What are your thoughts on grade inflation?
Morgan McErlean ’26: “I don’t really know if I’ve experienced this before. Sometimes I feel like I don’t really have a perception of norms about how other colleges work with things like grade inflation and midterms. So, I would say nothing.”
Brandon Castaño ’27: “IDGAF. Sure, people who do less work than me will get the same grade as me, but I think a grade’s a grade. I’m a baller — I feel like I work pretty hard.”
Oliver Kim ’27: “In all of your classes there’s grade inflation, and in all of my classes there isn’t.”
Hannah Lee ’27: “Why are we always held up to such a high standard? People at other schools can get As so easily, while we struggle to get them. I’m done with it!”
Chloe Lee ’28: “I think because we experience grade deflation at Swarthmore, it feels unfair when employers see our GPAs out of context. Especially because Swarthmore doesn’t have that much name recognition, it’s hard to see how much grade deflation impacts our grades and that an A here isn’t really comparable to an A at Harvard, for example.”
Asiya Johnson ’27: “I would say, at Swat, I don’t think it happens. At least not in STEM courses. I’ve had friends that take classes at Ivy League schools over the summer who tell me, ‘Swat is so hard,’ and I’m like, what are they doing in other colleges?”
Kieran Mulligan [Haverford] ’27: “I think that I’ll take the A.”
Jenna Martinez ’27: “Only in Humanities classes.”
What are your plans for fall break?
Morgan McErlean ’26: “My friends from Wellesley College are coming to visit — my friends from abroad — and I’m really excited to see them. I love you Tracey and Kavita, if you ever see this. After that I’m going to Norway with [Assistant] Professor Sukrit Venkatagiri for a conference.”
Brandon Castaño ’27: “My plans for fall break are to celebrate Joaquín, my nephew. He wants to have a piñata party. It’s not his birthday or anything, he just wanted to have a piñata party.”
Oliver Kim ’27: “I’m going to a house.”
Sana Ershadi ’29: “I’m going back home and working, and getting some money because I’m a broke first year.”
Hannah Lee ’27: “I’m going back to L.A. and meeting up with a friend I’ve been wanting to see, all the way down in Irvine. Nothing too crazy.”
Chloe Lee ’28: “I’m just going home, I’m going to see a Broadway show with my mom which will be fun, and then just chill.”
Asiya Johnson ’27: “To not see any type of work at all. It will be my birthday, so I’ll just be spending time with family. I’m also the type of person where, if you don’t see me you will not see me. As in, I’m the type of person that you have to see in person. I’m terrible at responding to messages; I have a running list of phone calls I have to get back to. So, if you don’t see me, don’t see me. I’ll see you in person.”
Kieran Mulligan [Haverford] ’27: “I’m headed back home to L.A., gonna spend some time with my family. Probably gonna hit In’N’Out.”
What’s the most humbling class you’ve taken here?
Morgan McErlean ’26: “Oh my God. Right now my computer networks class is really humbling me. Please don’t see this [Assistant] Professor Ware. The labs are just really hard to finish.”
Brandon Castaño ’27: “American Politics. I kind of didn’t enjoy the people that were in that class. It humbled me into realizing I’m not a poli sci guy at all.”
Sana Ershadi ’29: “I think so far it’s been my physics 3L class. Each problem takes me like two hours to do.”
Hannah Lee ’27: “Definitely all my Spanish classes. Tell me why they correct my essays like I’m an idiot. It’s just really humbling to learn a new language and write essays in that language. It’s a different experience, you feel dumb.”
Chloe Lee ’28: “My war and violence class that I’m taking right now. It’s not humbling because it’s hard or anything, but there are some really eloquent and articulate people in that class and it makes me want to educate myself more. But that’s why I came to Swarthmore — to be around people like that.”
Asiya Johnson ’27: “I would say chem ten. I feel like, unless you took AP chem, you’re just totally cooked. It’s just test after test after test.”
Kieran Mulligan [Haverford] ’27: “Intro to hip hop is very humbling, because it’s not an easy kind of dance.”
Jenna Martinez ’27: “Syntax with [Visiting Assistant Professor] Michael Donovan.”
