One of the most eye-opening parts of my Pedagogy and Power: An Introduction to Education (EDUC 14) course was the diversity of high school experiences of my peers. The 22 students in my class represented a wide variety of secondary education types and locales: public schools, charter schools, homeschooling, rural and city schools, international schools and more. I was curious about how my peers’ experiences at these different schools helped shape how they see their Swarthmore experience.
I asked a few of my peers to share the story of their high school experience and give some advice to help potential future Swatties see a path from where they are to Swarthmore.
Zayah Espinosa ‘26: Public Magnet Performing Arts School in Philadelphia
“My school was unique in that it was made up of a diverse variety of people, but we all shared a love for the arts. In that way, high school prepared me for being open to other people’s opinions and interpretations which is very important at Swat. In high school, I was a dance major, spending about an hour and a half each day learning a variety of different types of dance. The teachers had very intense expectations, but it was a nice way to take a break from academics. I would consider the dance program at Swat to be the ‘perfect dance community’ in that it is far more progressive and less intense than the dance community I experienced in high school. It’s like a breath of fresh air for me to take dance classes at Swarthmore where the dancers feed off of each other and no one is looked down upon. My biggest advice to future Swat students is to get involved in whatever form of Swarthmore arts offering that interests you most. The Swarthmore arts community provides a beautiful and empowering environment, and it’s so nice to be able to express yourself artistically in an environment that can, at times, be intense and a bit stressful.”
Mojisoluwa Oludare ‘26: Private Boarding School in Nigeria
“My boarding school was in another state five hours from where I grew up, which taught me how to be independent and cope with missing home; however, going to school in a different state is much different from going to college in another country! At my boarding school in Nigeria, I was exposed to the same culture and people as I was at home, but coming to Swarthmore, I met a much more diverse community and was exposed to a wide variety of cultures, which is something that I’ve really come to appreciate. I definitely feel that a living-learning environment, which I had in boarding school and now at Swarthmore, helps facilitate learning. I know that if I need help with something, I can easily reach out to a classmate who might have a better understanding than I. One difficulty I had was finding the teaching style at Swarthmore to be quite different from the British curriculum at my boarding school. The class I struggled most with was my writing seminar because I wasn’t used to writing really long papers, but going to the Writing Associates (WAs) was really useful to me. Swarthmore is great because it has lots of resources; my advice to prospective students coming from a non-US boarding school is to take advantage of all these resources. Swarthmore will probably be a big adjustment for you, but it is very doable!”
Carolin Obispo ‘26: JROTC Program at Public School
“One of the biggest lessons my high school taught me was self-discipline – specifically timeliness – which is a skill that I find very useful here at Swarthmore. My HS had a cadet program which encouraged older students to help younger students, so I became somewhat used to asking questions there, but because of the more friendly and collaborative environment that Swarthmore has, I feel much more comfortable asking for help at Swarthmore than I did at my high school. My advice to prospective students would be to reach out to Swat students and staff, both during your application process and once you get here. Because it’s a relatively small school, it’s pretty easy for students to build relationships with each other and even with staff; I know that there is always an adult on campus that I can talk to.”
Sherri Hong ‘26: Private Boarding School in the US
“I am from China but I went to a private boarding school in Texas that had a very small percentage of international students. It was hard to build a whole new life for myself as a 15 year old starting high school, but that definitely made my transition to Swarthmore much easier. My decision to come to Swarthmore was a little difficult because most of my peers were going to Ivy-League schools. In high school, most of us didn’t really have our own idea of what we wanted to do with our lives, but we were told by the adults at our boarding school that we should want to pursue certain careers – like a lawyer or doctor – and to go to Ivy-League schools to prove that we are hard workers. As a result, not many people from my boarding school apply to liberal arts colleges. As someone who did, I would encourage students from schools like mine to do more research and reflect on what they actually want – Do you want to just follow the trajectory that everyone is telling you to take or try to find your own personal path? I’m happy I came to Swarthmore because I love its academic focus, and I appreciate that Swarthmore provides me with the space and resources to explore myself and figure out my own future.”
