Swarthmore College

Basic Information

Type Private, Liberal Arts
Geographical Reach National
Population 4,500,000

Weather

Comfortable Days 105 (50%)
Sunshine Hours 2,540 (45%)
Days Without Precipitation 248 (54%)

Demographics

Total Undergraduates 1,704
Men / Women 48% / 52%
From State 10%
From Region 30%
Athletes 438 (27.2%)

Racial/Ethnic

White 30%
Asian 17%
Hispanic 15%
International 13%
Mixed 11%
Black 9%
Native American 1%

Schools & Majors

⇅ Ranked Trends Degrees Male White Asian Black Hispanic Intl Earnings Earn % Earn z ROI Employment Debt-to-Earn Accept SAT p25 SAT p75
Division of Humanities 95 44% 38% 15% 5% 14% 11% $62,806 18 +0.92 19
African American Studies 1 +3 100% 0% 0% 100% 0% 0% $57,070 49 -0.17 9 — — — — —
African Studies — — — — — — — — $57,121 50 -0.17 9 — — — — —
Asian Studies — +1 — — — — — — $57,337 50 -0.15 9 — — — — —
Chinese — +1 — — — — — — $58,818 55 +0.07 11 — — — — —
Classics — — — — — — — — $71,955 93 +1.47 43 — — — — —
Comparative Literature 1 — 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% $61,938 92 +1.16 17 — — — — —
English 13 +11 23% 46% 38% 8% 0% 8% $60,886 89 +1.03 15 — — — — —
French 1 — 100% 0% 0% 0% 100% 0% $58,576 54 +0.05 11 — — — — —
German Studies — +3 — — — — — — $57,313 50 -0.15 9 — — — — —
Greek 2 — 50% 50% 0% 0% 0% 0% $58,464 54 +0.04 11 — — — — —
History 15 +3 53% 60% 0% 0% 7% 7% $73,377 93 +1.61 46 — — — — —
Islamic Studies — — — — — — — — $66,696 97 +1.95 28 — — — — —
Japanese — — — — — — — — $58,574 54 +0.05 11 — — — — —
Jewish Studies — — — — — — — — $66,885 97 +1.98 29 — — — — —
Latin — — — — — — — — $58,613 54 +0.05 11 — — — — —
Linguistics 9 +3 33% 33% 22% 11% 11% 0% $59,253 57 +0.11 12 — — — — —
Native American Studies — — — — — — — — $57,008 49 -0.18 9 — — — — —
Near and Middle Eastern Studies 1 — 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 100% $57,081 50 -0.17 9 — — — — —
Philosophy 10 +1 70% 40% 30% 0% 0% 30% $75,668 85 +1.07 52 — — — — —
Religion 6 +1 50% 33% 0% 17% 17% 0% $64,762 96 +1.72 23 — — — — —
Russian 2 — 100% 50% 0% 0% 0% 50% $58,474 54 +0.04 11 — — — — —
Spanish 4 +6 25% 25% 0% 0% 75% 0% $58,858 55 +0.07 11 — — — — —
Womens Studies — — — — — — — — $65,628 88 +1.15 26 — — — — —
Communication 1 — 0% 0% 0% 100% 0% 0% $79,622 96 +1.66 62 — — — — —
International/Global Studies 2 +1 100% 50% 0% 0% 50% 0% $75,205 66 +0.13 51 — — — — —
Art History 3 +1 33% 33% 0% 0% 33% 33% $53,041 67 +0.09 5 — — — — —
Dance 4 +1 0% 50% 0% 0% 0% 0% $52,062 94 +1.21 4 — — — — —
Film Studies 1 — 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% $57,686 90 +1.26 10 — — — — —
Film and Media Studies 4 +3 50% 50% 25% 0% 0% 0% $57,595 90 +1.25 10 — — — — —
Fine Arts 2 +1 0% 0% 50% 0% 0% 0% $56,726 90 +1.06 9 — — — — —
Music 4 +1 75% 50% 25% 0% 25% 0% $52,738 79 +0.64 5 — — — — —
Studio Art 5 +5 60% 20% 20% 0% 20% 20% $57,017 91 +1.09 9 — — — — —
