policy negotiations. She was appointed Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in July 2010, six months after the failed COP15 in Copenhagen. During the next six years she worked to rebuild the global climate change negotiating process, leading to the 2015 Paris Agreement, widely recognized as a historic achievement.

All 100 notable alumni

General info

Alternative names Swat
Founded 1864
Motto Mind the Light
Colors garnet, gray
Academic calendar September to May
Total FTE staff 1,036
Carnegie classification Baccalaureate Colleges: Arts & Sciences Focus

Location and contacts

Address 500 College Ave
Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, 19081
United States
City population 7,000
Phone 6103288000

Swarthmore College in social media