https://www.swarthmore.edu/news-events/980-students-admitted-to-swarthmore-class-2022
Swarthmore may have just become the most selective Liberal Arts College in the U.S… Does anyone know Pomona’s and CMC’s respective acceptance rates this year? That’s a pretty big drop from last year’s 10.2% — 1000 more applicants. Wow.
I’m excited to be joining such a great institution in the Fall!
Pomona was at 9% last year & the USNA was at 8% & West Point was at 10%.
@Publisher Ah. I forgot about USNA. Still very impressive. All these acceptance rates are dropping so low!
Swarthmore is somewhat of a genius factory regardless of admit rate. Genius going in, better & smarter genius coming out.
In my mind, Swarthmore’s acceptance rate is not important as only certain types of brainiacs belong at Swarthmore, Chicago & Princeton.
https://www.pomona.edu/news/2018/03/16-introducing-pomona-college-class-2022
Pomona’s acceptance rate this year is 6.9%. CMC won’t announce its admissions results until the end of this week, but we can expect below 8% acceptance rate.
@Publisher… curious about what types of students do you think will thrive at Swarthmore? Is a top choice for my D. thanks!
@LibbyOK - If I had to describe the kids I’ve met at Swarthmore in a word, I’d say quiet. They are generally hyper-intelligent, but it comes with a semi-reclusive side. They listen a lot, and it often feels like you have to pull the conversation out of them. They are the type that’s always thinking about something.
They are social, have parties, enjoy your standard college night out type stuff…but they seem to almost enjoy the rigor they endure at Swarthmore. It’s REALLY hard, but that’s OK.
The other comment is that they all seem to have numerous talents. Many sing. Many play instruments (very well). They are a walking advertisement for the value of music as a part of young education.
I dunno. My senior double major in Engineering/CS somehow has time most weekends to spend most of Saturday rock climbing with the outdoors club, and is an outgoing, “normal” 21 year old. He doesn’t party a lot (AFAIK) but he’s no introvert. He is thoughtful, likes to read, has political opinions (but ignores a lot of the far left stuff that is important to a small minority of students there; I say that as a “lefty” myself). But he, and the friends of his I’ve met, are really not “a type,” other than being, well, smarter than the average bear. A lot of his friends are very involved in intramural sports, for example, or other, diverse extracurriculars.
I’m with @donnaleighg on this one. I don’t think there is a single pigeon hole for Swarthmore students. My daughter is a student there now. She is also very outgoing, very intellectually curious and very hard working with diverse interests and friends. She too leans left of centre but has friends with a variety of political views. The school has been a great fit for her.
Swarthmore surprisingly sends out incredible amount of glossy junk mailers enticing students to apply - more so than any other colleges or universities, save UChicago. Without the mass mailings, one has to wonder how organic the selectivity rate is given that most people outside Swarthmore, PA have never heard of Swarthmore. Without the mass mailings, we know that UChicago admit rate would hover around 40%
I actually find little solace in schools that can offer acceptance to less than 10% of the highly qualified applicants that apply. We have a son who applied to Swarthmore several years ago and was admitted, but chose to go elsewhere because the program seemed a bit stilted and awkward. Hopefully, it has improved. Clearly an outstanding school, but I hope kids find homes in less rarefied places, as well.
I find solace in the fact there are schools that never aspire to be top 1%, top 10%, top 20%, top 30%… schools in the country. These are schools that exist to serve students who often couldn’t make the cut at 9% Swarthmore.