Chance would be appreciated.

Colleges and Universities A-Z Swarthmore College
1

<p>Hi, I love Swarthmore. I am anxiously counting down the days till decision-day. (D-Day haha) I am applying as an Economics Major, I so want to participate in Swarthmore's honors program. Specific consideration regarding the program will be appreciated.</p>

<p>I visited Swarthmore during Discover Swarthmore Weekend a few months ago. I loved it. I wrote about it in my supplement.</p>

<p>I am most worried that I may not be considered a well-rounded enough student.
Unlike some (maybe even most) I don't play a sport and my number of club activities/awards/etc. pales in comparison with some of the other amazing chance threads I have seen.
But one thing I can say is that the few activities I did participate in, I dug deep into each of them spending 3-4 years in all of them.</p>

<p>Also, I tried to gear my electives/activities towards a business/economics focus.
Hence I took: Accounting for Business, Accounting for Merchandising, IB Business and Management, AP Macro Economics classes to demonstrate my clear focus.
My other activities are listed below, the two that particularly supplement my focus are: Economics Research Assistant @ University of CA, Irvine and Future Business Leaders of America (President)</p>

<p>Anyhow, an honest chance post would be appreciated.</p>

<p>Gender: M
Race: Asian
Location: CA
College Class Year: 2016
High School: Public
High School Type: sends many grads to top schools
Will apply for financial aid: Yes</p>

<p>Academics:</p>

<p>GPA - Unweighted: 3.94
GPA - Weighted: 4.78
Class Rank: top 5%
Class Size: 700</p>

<p>Scores:</p>

<p>SAT I Math: 800
SAT I Critical Reading: 750
SAT I Writing: 750
SAT II Literature: 760
SAT II U.S. History: 800
SAT II Math Level 2 (IIC): 800
SAT II Physics: 790
SAT II Chemistry: 740
SAT II Korean with Listening: 800</p>

<p>AP's Taken:
AP Euro 5, AP Calc AB/BC 5, AP Physics B 5, AP English Lang/Comp 5, AP US History 5</p>

<p>IB's Taken:
IB Physics SL 6, IB Business & Mgmt. SL 7</p>

<p>AP Course-load/Classes Senior Year:
AP Physics C Mech/E&M, AP English Lit, AP Spanish, AP Gov, AP Econ (Macro)</p>

<p>IB Course-load Senior Year:
IB English HL, IB Philosophy HL, IB Spanish HL, IB Math SL</p>

<p>Other Senior Year Classes:
Multivariable Calculus</p>

<p>Extracurriculars:</p>

<p>Significant Extracurriculars:
-University of CA, Irvine - Economics Research Assistant. (Researched Great Depression for academic publication)
-Pianist/Organist for Church Choir, Praise Team
-Youth Athletic Club Instructor</p>

<p>Leadership positions:
-Future Business Leaders of America (President)</p>

<p>Athletic Status: N/A</p>

<p>Volunteer/Service Work:
-Critical Care Unit (Volunteer)
-Accounting Intern at Local Firm</p>

<p>Honors and Awards:
-AP Scholar w/ Distinction
-Spanish Department Scholar
-Rotary Sunrise Scholar
-National Merit Semi-finalist (maybe finalist too?)
-FBLA Financial Literacy Award
-FBLA Accounting 1 - 4th at state
-FBLA Management - 4th at state</p>

<p>Essays:
Personal Statement directly looks into who I am.
Short Statement was about my experiences as pianist/organist at church.
Supplement (mentioned at top)</p>

<p>Recommendations:
My Business & Management Teacher is also my FBLA advisor. She wrote me a pretty good one no doubt. She said she raved about my analysis of US Airways and their liquidity crisis (a paper I wrote Junior Year).</p>

<p>The Professor I worked under at UC Irvine also wrote me a great recommendation. He's one of the best Great Depression economists in America. He focused mainly on my work experience as a economics research assistant, my passion/talent for the subject, and other stuff.</p>

2

<p>This is one of the worst things you can do…stop stressing! There’s nothing you can do right now, so just wait :)</p>

<p>That being said, you look like a very impressive applicant. However, college admissions can be almost arbitrary. Relax, and enjoy these last few months before college.</p>

3

<p>yeah… good advice I must say…</p>

4

<p>Which do you like more, UChicago or Swarthmore?</p>

5

<p>^ or Northwestern, UPenn, or Duke?</p>

6

<p>I will be brutally honest.
UChicago and Swarthmore are tied (academically and the academic atmosphere)</p>

<p>But I have to say I like Northwestern’s Mathematical Methods in the Social Sciences program (arguably as rigorous as Uchicago and swarthmore).</p>

<p>All three of these schools are over Upenn whose non-academic atmosphere is unlike who I am. that is not to be overly judgmental, I’m sure there are academic-types at Upenn but overall Uchicago and SWARTHMORE trumps the students there any day in terms of raw academic interest/intelligence.</p>

7

<p>D chose Swat over UChi and NU with comparable stats; she didn’t apply to Penn and Duke for the reasons you suggest. Your Ecs are probably a bit stronger. Good luck!</p>

8

<p>Counsel, I am glad to see others are making similar choices based on similar rationales.</p>

<p>More chance posts would be greatly appreciated.</p>

9

<p>You have just as good of a chance as anyone else who is applying. Given everything you have presented, you definitely have a good chance of admission - all that is left to consider is whether or not you have what Swat is looking for in this years class. Just as it is with HPY, top applicants do get rejected for unknown reasons, or for something as simple as they have already decided to accept enough [Asian males from California]. With a school of Swarthmore’s caliber, being qualified isn’t enough - it has everything to do with luck!</p>