Swarthmore College: Statistics

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Position Category
#920 of 14,131 In the World
#278 of 2,597 In North America
#247 of 2,496 In the United States
#10 of 155 In Pennsylvania
#368 of 1,385 For Media Studies
Top50% For 77 other topics
Subject rankings

Quick Review

Acceptance rate
7%
Average SAT
1500
Average ACT
34
Avg. cost to attend
$20,715 /y
Aid receiving
68%
Undergraduates
1,625
Male:Female Ratio
48:52
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% 6%
Applicants 14,707 6,047 8,660
Admissions 1,019 489 530
Freshmen enrolled full time 433 204 229

SAT scores

Among admitted applicants
180 or 42%
submitted SAT

25% of them
had 1440
or below

75% of them
had 1560
or below

Typical SAT scores of first-years in Swarthmore College are 1440-1560 (middle 50% range).

ACT scores

Among admitted applicants
82 or 19%
submitted ACT

25% of them
had 32
or below

75% of them
had 35
or below

Typical ACT scores of first-years in Swarthmore College are 32-35 (middle 50% range).

Admissions requirements

Recommendations Required
Secondary school record Required
College-preparatory program 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
Formal demonstration of competencies Neither required nor recommended
Other Tests Neither required nor recommended

Enrollment demographics by race or ethnicity

White 514 (32%)
Asian 287 (18%)
Hispanic 234 (14%)
Nonresident Alien 227 (14%)
Two or more races 158 (10%)
Black or African American 146 (9%)
Race or Ethnicity unknown 51 (3%)
American Indian or Alaska Native 3 (0.2%)
Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander 1 (0.1%)

Costs per year: Tuition, Housing, Fees

The average net cost to attend Swarthmore College is $20,715 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
$20,715/year
Average aid awarded
$47,703
Students receiving aid
68%

Average costs by household income

<$30K $5,341
$30-48K $8,634
$48-75K $13,009
$75-110K $18,389
$110K+ $50,474

Tuition and fees

Undergraduates
Tuition in-district $58,928
Tuition in-state $58,928
Tuition out-of-state $58,928
Fee in-district $400
Fee in-state $400
Fee out-of-state $400

Room and board costs

Dormitory capacity 1,580
Combined charge for room and board $18,026
Room charge $9,104
Meal charge $8,922

Swarthmore College majors

Swarthmore College has granted 419 bachelor's degrees across 49 programs. Below is a table with majors that lead to degrees at Swarthmore College.

Major Bachelor
Economics, General 65
Computer and Information Sciences, General 33
Engineering, General 28
Mathematics, General 27
Biology & Biological Sciences, General 22
Education, Other 19
Political Science and Government, General 19
English Language and Literature, General 17
History, General 16
Research and Experimental Psychology, Other 15
Neuroscience 14
Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution 14
Environmental Studies 12
Astrophysics 11
Philosophy 10
Sociology and Anthropology 10
Biochemistry 8
Chemistry, General 7
Physics, General 7
Education, General 6
Fine & Studio Arts, General 6
Cognitive Science, General 5
Art History, Criticism and Conservation 3
Film & Video and Photographic Arts, Other 3
Linguistics 3
Medical Anthropology 3
Music, General 3
Social Sciences, Other 3
Spanish Language and Literature 3
Women's Studies 3
African-American & Black Studies 2
Chinese Language and Literature 2
Drama and Dramatics & Theatre Arts, General 2
Near and Middle Eastern Studies 2
Religion & Religious Studies 2
Ancient & Classical Greek Language and Literature 1
Archeology 1
Chemical Physics 1
Classics and Classical Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics, General 1
Fine Arts and Art Studies, Other 1
French Language and Literature 1
International & Globalization Studies 1
Japanese Language and Literature 1
Latin Language and Literature 1
Musicology and Ethnomusicology 1
Political Science and Government, Other 1
Public Health, Other 1
Sustainability Studies 1
Visual and Performing Arts, Other 1
Grand Total 419

Swarthmore College has a graduation rate of 94%, which is among the 3% highest for universities in the US.

Total Men Women
Graduation rate 94% 93% 94%
  • Full-time retention rate - 96%

Publications & Citations

Swarthmore College has published 7,075 scientific papers with 160,438 citations received. The research profile covers a range of fields, including Liberal Arts & Social Sciences, Computer Science, Physics, Philosophy, Biology, Political Science, Engineering, Environmental Science, Law, and Sociology.

