Click here to go to the NEW College Discussion Forum

i visited swarthmore this year and absolutely fell in love with it. it's BEAUTIFUL. my ideal plan of study would be east asian studies & international relations, but political science wouldn't be too bad. neither would Linguistics & Languages.

However, it's impossible to get in!
Tell me if I have a chance, please.
GPA: at the time of RD, it'll be between 91.8-92, which is low, yes. i go to one of the top public high schools in the country and it's extremely competitive.
SAT: 1460 (730 each). I'm retaking it in October.
SAT IIs: Math IIC: 750, Writing: 770, US History: 800.

Junior year I took AP CS and AP US, along with the AP Eng Lang test. 2, 4, 5, respectively.
Senior year my schedule is:
AP Calc AB
Great Books (college-level)
4th year Italian (equivalent to AP Italian, if it existed)
3rd year Japanese
Economics (spring term: US Gov)
Poetry (spring: Fiction Writing
AP Environmental, most likely
another science class
gym, lunch. spring term also has double-period woodworking (required tech class).

August-December: US Government class at a community college.

ECs:
-volleyball team from 4th through 11th grade [not in school]
-senior counselour at a week-long catholic day camp 7th through 12th grades
-teacher's aide/assistant at local religion school, every sunday september-may from 8th through 12th grades
-"token vegan"(teehee) & co-founder of Debaser [music club] JR year, Senior year: vice-president
-Tech & Stage Crew for the school's biggest production Soph/Jr/and will be Sr years. Sr year I'm also planning on working tech for each production (quite a few).

Not many in-school activities, explanation: Freshman year, 9/11, my school's ridiculously close and i had to come home directly after school. Sophomore year, I had a job Sept-December directly after school. Jr & Sr Years I work after school as well.

Jobs:
10th grade: Sept-Dec: tutoring 3 kids (grades 4, 5, 9) 3 days a week, 3 hours a day.
11th & 12th grades: tutoring a 10th/11th grader in math/chemistry/SAT 3 days a week.

...I don't know what else to include.
The other schools I'm applying to are:
UPenn ED
UChicago
Johns Hopkins
Middlebury
UMich-Ann Arbor
UWisconsin-Madison

should i even bother applying?

By Willywonka (Willywonka) on Tuesday, August 24, 2004 - 02:58 pm: Edit

It can never hurt, and you're by no means a weak applicant. I don't see why you shouldn't get in compared to others based on what you've provided; Swarthmore will know about your school's competition and difficulty. I liked that your courses match your prospective majors so well.

Good luck.

By Asianalto (Asianalto) on Tuesday, August 24, 2004 - 03:00 pm: Edit

Of course you should bother applying! I know compared to some on this site, you can feel completely stupid, but by no means are your stats out of line with Swat's applicant pool.

By Ahwosg (Ahwosg) on Tuesday, August 24, 2004 - 04:03 pm: Edit

you guys are nice. thanks a lot. i'll be happy at any of the schools on my list, so here's hoping. hoorah.

By Achat (Achat) on Wednesday, August 25, 2004 - 08:33 am: Edit

ahwosq, you should absolutely apply. Also just to note, some of your other college choices are very different from Swarthmore. But my son's was also like that last year.

By Achat (Achat) on Wednesday, August 25, 2004 - 06:13 pm: Edit

We were at the freshman orientation for my son yesterday. One of the things the President of the college, Alfred Bloom, said was that he regrets things have gotten so out of hand with admissions to selective colleges in the last 5 years and hopes the kids have gotten over all that stress and pressure and can settle down to student life here before they start worrying about graduate admissions! There was a ripple of laughter after that.

I think the only way to combat stress is to do the best you can, apply if your stats are within range and you are interested and not to worry too much about it after that.

By Interesteddad (Interesteddad) on Wednesday, August 25, 2004 - 08:19 pm: Edit

I echo what Achat said.

Plenty of people get into Swarthmore with your stats. Plenty don't.

What separates the two is how effectively you communicate a "fit" with Swat's culture and communicate some "spark" that will make them feel that you will be a addition to the college community, in and out of the classroom.

I have now heard both the Dean of Admission and the Pres. of the College say that that scores and grades aren't that important (because Swat applicants almost always have the scores and grades). Both say that the "fit" is of prime importance. Both have highlighted the "Why Swarthmore?" essay answers. The Pres. noted how many incoming freshmen mentioned the Swarthmore community in their answers.

I can absolutely, positively guarantee that they definitely read the essays very seriously!