<p>Rafaaaa</p>
<p>when you get to Swarthmore, do me a favor and punch suzi nam in the head. then get me an application.</p>
<p>i probably shouldn't be saying this on the college discussion forum.</p>
<p>LOL, I've called too, all I got out of them was that the deadline will be September 19, you must be reccomended by your school and Suzi Nam was doing an interview.</p>
<p>Also, I just checked, the applications were just mailed on Friday, should be here by mid-week,</p>
<p>cesca885, My son just received an invitation today in the mail. You will probably get yours very soon. Idon't think that my son is going to attend because he visited my nephew there last year and didn't like the campus. It was too studious for him.</p>
<p>I just got an invitation as well. I don't know if I'll apply, as I'm missing enough school as it is, but I think it's interesting that they require an official transcript. This is probably the reason why they wait until the beginning of the school-year to send out applications, since it's hard (at least for me) to get a transcript over the summer when virtually no one is at school.</p>
<p>S got an invitation today. I wonder how Swat decides whom to accept to fly in.</p>
<p>From the article I read before, Suzi Nam said that in comparison to their peer's visitation programs (proably refering to Williams & Amherst), Swarthmore only want to fly in students they know know the college and are there to confirm and expand on what they already know...</p>
<p>so in the essay, I'd work on what are your goals and also emphasize on how Swarthmore will help you ge there.</p>
<p>Northstarmom:</p>
<p>I have no idea. However, with a fixed number of slots, I'm guessing the application, at least in the early stages, serves mostly to cull out candidates who clearly don't have the academic qualifications to cut it at Swarthmore. Later on, it probably just boils down to available space and travel budgets.</p>
<p>I also received an invitation for Discovery Weekend. Does anyone know how many people are invited and how many are accepted? I'd love to go visit Swarthmore because I wouldn't be able to afford it otherwise. Also, I probably wouldn't want to miss school if it weren't for a program like this.</p>
<p>131 attended last year out of 300 applications.</p>
<p>Here's an article about last year's event.</p>
<p>The Phoenix and Daily News archives are good sources for information about the goings on at Swat.</p>
<p>I got the app too and I think I'll be applying, partially because the app itself doesn't look very time-consuming, and partially because I'd never get to visit Swarthmore otherwise.</p>
<p>Does anyone know the schedule for this year, ie times when we arrive and depart? If I qualify for the free airfare, will I be able to schedule it whenever I want, or is it set?</p>
<p>Jimmy, What typically happens is that the college makes a tentative booking of the flight and then checks with you to make sure the times work for you. Since they're trying to get a good rate, it's courteous not to be picky unless you have a major conflict with the time. Not wanting to get up early to catch a flight isn't considered a major conflict.</p>
<p>I went to mission admission and visited Swarthmore twice so i sort of know the place. I went to their info session and campus tour. Recently I got an application to it. Does Discovery Weekend provide any NEW experience and information that i didn't get from the previous visits? I would like to take a class there just for the experience. Does this provide this opportunity? Would the events held be repetitive or worth going? Thank you</p>
<p>Do you need to be a racial minority to attend or apply to Discovery Weekend?</p>
<p>Historically, yes. Discovery Weekend has been a recruiting event for minority students.</p>
<p>However, the constitutional legality of a totally-closed event is somewhat questionable, so it would not surprise me if invitations are now sent to selected low-income white students as well. Just a guess, though.</p>
<p>In any case, you can visit Swarthmore for an overnight just about any time. In many ways, a regular overnight is probably a better bet for experiencing the campus. 130 guests on campus tends to be a bit of an overload. Nothing like Ride the Tide with 300 vistors; that completely swamps campus.</p>
<p>Yup. I think visiting campus regular time (not Discovery Weekend and not Ride the Tide) would be the best insight into what makes Swarthmore tick.</p>
<p>My son did not apply to Discovery Weekend (maybe we're not URM) and Ride the Tide. But we visited when campus was open and we talked to people...it was a good visit in his view.</p>
<p>Our D did not go to Discovery weekend. She went to Ride and Tide. I think Ride and Tide served her well. But she knew what to look for. She attended accepted students' weekends at Amherst and Bowdoin as well. (Her fourth choice, Dartmouth, had its thing on the same weekend as Swarthmore.) I was not surprised that she liked Swarthmore. But her other two choices were strange: Bowdoin was a very close second; she hated Amherst. The fact that Bowdoin sponsored National Merit and was cheapest to attend after scholarships may have something to do with that. (But we are the ones who are paying and we asked her to make a decision without considering money.) Having heard of Bowdoin's reputation as preppy, we never expected her to like it.</p>
<p>Wow, liked Swarthmore and hated Amherst, never heard that combination in my life...</p>
<p>The Discovery Weekend is described as a hosting program for Asian, Black, Latino/a, and Native American high school seniors, but they do send invitations to a small group of low-income caucasians for equity purposes.</p>
<p>With this program you'll attend classes, discuss campus culture with the students, attend social events hosted by your respective hosting group, theater/musical performances by students, financial aid workshop, and lunch anddinner with faculty.</p>
<p>Does anyone know about how much they're looking for in the "What do you hope to gain from your college experience?" essay?</p>
<p>Have any of y'all received your acceptence emails/letters?</p>