Theatre 4 +1 25% 0% 0% 0% 50% 25% $49,247 86 +0.83 3 — — — — —
⇅ Ranked Trends Degrees Male White Asian Black Hispanic Intl Earnings Earn % Earn z ROI Employment Debt-to-Earn Accept SAT p25 SAT p75
Division of Natural Sciences and Engineering 197 58% 28% 16% 9% 14% 20% $111,472 98 +0.31 93 96%
Engineering 34 — 68% 26% 15% 12% 29% 12% $76,395 3 -1.69 54 100% — — — —
Computer Science 52 +30 77% 13% 17% 12% 15% 29% $169,755 90 +1.31 100 89% — — — —
Astronomy 1 — 100% 0% 0% 0% 100% 0% $96,393 86 +0.92 84 — — — — —
Astrophysics 1 +2 100% 100% 0% 0% 0% 0% $96,341 86 +0.92 84 — — — — —
Chemical Physics — — — — — — — — $96,687 86 +0.94 84 — — — — —
Chemistry 5 +1 80% 20% 0% 0% 20% 40% $72,679 63 +0.11 45 — — — — —
Geophysics and Seismology — — — — — — — — $71,920 83 +0.62 43 — — — — —
Mathematics 43 +26 49% 49% 14% 2% 2% 28% $141,771 94 +2.13 99 100% — — — —
Physics 9 +4 56% 56% 11% 0% 0% 22% $97,160 86 +0.98 85 — — — — —
Biochemistry 10 — 70% 30% 20% 10% 10% 20% $59,867 8 -1.03 13 — — — — —
Biological Sciences — — — — — — — — $58,737 15 -0.90 11 — — — — —
Biology 23 +12 22% 17% 26% 13% 17% 13% $55,561 8 -1.26 7 100% — — — —
Biophysics 1 — 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% $60,433 9 -0.98 14 — — — — —
Computational Biology 2 — 100% 0% 100% 0% 0% 0% $60,512 9 -0.98 14 — — — — —
Neuroscience 15 +5 33% 33% 7% 13% 13% 0% $58,776 16 -0.72 11 — — — — —
Sustainability Studies 1 — 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% $68,963 83 +0.83 34 — — — — —
⇅ Ranked Trends Degrees Male White Asian Black Hispanic Intl Earnings Earn % Earn z ROI Employment Debt-to-Earn Accept SAT p25 SAT p75
Division of Social Sciences 164 43% 34% 18% 13% 13% 10% $92,605 91 +1.00 81 100%
Environmental Studies 11 +7 18% 27% 18% 9% 9% 9% $59,390 58 +0.09 12 — — — — —
Economics 57 +18 61% 39% 18% 11% 7% 12% $131,302 90 +1.25 98 100% — — — —
Anthropology — — — — — — — — $75,336 97 +1.67 52 — — — — —
Cognitive Science 2 +3 0% 100% 0% 0% 0% 0% $83,874 74 +0.06 70 — — — — —
Experimental Psychology 17 +6 29% 35% 12% 12% 24% 18% $64,938 74 +0.39 24 — — — — —
Medical Anthropology 4 — 25% 25% 25% 25% 0% 25% $74,158 94 +1.57 48 — — — — —
Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution 3 +1 0% 33% 0% 0% 67% 0% $58,734 14 -0.73 11 — — — — —
Political Science 25 +5 52% 28% 20% 0% 16% 12% $84,561 87 +0.91 71 100% — — — —
Political Science and Government 4 — 100% 50% 25% 0% 0% 0% $84,561 87 +0.91 71 100% — — — —
Psychology — — — — — — — — $65,247 95 +1.55 25 — — — — —
Social Sciences — — — — — — — — $75,816 97 +1.72 53 — — — — —
Social Sciences 10 +2 50% 30% 20% 40% 10% 0% $74,592 94 +1.61 50 — — — — —
Sociology 1 — 0% 100% 0% 0% 0% 0% $75,580 97 +1.69 52 — — — — —
Sociology and Anthropology 11 +4 18% 36% 18% 18% 18% 0% $74,509 94 +1.60 49 — — — — —
Education 14 +4 21% 21% 36% 21% 21% 0% $64,098 87 +1.06 22 — — — — —
Education 5 +4 20% 20% 0% 60% 0% 20% $62,903 86 +0.92 19 98% — — — —

