did "why swat" HAVE to be an essay?

<p>I did my why swarthmore thing like the "self-interview"/profile things they had in the viewbook and other admissions stuff. If you don't remember, they are black & white line drawings with a picture or two of the person and lots of talk and thought bubbles. I know the admissions people probably expect a real essay, but I thought it would be cool. Sooo... is that going to be all right? Should I send in an actual essay? I'm having second thoughts...</p>

<p>Good idea. That would be my reaction, but I really don't know how the adcoms at Swat would respond. The only problem that I'd see with a "Why Swat" modeled after what was in the viewbook is that, although this enables you to communicate a good deal about yourself, I can't really see that it would help you in responding to the actual question. ummmmm. Personally, to be safe, I'd send an actual essay in. Good Luck.</p>

<p>I think I explained it wrong- its not the same exactly as the ones in the viewbook because it IS about why swat, not about me specifically. is that ok now?</p>

<p>i think that the adcom would appreciate something like that - you obviously tried to represent yourself creatively, and if you managed to answer the question as well, all the better. one would think that the Swat admissions office would like it because its a unique way of answering a standard essay question.</p>

<p>I actually sort of did the same thing- I used a lot of the visual features from the yearbook to answer the question. I figure, it's a risk, but it's one I was willing to take.</p>

<p>as long as you got the message across, i think that creative approach should really help you.</p>

<p>Now that decisions are out, do you think that your creative approaches helped you or hurt you?
Thank you from a hopeful for Swat '10!</p>