<p>I am currently a high school sophomore and I was wondering what are my chances of getting into Swarthmore.
Resume
Academics: Honors Algebra2/Trig., Honors English, Honors Chemistry, AP European History, and Spanish level three
GPA: 95 unweighted(4.0)
Athletics: Member of Varsity Tennis and Varsity Swimming teams for two years
Extra-Curricular Activities: Member of school orchestra where I play the violin. I have been studying privately for five years. In addition, I also played the piano for ten years. And I competed in music festivals such as, NYSSMA, Area All State, and BCMEA.
Working Experience: Volunteer at local hospital pharmacy(150+ hours completed) and a future research assistant at the Economics Department at SUNY Binghamton.
Summer Camps: Harvard Summer School( Summer 2011) and Summer Institute for the Gifted(Summer 2010).
Future plans for next year:
Planning on taking AP English, AP US History, IB Physics, IB Spanish, Honors Pre-Calculus, and Macro/Microeconomic Theory at Suny Binghamton.</p>
<p>I would really appreciate your feedback!</p>
<p>keep your grades up and score well on whatever standardized test(s) you choose to take.</p>
<p>ask yourself if you’d consider playing tennis or swimming at swat, and what level you’d need to be at (or what times you would need) to get recruited. that would greatly improve your chances.</p>
<p>Virtually all top schools will rely on your hard admissions factors (including standardized testing) only to thin the applicant pool. Your success will be much more reliant on what your essays convey about you/your demonstrated interest.</p>
<p>You are developing a solid foundation on which to build your Junior and Senior years. You will want to look for opportunities to assert leadership and make distinctive contributions during these last two years. I know that when my daughter was at your point, she was concerned because she didn’t see herself moving to the front of any pack. She didn’t need to worry - she just needed to say “yes” when teachers and others asked her to step up. Once she got used to doing that, she also sought out leadership opportunities on her own. Excelling in athletics or music may be one route for you. But there may be other passions that you have that can lead to co-curricular options that enable you to stretch yourself. Also, various academic competitions and research opportunities are expressions of leadership. Your econ assistantship has potential - you will want to ask your supervisor how you could maximize this opportunity by doing something that will have a tangible result (e.g., presentation at a research conference). If you have a academic counselor or another mentor you could ask them for advice - sometimes others see our gifts before we do. But Swat students tend to stand out at something in high school. Moving on from your sophomore year you may wish to emphasize your one or two passions and side-line other activities in order to make time for moving forward toward distinction in one or two areas. Good luck!</p>