Financial

Tuition & Fees $73,204
ROI Percentile 83th

Retention & Graduation

Full-Time Retention 94%
4-Year Graduation Rate 76%
6-Year Graduation Rate 92%
Transfer-Out Rate 0%

Earnings by Major Category

Each major category's degree-weighted estimated median 5-year earnings at this college, expressed as a z-score against the national degree-weighted distribution for that category. 0 is the national average. The shaded band between +1.28 and −1.28 marks the central 80% of the national distribution (10th–90th percentile).

Academics

⇅ % Degrees Male White Asian Black Hispanic Intl Earnings Earn % Earn z ROI Employment Debt-to-Earn
Social Sciences 17.8% 81 40% 35% 16% 12% 17% 9% $75,764 94 +0.93 53 100% —
Humanities 14.3% 65 46% 42% 15% 6% 11% 11% $65,764 89 +0.94 26 — —
Physical Sciences & Math 12.9% 59 54% 47% 12% 2% 5% 27% $127,572 95 +1.74 98 100% —
Business & Economics 12.5% 57 61% 39% 18% 11% 7% 12% $131,302 98 +1.25 98 100% —
Computer Science 11.4% 52 77% 13% 17% 12% 15% 29% $169,755 95 +1.31 100 89% —
Life & Natural Sciences 11.2% 51 37% 24% 22% 12% 14% 10% $57,641 11 -1.04 10 100% —
Engineering 7.5% 34 68% 26% 15% 12% 29% 12% $76,395 0 -1.69 54 100% —
Arts 5.9% 27 37% 30% 15% 0% 19% 11% $54,145 62 +0.92 6 — —
Education 4.2% 19 21% 21% 26% 32% 16% 5% $63,784 92 +1.02 21 98% —
Agriculture & Food Science 2.4% 11 18% 27% 18% 9% 9% 9% $59,390 45 +0.09 12 — —

Research R3

⇅ Research $ Rank Federal Industry $ PhDs Rank PhD students Postdocs
Humanities & Social Sciences $2.2M #248 6% $0 — — — —
Life & Natural Sciences $1.5M #287 63% $0 — — — —
Physical Sciences & Math $1.3M #325 40% $0 — — — —
Engineering $0.5M #315 6% $0 — — — —
Computer Science $0.2M #350 70% $0 — — — —
Business & Economics $0.2M #310 38% $0 — — — —
Education $0.1M #372 19% $0 — — — —
Agriculture & Food Science $0 #318 — $0 — — — —
Health Sciences $0 #441 — $0 — — — —
Total $6.0M #358 31% $0 — — — —

Expenditure and funding source: NSF HERD, FY2024. Degrees: IPEDS completions, 2023–24. Students and postdocs: NSF Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates, fall 2024, which covers science, engineering and selected health fields only. An em dash means the source does not report the figure, which is not the same as zero.

Sports NCAA D3

⇅ Athletes ▼ Revenue Expenses Net
Track & Field (combined) 122 $163K $140K $23K
Lacrosse 48 $345K $258K $86K
Baseball 39 $257K $247K $10K
Soccer 27 $303K $216K $87K
Swimming 22 $204K $158K $46K
Basketball 18 $414K $276K $138K
Tennis 16 $354K $215K $139K
Golf 9 $196K $172K $23K
Total 211 $2.2M $1.7M $556K
⇅ Athletes ▼ Revenue Expenses Net
Track & Field (combined) 96 $163K $140K $23K
Soccer 31 $350K $249K $100K
Lacrosse 28 $343K $335K $8K
Swimming 27 $204K $158K $46K
Field Hockey 21 $240K $205K $34K
Softball 20 $222K $206K $16K
Volleyball 17 $235K $218K $16K
Tennis 16 $202K $194K $8K
Basketball 15 $244K $212K $32K
Badminton 7 $1K $2K -$800
Total 227 $2.2M $1.9M $287K
⇅ Athletes ▼ Revenue Expenses Net
Track & Field (combined) 218 $327K $280K $47K
Lacrosse 76 $689K $593K $95K
Soccer 58 $654K $466K $187K
Swimming 49 $409K $316K $93K
Baseball 39 $257K $247K $10K
Basketball 33 $659K $488K $170K
Tennis 32 $557K $409K $147K
Field Hockey 21 $240K $205K $34K
Softball 20 $222K $206K $16K
Volleyball 17 $235K $218K $16K
Golf 9 $196K $172K $23K
Badminton 7 $1K $2K -$800
Total 438 $6.5M $5.6M $843K

Source: U.S. Department of Education, Equity in Athletics Data Analysis. Each team's revenue and expenses are what the college attributes to it. The Total view's totals row is the department's grand total, which also includes money not attributed to any team; the Male and Female totals rows only add up their teams.

Admissions

Uses Common App Yes
Acceptance Rate 7.5%
Yield (non-ED) 26%
Early Decision 1 Nov 15
Regular Decision Jan 1
Early Decision 2 Jan 15

Acceptance Rates

In-State Out-of-State International
Regular Decision 6% 6% 6%
Early Decision 18% 18% 18%
Unhooked Early Decision 9% 9% —

This college’s Common Data Set does not break down admissions by applicant demographics, so in-state, out-of-state, and international applicants share one Regular Decision rate.

Hooked: legacy, recruited athletes, faculty-related, and Questbridge

Standardized Tests

Test Policy optional
Submitted Test Scores 55%
SAT Range 1480 – 1550
SAT Math Range 740 – 790
SAT RW Range 740 – 770