Early Writes?

<p>Hey sunflower, I went to Discovery Weekend too! What's your name?</p>

<p>My son received an early from Swarthmore yesterday (3-13). We're thrilled.</p>

<p>I got an early write today. I'm shocked.</p>

<p>Is anyone else who went to Discovery Weekend going to Ride the Tide?</p>

<p>I just got mine today, and I was not expecting it at all. It was a nice surprise in the mail.</p>

<p>Continued congratulations, everybody!</p>

<p>Peto:</p>

<p>Swarthmore seems to be developing quite a connection with Ghana. A Swarthmore grad Patrick Awuah (class of '89) from Ghana made a fortune at Microsoft, retired after nine years, and founded the first liberal arts college in Ghana, Ashesi University.</p>

<p>It's easy to see the Swarthmore influence in what Patrick Awuah is doing. Here's a little video:</p>

<p><a href="http://nmmstream.net:8080/ramgen/aspen/ashesi.rm%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://nmmstream.net:8080/ramgen/aspen/ashesi.rm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>hello, i got college confidential so i could ask about this. i got an early write yesterday, but i think it's going to take some convincing for me to choose to go to swarthmore. i wanted to keep my options open and i realize that swarthmore is a super top-notch school. but i went to discovery weekend, and i was left with the impression that swarthmore kids can be kind of awkward, socially and that there wasn't much of a campus culture. well, anyways i was wondering why y'all want to go to swarthmore.</p>

<p>I would say that one of Swarthmore's most defining characteristics is its unusually strong campus culture, moreso than most schools I can think of. It's one of the things that is cited by the independent accredidation review panels that visit the school and its also very apparent in how the history of the school shapes today's campus culture.</p>

<p>Having said that, I don't think anyone would suggest that Swarthmore's campus culture is for everybody.</p>

<p>dillerroneous:
Out of all the schools that I visited, Swarthmore was probably the one with the most noticeable campus culture. It may or may not be right for you, but there's a distinct personality to the school. It's idealistic, intense, intellectual and offbeat, among other things. The one kind of campus culture that might be missing a little bit is the stereotypical kind of "school spirit." I doubt that the whole student body turned out to watch football games even when there was a team.</p>

<p>As for the social awkwardness part, you're right about that. If you find it to be a strong negative aspect of the school, then Swarthmore's the wrong place for you and I'm not going to encourage you to go. What seemed like awkwardness to you struck me as more of a refeshing authenticity. To me, as long as people are friendly it doesn't matter if they are following elaborately constructed social guidelines. Think about it this way: most people smart enough to get into swarthmore are capable of acting socially adept if they really want to. If they aren't acting that way, it's either because they positively don't want to or because they just don't care enough about the issue to waste much effort on it. That can either be a positive or a negative thing, it all depends on your personality and background. I currently go to a very "preppy" high school, with a lot of very nice individuals and a somewhat pretensious social atmosphere. It's in many ways the opposite of the Swarthmore culture, and four years there have made a little awkwardness seem quite appealing to me personally. If that's not part of what you want in a college, there are plenty of great schools with very different cultures where you'll be happy. Good luck wherever you end up.</p>

<p>JP's definitely right. I chose Swarthmore because of the culture on campus: at a small school, you need a culture that's tailored right to your personality. And Swarthmore's culture definitely echoes what I like to see in people: a "change-the-world" spirit, intellectualism, individuality, and friendliness.</p>

<p>As for awkwardness, there are definitely some people at Swarthmore who are awkward - you'll find that anywhere. But I'm an ED1 for next year's freshman class, and having met many of those in our class already, I feel that nothing's "awkward" - I already feel immediately accepted and appreciated (if by "awkward" you just meant people who are into dorky things, then you're right, and if you wouldn't like that, you won't like Swarthmore). Like any other college, you have to reach out to a community to get a community feel back, but at Swarthmore especially it is doable. Swarthmore is probably more tailored for a particular kind of person, as I said, but you'll find a niche for yourself there no matter who you are. If you question how comfortable you'd feel at Swarthmore, and you find a better fit, you probably shouldn't go to Swat - but definitely look into it more. :]</p>

<p>thanks guys, i really appreciate it. i will certainly look more into swarthmore, as objectively as possible.</p>

<p>Well I had a chance last summer to spend a week and a half on campus with some friends of mine. I was really really overwhelmed by the super culture that reigns in swarthmore.
Coming from Ghana, I was expecting to meet people who were gonna give me some attitude that I couldn't quite match. Bu t i was wrong. da kids were so into da school. Frsibeeing on parish beach, having BBQ'S outside ML, ordering pizza at odd hours of da night, using each others ingredients to prepare food so that errbody can enjoy. I mean the atmosphere over there is just right for anybody and as such I can't seem to understand da awkwardness that y'all are talking about.
Another thing that makes me love swarthmore even more is da fact that all the Professors are extremely friendly and very welcoming to any and all kinds of people. Professor Carr is really realy friendly and I recommend that anyone who wants to do engineering should start emailing him and showing interest.
Da Swarthmore week and a half visit was really intense and really helped me to firmly and rightly apply Early Decision to the school. Guess what, I got in on ED1 and I am so glad that I'm gonna be a part of such a vibrant culture for the next for years of my life!!
Dillerroneous, if you've gotten da acceptance don't waste it unless there's a better option elsewhere ( I doubt it tho)</p>

<p>im so excited that i got an early write. i got it on wednesday after everyone else so i was a little sad but i figured i would just get an answer in april...but now im SUUUUPER excited about swarthmore and want to go sooooo badly....</p>

<p>got 1 too, seeya guys at RtT</p>

<p>ME TOO!!! very excited. Yeah I was a Discovery Weekend person.</p>

<p>Congrats everyone.</p>

<p>Although I was selected for Discovery Weekend I don't think I will get in as I haven't even heard back yet and I think I should have. I went to Oberlin's MVP Program and heard back earlier this month.</p>

<p>I know it's hard, but I wouldn't interpret the lack of an early write as indicative of whether or not you will be accepted.</p>

<p>The vast majority of Swarthmore applicants are in the group of qualified applicants where the decision could go either way. Nobody knows the outcomes of those decisions until the letters are mailed.</p>

<p>Did any internationals get early-writes too ? I really really want to go to Swarthmore, but I didn't get an early-write or anything. Maybe they don't want me ? :(</p>

<p>Not getting an early write does NOT mean that you will not get in! They accept lots of people that don't get early-writes: they only send early writes to a portion of the accepted RDs. Don't stress about it until you get a decision. :D</p>

<p>Ditto on what Forgetmenots said. ^^</p>

<p>I got one and was surprised because I wasn't expecting notifications so early. Anyway, remember that a small portion of the accepted people get them, SO the majority didn't get them. = you might've certainly gotten in even if you didn't get a letter.</p>

<p>Aaaaah Swat.</p>

<p>SEE YOU GUYS AT RIDE THE TIDE! <em>grin</em> I'll have to remember some nicknames on here.</p>

<p>"Oh! So you're Frainy? So you're Blooblbod?" :D I'm also a Discovery Weekender, btw.</p>

<p>thats comforting, and i'm going to keep my fingers crossed a bit longer, but i still dont get it !! why do they send early writes to some and not to others ??</p>