<p>SAT V: 800 SAT M: 740
SAT 2 Math II: 790 SAT 2 Chem: 750 SAT 2 Writing: 740
GPA: 4.0 unweighted, 5.87/6.0 weighted (2/503 in class)
IB Dipoma student
Current classes: Calc BC AP, Physics C AP, Chem III IB, Bio III IB, English IB, German V IB, International History IB, IB Theory of Knowledge
ECs: President of World Quest (highly competitive trivia comp.), secretary of Renaissance Committee, co-founder/treasurer of LEO Club (junior Lions Club), Eagle Scout, National Honor Society, National Merit Semifinalist, 150 hours of community service, Summer Ventures in Science & Mathematics, National German Examination Award, 5th place in Numbers Crunch (math competition), research on niche partitioning was published, dedicated to music: piano (9 years) & trumpet (8 years)
Very strong recs and essays </p>
<p>I really like biology and English and hope to major in one or both.</p>
<p>If your application successfully presents a "Swattie" personality, you'll get in. Your class rank is the key stat.</p>
<p>huh? why is class rank the key stat?</p>
<p>Because 2 out of 500 is a very impressive high school performance. Throw away every other stat, every other shred of evidence from the application, and the Swat adcoms would still know, beyond any doubt, that this student can perform well academically at Swarthmore.</p>
<p>Now, that is not enough, in and of itself. That's why I said that the application would also have to demonstrate a "Swattie" personality in some fashion. However, if the app accomplishes that, this would app would probably land in the "auto-admit" pile. The objective "stats" are impeccible. I have no way of knowing, or even guessing, whether the application will show a "Swattie" personality. I can't tell from the EC list.</p>
<p>Don't worry. Most accepted students at Swarthmore (or anywhere else) aren't in the "auto-admit" category!</p>
<p>umm you can get into a much better shcool than swathmore with much better social settings</p>
<p>Mattistotle:</p>
<p>I agree. Warblersrule can probably get accepted to many schools.</p>
<p>You, perhaps unwittingly, raise a very important point about Swarthmore. It tends to self-select a particular type of personality. Kids with that type of personality go there. Kids with other types of personalities, such as yourself, don't. Everybody is the better for it!</p>
<p>"Kids with other types of personalities, such as yourself, don't. Everybody is the better for it!"</p>
<p>haha</p>
<p>Could someone please say more about the "good fit" personality/ (-ies) for Swarthmore?</p>
<p>Pyewacket:</p>
<p>I don't think that Swarthmore looks for things that are radically different than most elite colleges. However, it does have fairly well-defined campus culture and the luxury of picking and choosing.</p>
<p>In general, there react positively to:</p>
<p>a) Kids who are intellectually curious rather than just performing well academically because they are "supposed" to.</p>
<p>b) Kids who have some interest outside of school activities or pehaps an interest/hobby that extends their academic interests beyond the classroom.</p>
<p>c) Kids who have shown some interest in ideas, social activisim, social service, diversity, making the world a better place, etc. Saying that you want to go to Swarthmore because its ranking will help get into a prestigious law school and land a top Wall Street corporate law gig to make a lot of money is probably not a good strategy for a Swat application.</p>
<p>d) Kids who have a low-key self-deprecating sense of humor. Swarthmore seems to have a low "self-centered jerk" quotient. It is a very friendly place with kids that come across as "regular" (albeit somewhat geeky) young adults and I think that is the result of intentional choices in the admissions office and the influence of the campus culture on the kids who are there.</p>
<p>e) Kids who have demonstrated an ability to be an active participant in the classroom -- essential given the incredibly small class sizes and seminar-driven approach at Swarthmore.</p>
<p>f) Kids who are just plain interesting and who the adcoms could picture being enjoyable company over lunch.</p>