Swarthmore College
- Greek Life

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Swarthmore College - Greek Life - College ProwlerCollege Prowler2.31

Greek Life

Quick Stats

Freshman Men in Fraternities 0%
Undergrad Men in Fraternities 13%
Freshman Women in Sororities 0%
Undergrad Women in Sororities 0%
Number of Fraternities 2
Number of Sororities 0

Student Author OverviewWhat's This?

Greek life is almost non-existent at Swarthmore. The few die-hards who remain in the fraternities throw decent parties throughout the year, but the frats are by no means a major social force at Swarthmore. There are no sororities at Swarthmore, and there are a few complaints about this from a tiny minority of girls on campus. In general, though, Swatties are happy that Greek life is practically invisible on campus. The main reason for this is that many see it as a haven for cliquish behavior and exclusivism.

There are buildings on campus designated for the two fraternities, but members do not live in the houses; the buildings are used for additional party space and events. Pledges do continue to come in from first-year classes, but some students say the fraternities were dealt a death blow after the abolition of football on campus (even though Delta Upsilon mainly comprises baseball players and Phi Psi is mostly lacrosse players). The number of students participating in Greek life has increased over the years, but it still is not a major social driving force on campus. Swarthmore is definitely not the school for students looking to become the next Otter or Bluto.

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Swarthmore Student ReviewsWhat's This?

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Greek Life at Swarthmore College

cofitz

'15

Political Science and Government

1.9
C-

Inclusive

Swarthmore has one and a half frats, one official, one not, and the parties they throw are open to the whole campus. Swarthmore honestly doesn't really have Greek life in the traditional sense of the term.

Jan 25, 2012

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Greek Life at Swarthmore College

1beautifulmelody

'14

Psychology & Counseling

0.8
D-

Two Frats

There are only two fraternities at Swarthmore. They throw some parties and some people decide to pledge, but other than that, the frats at Swat are really quiet. They are not part of the scene at all really.

Jan 06, 2011

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Greek Life at Swarthmore College

BrownThunder

'12

Biology

3.1
B-

&Quot;Greek&Quot; Life

Swat's TWO frats make up the entirety of its Greek culture, although the popularity of the two are on the rise, both with the campus as a whole and with prospective pledges. Still, these are Swat frats, which means they aren't as hardcore as frats at other schools, which can also be a bad thing if you're looking for more fratty life. Just like with all things that receive funding on campus, the frats have to accept ANY Tri-Co student who comes to their doors, be it a student from Swat, Haverford, or Bryn Mawr, and as a result, they don't maintain guy-girl ratios at parties.

Nov 12, 2010

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Student Survey Poll ResultsWhat's This?

What is Greek life’s role in the campus social scene?

What is the general attitude of non-Greeks toward Greeks?

What kind of housing is available for Greek students?

How difficult is it to get into a fraternity or sorority?

Facts

Fraternities
  • Delta Upsilon
  • Phi Psi
Did You Know?

Delta Upsilon is an international fraternity, whereas Phi Psi was created at Swarthmore and is the only Phi Psi frat anywhere.

Famous Delta Upsilon Alumni from Swarthmore:

  • Dr. Christian Boehmer Anfinsen, Jr. – Nobel Prize winner for chemistry
  • Neil R. Austrian – Former president and COO of the NFL
  • Dick Hall – Former professional pitcher
  • H. Thomas Hallowell – Former president of Standard Pressed Steel Company; donator of Hallowell and Dana dorms at the College
  • Thomas Kershaw – Businessman and owner of the famous Bull and Finch Pub, the bar popularized by the TV series "Cheers"
  • Leland S. MacPhail – President, National League Baseball and GM of the New York Yankees
  • Thomas B. McCabe – President of Scott Paper and former chairman of the Federal Reserve Board; donator of McCabe Library at the College
  • Amos J. Peaslee – United States Ambassador to Australia
  • James A. Perkins – Former president of Cornell University
  • Edward C. Prescott – Nobel Prize winner for economics
  • Philip T. Sharples – Donator of the College's Sharples Dining Hall

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Most Recent Student Author

College Prowler guides are in the hands of students throughout the entire process. Because you can't make student-written guides without the students, we have students at each campus who write, edit, and survey their peers for every guide that we publish. Thanks to our most recent student author at Swarthmore

Name: Sudarshan Gopaladesikan

Hometown: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

Major: Math and Engineering

see all student author bios > Become a student author to help update the guide for this school