<p>I was deferred from Penn ED. Swarthmore is now one of my top choices... I was wondering what my chances look like.
Any insight is appreciated.</p>
<p>Academics:
GPA: Overall; 96.5/100.0
(Freshman; 94.9% / Sophomore; 97.1% / Junior; 97.4%)
Rank: 13 of 372 (Top 3.5%)
SAT I: 2330 (Critical Reading; 740, Math; 790, Writing; 800)
SAT II: Biology-E; 690, Math Level 1; 740</p>
<p>ECs/Awards:
Math Club - Officer, Vice-President, President
Mathlete Team - Captain
Certificate of Merit - New York Math League
Silver - Nassau County Interscholastic Math League (NCIML)
Spanish Club - President
School Newspaper - Feature Editor
Published by The America Library of Poetry
Local Youth Football Clinic Volunteer - Assistant Coach
General Student Organization Volunteer - Senior Leader
Studio Art
2nd Place - School Art Contest
National Honor Society
Honor Roll every semester
National Merit Semifinalist
1st Place - School Biology Fair
Brown University Summer Program
Babysitting job</p>
<p>Subjective:
Recs- One is probably excellent, other very good
Essays- For the free topic essay, I wrote about how my love of the American Museum of Natural History in NYC prompted me to take an anthropology course at Brown, and how I not only learned about anthropology within a classroom setting, but also outside of the classroom, from the diversity of my peers... My best friends were from Bangladesh and South Korea.</p>
<p>State: New York
School Type: Private (Catholic)
Ethnicity: Caucasian
Gender: Male</p>
<p>You should have a reasonably good chance anywhere based on your stats, but as you've already found out there are no guaranties... Sorry about Penn. If you apply to Swat ED II, it will increase your chances, but don't do it unless you're sure it's your first choice.</p>
<p>I'm surprised that you got deferred from Penn. Your stats are very similar to mine. I applied ED to Swat, which I guess, helps. You shouldn't have too much trouble getting into Swat unless your essays are an absolute mess. You're probably better off not going to Penn. Some of the upperclassmen (and women) advised me to take a couple of classes at Penn to goose up the GPA.</p>
<p>with<em>one</em>voice, did you apply to wharton? i'm surprised you didn't get in...i definitely thought you would've when i read your stats in the penn forum. i applied ED to penn arts and sciences and got deferred too.</p>
<p>duhvinci, why did you say that with<em>one</em>voice would be better off not going to penn?</p>
<p>my question is..are swarthmore and schools like penn similar in selectivity? does it look for different things in applicants because it's liberal arts? i was pretty disheartened after getting deferred from penn, and right now (other than penn), my top choice is probably swarthmore. i don't want to get my hopes up too much if swarthmore is just as hard to get into as penn... i mean, i know it's definitely possible for me to get into both based on my credentials. i'm just kind of hoping that swarthmore is maybe a little less selective.</p>
<p>frivolousthings,
I do not think that Swat is any less selective than Penn. (I believe that under 20% of last year's applicants were accepted.) In fact, Swat is pretty self-selective with the people who apply. Penn and Swat seem to be so different it's hard to understand how anyone can be truly interested in both. If you aren't genuinely passionate about Swat and can't convey a genuine passion, you may well find it very difficult to get in. I know the word "fit" seems overused, but a small school like Swat is searching for kids who are the right "fit" for the school.</p>
<p>
[quote]
I do not think that Swat is any less selective than Penn.
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</p>
<p>I agree. Roughly speaking, I would put Penn, Dartmouth, Brown, and Swarthmore in roughly the same selectivity bucket...close enough for government work, anyway.</p>
<p>Obviously, certain types of students will find it easier to get into one, but not the other...and vice versa.</p>
<p>All of these schools have roughly the same median SAT scores, percentage in top 10% of the class, and so on an so forth.</p>
<p>My daughter had a better shot at Swarthmore because of her demonstrated interest, EC activities that would be particularly noted at Swarthmore, and Swarthmore's slightly stronger tilt towards public school kids. However, you could take another student, with different ECs and interests, and find that they have a better shot at Dartmouth than Swarthmore. The big difference is that you can improve your odds at Swarthmore by demonstrating fit and enthusiasm. I doubt very much that Penn cares.</p>
<p>
[quote]
....why did you say that with<em>one</em>voice would be better off not going to penn?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Although there are a wide range of opinions, it seems that the majority of Swarthmore students who take classes at Penn find those classes (and the general level of academic engagement and intensity) at Penn to be a noticeable step below Swarthmore. Within the boundaries of what it offers, it can be legitimately argued that Swarthmore provides the most academically challenging undergrad program in the country. The academics are at a very high level and, on average, the students are quite engaged in their courses.</p>
<p>This could be viewed as good or bad. For example, nobody would dispute that Penn is a better party school that Swarthmore.</p>
<p>i see.....haha i almost want to say gahhhhhhhhh because right now it would be pretty nice to go to swarthmore...it would be make me so happy. i guess i shouldn't get too optimistic. i think i would be a good fit at swarthmore..i guess i just have to express that somehow. thanks for your responses!</p>