Swarthmore Opens Classes for 141st Year

by Stacey Kutish
08/31/2009

This week Swarthmore College began the 2009-2010 academic year and 394 first-year students and 25 transfer students joined the campus community. This is the start of the College's 141st year of instruction.

The first-year class was selected from among 5,575 applicants, of whom 17 percent were offered admission. "It is wonderful to welcome this talented and diverse group of individuals into our community," said James Bock '90, dean of admissions and financial aid. He added that "Swarthmore is fortunate to be able to meet all demonstrated financial need with loan-free aid, a rigorous and supportive academic environment including the College's Honors Program, support for community engagement through the Lang Center for Civic and Social Responsibility, all in a beautiful arboretum setting. We look forward to the contributions that the Class of 2013 will make on our campus."

The Class of 2013 is comprised of 203 women and 191 men. Among the domestic students ten percent identify themselves as African American/multiracial, twelve percent as Hispanic/Latina/o/multiracial, 16 percent as Asian American/multiracial, and one percent as Native American. International students represent seven percent of the class. In addition, 15 percent are the first generation in their family to attend college.

Forty-three states are represented by the members of the incoming class as well as the District of Columbia and the Virgin Islands. Members of the new class attended high schools most frequently in New York, followed by New Jersey, Pennsylvania, California, Massachusetts, Maryland, Connecticut, Illinois, Delaware, and Washington.

Twenty-six international citizens representing China, Ecuador, Germany, Ghana, Hong Kong, India, Mexico, Palestine, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Ukraine, and Zimbabwe are members of the Class of 2013.

Fifty-nine percent of the new students attended public high schools, 27 percent private independent schools, seven percent parochial schools, and seven percent schools overseas. At least one percent students were home-schooled. The most popular anticipated majors among Swarthmore's newest students are political science, biology, economics, engineering, English, history, mathematics, sociology and anthropology, and peace and conflict studies.