<p>^ Probably, although I wouldn’t treat that Swarthmore acceptance as chopped liver!</p>
<p>My thoughts about estimating one’s chances at the most selective schools are that it’s best to be pessimistic. Those schools’ admissions are quirky. Better to be pessimistic and then have the chance of being pleasantly surprised by an acceptance than to be optimistic and then be disappointed on decision day.</p>
<p>probably
they don’t send random mail like that if it is not a likely letter</p>
<p>To add on to what NSM said: if you’re pessimistic, not only can things only look up, but you already have a top school to look towards even if everything else goes wrong, so really you can be pessimistic and still win out no matter what.</p>
<p>I guess I am in a win-win situation. Feels so good. Thanks for your all your help guys!</p>