<p>Can anyone list the advantages of applying to Swarthmore ED? Also, does anyone know what the acceptance rate of applicants for Swarthmore is for ED?. Thanks.</p>
<p>From an admissions standpoint, ED is most beneficial for a solid, midpack applicant who wants to increase the odds of acceptance by demonstrating strong commitment to Swarthmore and by having the app read early, while the adcoms are fresh and the piles of applications small. In general, a good solid applicant will be accepted early decision, whereas in the regular round you will be in a tall stack of good, solid applications.</p>
<p>I do not believe that an ED app will get you accepted unless your app is strong enough to at least have a fighting chance in the regular round.</p>
<p>In the last few years, here are the acceptances and apps in the ED round:</p>
<p>Fall 2004: 141 of 331 apps
Fall 2003: 138 of 304
Fall 2002: 154 of 360
Fall 2001: 149 of 299
Fall 2000: 127 of 283
Fall 1999: 139 of 278</p>
<p>On average, the acceptance rate in ED is about double the overall acceptance rate. But, keep in mind that the ED apps are extremely well self-selected to start with and these are candidates who, for the most part, have already determined a really good fit with the school and who are excited about the prospect of attending, i.e. just the kind of students the school wants. Also keep in mind that this group consists mostly of applicants who are willing to accept whatever financial aid need is determined without comparison shopping.</p>
<p>This information is available from the Common Data Sets, which can be found here:</p>
<p>Just about any other statistical data you could possibly want (historic enrollments by race and gender, acceptance rates and yield, distribution of majors, historic SAT scores and dozens of other tables) can be found in Swarthmore's online Factbook here:</p>
<p>If you love Swarthmore and you have visited in order to know it is the college you most want to attend, then go for it. You will face much less pressure your senior year if you get in! To say nothing of having to finish all those other applications over winter vacation! But, you will not have the luxury of comparing financial aid packages because you will have committed to attending Swat if you are accepted.</p>
<p>Read interesteddad's advice about writing a killer "Why Swat" essay because it will make a big difference in your application. There is a lot of helpful advice if you research earlier Swat threads on this forum.</p>
<p>GOOD LUCK!</p>