Publications
7,075
Citations
160,438

Publication / Citation count by topic

Liberal Arts & Social Sciences
4,659 / 101,067
Computer Science
2,961 / 78,055
Physics
2,726 / 68,242
Philosophy
2,703 / 58,135
Biology
2,574 / 79,416
Political Science
2,547 / 47,950
Engineering
2,469 / 60,496
Environmental Science
2,451 / 60,307
Law
2,315 / 44,465
Sociology
2,188 / 54,047
History
1,817 / 25,839
Chemistry
1,770 / 48,802
Psychology
1,768 / 65,345
Quantum and Particle physics
1,760 / 47,949
Medicine
1,735 / 48,902
Geography and Cartography
1,475 / 28,872
Art & Design
1,273 / 18,663
Linguistics
1,226 / 30,031
Mathematics
1,172 / 35,610
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
1,130 / 33,075
Geology
1,062 / 31,803
Archaeology
1,040 / 18,788
Business
1,024 / 26,175
Economics
1,022 / 26,120
Biochemistry
938 / 31,979
Ecology
906 / 29,719
Genetics
903 / 30,652
Optical Engineering
812 / 23,875
Astrophysics and Astronomy
786 / 18,737
Materials Science
782 / 16,863
Paleontology
769 / 27,030
Social Psychology
754 / 35,448
Organic Chemistry
729 / 19,404
Statistics
714 / 26,355
Neuroscience
691 / 25,134
Computer Vision
677 / 18,897
Theology / Divinity / Religious studies
571 / 6,566
Literature
525 / 9,033
Psychiatry
507 / 16,710
Library and Information science
485 / 7,370

Annual publication & citation counts

Year Publications Citations
1991 62 544
1992 83 719
1993 76 695
1994 76 880
1995 77 836
1996 66 898
1997 104 937
1998 93 1166
1999 101 1154
2000 126 1687
2001 144 1695
2002 117 1933
2003 157 2549
2004 126 2370
2005 127 2895
2006 122 3126
2007 165 3447
2008 136 4051
2009 157 4163
2010 202 4834
2011 166 5337
2012 174 5887
2013 126 6298
2014 184 6985
2015 199 6869
2016 197 7321
2017 207 7279
2018 212 8575
2019 272 9469
2020 244 10454
2021 246 10628
2022 258 10608
2023 220 10280
Academic rankings

Swarthmore College alumni

  1. Stephen Lang

    Stephen Lang
    Born in
    United States Flag United States
    Years
    1952-.. (age 72)
    Occupations
    stage actortelevision actorfilm actoractor
    Biography

    Stephen Lang is an American actor. He is known for roles in films such as Manhunter (1986), Gettysburg, Tombstone (both 1993), Gods and Generals (2003), Public Enemies, The Men Who Stare at Goats (both 2009), Conan the Barbarian (2011) and Don't Breathe (2016). He won the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in James Cameron's Avatar (2009). Besides his film roles, he has had an extensive career on Broadway, and has received a Tony Award nomination for his role in the 1992 production of The Speed of Darkness. From 2004 to 2006, he was co–artistic director of the Actors Studio.

  2. Alexandra Grant

    Alexandra Grant
    Born in
    United States Flag United States
    Years
    1973-.. (age 51)
    Enrolled in Swarthmore College
    Studied in 1995
    Occupations
    artist
    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.

  3. Sally Ride

    Sally Ride
    Born in
    United States Flag United States
    Years
    1951-2012 (aged 61)
    Occupations
    children's writeruniversity teacherwriterastrophysicistphysicist
    Biography

    Sally Kristen Ride was an American astronaut and physicist. Born in Los Angeles, she joined NASA in 1978, and in 1983 became the first American woman and the third woman to fly in space, after cosmonauts Valentina Tereshkova in 1963 and Svetlana Savitskaya in 1982. She was the youngest American astronaut to have flown in space, having done so at the age of 32.

  4. Michael Dukakis

    Michael Dukakis
    Born in
    United States Flag United States
    Years
    1933-.. (age 91)
    Occupations
    university teacherpoliticianlawyer
    Biography

    Michael Stanley Dukakis is an American retired lawyer and politician who served as governor of Massachusetts from 1975 to 1979 and again from 1983 to 1991. He is the longest-serving governor in Massachusetts history and only 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.

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 956
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