Clubs

At Swarthmore, you can join as many clubs as you want for free. However, many colleges’ clubs range from 25-50 dollars a semester. These dues can increase to a few thousand dollars for clubs sports and greek life. I like the Swarthmore system because you do not need to limit yourself to a few clubs, you can join them all. i personally joined LaunchDeck, Google Development Club, Tech 4 Good, Outdoors Club, and some political groups. Some of these clubs I never even went to a meeting for. This allowed me to find what I liked(and did not like) without a financial burden.(up to $3,000)

Dorm Decorations

Swarthmore has a free store called Worthmore in which students can donate or get dorm furnishings and decorations . Worthmore is the perfect place to get items that are essential to dorm living. Not only is this system more sustainable, but it can help you save lots of money. (Amount varies)

Textbooks

Due to the Textbook Affordability Program, all students were allocated 700 dollars to the Campus and Community Store. I used all of my funds. I was able to purchase both textbooks and online resources. I even bought a modeling set for my organic chemistry course. I also used the libraries resources of textbook reserves to avoid buying 3 additional textbooks which totaled to 600 dollars. ($1300)

Laundry

There is laundry accessible in every dorm for free. At many colleges, washing and drying cost $1.50 each. I would do two loads every week for a total of $3. The average semester is 15 weeks long. This would total to $90 dollars in laundry ($90)

Food

All dining locations on campus are a part of our dining pan. That means that you cannot really overdo it with lattes and bagels throughout the semester. Our cafes also get food from local restaurants for you to buy. Our dining plan also gives us money to use in the Ville. That means you can get your Dunkin or Sushi fix without spending money out of pocket. At the end of my spring semester I had so many points left that I brought tons of food home. (I have no idea how much this is worth, but it is a lot)

Buissness Attire

Our career services has professional attire that you can borrow for free if you have an interview. This way you do not worry about buying new clothes.($100)

Printing

All dorms and libraries on campus have free printing. The accessibility to printing is very convenient. This can save you lots of time and money. At many campuses printing can cost ten cents per page. I would print 50 pages a week which would be $5 dollars a week or $150. ($150)

Guest Speakers

Guest speakers come to campus very often. I love attending these events. My favorites was Eric Holder. These events may only be a few dollars at other places, but it allows anyone to attend as often as they would like. ($50)

Sporting Events

All sporting events are free to students at Swarthmore. This means you can catch as many games as you want. This can save you hundred of dollars since you do not need season tickets to any one sport. ($100)

Gym

The Matchbox gym on campus is free to students, faculty, and alumni. A basic gym membership at other colleges or outside gyms would be at minimum $10. This saved you $300. The Matchbox has weights, cardio machines, and a studio space. You also have access to a golf simulator, indoor and outdoor tennis courts, a turf, and an indoor swimming pool.($300)

Internships

A lot of internships are unpaid. Through the Lang Center, you can get a summer stipend for an unpaid internship. This means you can get a salary for your summer work without having to limit your internship search. ($2500)

Transportation to Philadelphia

If you need to go into Philadelphia for any academic purposes, you can get funded by Swarthmore. For social life, you can enter a raffle every week to get free train tickets into Philly. Every ticket is $7, so if you go once a week you could save $210. ($210)