<p>Don't worry about research opportunities yet. It varies from year to year. In S's class, there were very few on-campus opportunities for the summer after soph year, so students made sure to apply for off-campus opportunities. He only did research at Swat the summer before his senior year and during his senior year for his thesis. In fact, the summer after freshman year he was home working at Sears & still got into grad school.</p>
<p>I think it's probably best to only do one summer at Swarthmore. It's a very small community and there's probably a finite amount of time any one person can sanely spend there as an undergrad. Two or more summers in additon to 3.5 or 4 full academic years would probably be pushing the limit.</p>
<p>My daughter loved her summer in Swarthmore (before senior year, her first apartment, and all that). I think two summers would probably have been too much of a good thing</p>
<p>ID and shellfell- Thank you for the advice!</p>
<p>shellfell- Did your son do research at Swat during the academic freshman, soph and junior years?</p>
<p>No research at Swat until summer after his junior year. According to S, the physics dept would prefer you concentrate on classes during the school year.</p>
<p>^Thank you!</p>
<p>shellfell-may i know where did your son do research the summer after his soph year?</p>
<p>He did research through an REU at Harvard.</p>
<p>^Ohh.. thanks.. So frustrating that REUs are not available to internationals..</p>
<p>Definitely check up on the alumni list of profs in your area. I got a research position by simply emailing a Swat alum; I'm doing some fantastic political science research on the political economy of Singapore and some research on the history of Latin America's political parties.</p>
<p>^Are you an incoming freshman? When are you doing the research?..</p>
<p>Oh no - sorry about that. I'm a rising sophomore [AHHHH!] I'm so old!!! </p>
<p>I'm just doing the research this summer.</p>
<p>Ohh.. cool.. so you're doing research on or off campus? Where exactly if you don't mind..</p>
<p>So... Swarthmore sent second-to-last e-mail to waitlisted ppl.
Any thoughts and comments? (and how many will stick to the very end?)</p>
<p>It's getting a little late for major shifts for people, so maybe there's a chance for you, if others are settled on elsewhere. Are you going to stay on it? What are your plans as of this point?</p>
<p>If Swarthmore is your first choice, then by all means stay on the list. Just make sure you have a backup plan in case you don't get off the list. It probably wouldn't hurt to express your interest and make sure they know how much you want to attend Swarthmore.</p>
<p>Well, I still like Swarthmore, and I am staying on that extended waitlist (only 30? Did ~220 people already gave up on WL?). Just that... I don't really see the point now, yet I don't have the courage to let it go.
And I can't really find any guidelines to July/late waitlists. I don't know if there's anything that I could do to increase my chances (if there were any to begin with, really) besides expressing my interest. Another letter on "I am a great fit for you, you are the great fit for me"? I don't know.</p>
<p>I have the other option secured. I like the school at which I'm currently enrolled, and start to feel that it's better this way since it's closer to home than the USA. But I still feel the need to stick it out to the end with Swarthmore.</p>
<p>PS Where are the other Swat waitlistees on this board?</p>