<p>I go to an inner city high school and so I didn't receive the best education because my teachers were generally easy (they stretched deadlines if you were lazy and didn't do it, work didn't take much effort, etc.) and I was taking international baccalaureate classes. </p>
<p>Because of this, I did really well and didn't really develop a work ethic because I didn't need one. So I figured that going to a great school would force me to try hard in order to do well, but I am worried it will be overwhelming. </p>
<p>The schools I got into are Swathmore, UChicago, Middlebury, Grinnell, Amherst, College of William and Mary, Carleton, Northwestern. (yeah, really prestigious schools). </p>
<p>Don't get me wrong, I don't think I'm too stupid to do well, but I think I have a lot (maybe too much) catching up to do.</p>
<p>I guess it may be quite overwhelming, if you don’t have the experience of pushing yourself to your limit… I dunno, I got accepted to Swarthmore through RD too, and I went to the most prestigious and rigorous high school in my country (I am an international student.) Thanks to the insanely competitive nature of my high school, I get comments that I will be fine in whichever college I go to, however challenging the curriculum may be. And moreover my father collapsed by third-stage colon cancer during my sophomore year, so i had to survive through that, too…
but anyways, Amherst was my dream school and it rejected me, and as far as I know, this year’s candidate pool for Amherst was unprecedented, with so many qualified students… If both Swat and Amherst accpeted you, there must be a reason why. I think you should be confident and proud of yourself :)</p>
<p>If admissions accepted you, then they think that you can do the work. That said, I’m not really in a position to speak from personal experience. I recommend contacting one of the academic deans, perhaps Diane Anderson, with your specific concerns.</p>
<p>You may indeed have more trouble adjusting to the work load than someone with your stats who really had to work for them, but you have already proven (via your application) that you can handle it, as long as you want to!</p>
<p>Swarthmore and Chicago are the hardest/most rigorous on your enviable list. Swarthmore is one of the more diverse and socially/culturally/politically active of these campuses and truly unique (not a clone of any other college).</p>
<p>I wouldn’t worry too much about it. First semester is pass/fail, and that helps you adjust to the workload and also to the new environment. The difficulty level really depends on which courses you take and with which professors. Some majors are much easier than others, for example. So there is no typical assignment for a class. Also, lower-level classes will probably be less time-consuming than upper-level classes. Maybe around 4-5 hours a week outside of class per class? Except I’m taking four classes (except most are seminars) where I’m expected to spend at least ten hours outside of class per week, so it varies a lot. Wherever you go, if you ask professors roughly how long they expect students to spend per week outside of class, and if you plan accordingly, leaving enough room to have free time, you’ll be fine.</p>
<p>a few observations, from my kids ('09, '12) and their friends:</p>
<p>1) you can run, but you can’t hide: classes for the most part are small and participation (for the most part) is expected; smaller class = more student participation expected. Most of my kids’ classes (in the humanities/social sciences) have been/are 5-20 students. You can’t sit there and be a sponge - you have to have done the reading, know what’s going on, and be able to comment, which brings me to</p>
<p>2) the workload: there is a lot of reading assigned (at least in the aforementioned disciplines). Most students don’t read every page, and those who are tempted to do so usually find a way to cut some corners without sacrificing performance, but the ASSIGNED bulk is heavy. As an aside, my D and a fellow swattie were sitting on a plane bound for home over winter break, and there were 2 U Penn students sitting behind them, chatting about a particular course they were both taking and complaining about “how much work” it was @200 pgs of reading/week. My D and friend just looked at each other and laughed. At Swat, 200 pgs/week/class would be a very light load.</p>
<p>3) one difference between Swarthmore and other schools is that the assigned work only forms the basis for a student’s thinking. So, after you listen to the lectures/do the reading or problem sets, then the expectation is that you will really think about what you’ve been exposed to, and the learning comes from extrapolating from what you’ve read or solved, analyzing and discussing, forming opinions, listening to others, drawing tentative conclusions, rethinking; it’s an iterative process that does not end with “doing the assignments.” That part is only the beginning.</p>
<p>4) That said, I truly do believe that the adcom does not make admissions mistakes. Some kids have to dig deeper than others, at least at first, but they all find a way, and have fun while they’re doing it.</p>
<p>momuv2 has hit the nail on the head. I have a Swattie '07 and a Swattie '14. My '07 has said that in many schools if you are expected to spend twice as much time working out of class as the hours you are actually in class, at Swat you could be facing double that. In other words, in the first instance you are in class 3 hours a week and would be expected to put in another maybe 6 hours of homework time. In the Swat example, with the 3 hours of class time, you might expect to spend 9-12 hours a week outside of the classroom.</p>
<p>That being said, neither of my kids would trade their Swarthmore experience. They both were and are involved in many things other than the classroom. What’s usually given up is sleep. ;)</p>
<p>I absolutely agree with momuv2 and momof3sons. My '10 and '13 would agree, too - and also wouldn’t trade their time at Swat for anything.</p>
<p>The other thing I’d emphasize (since it’s already been stated by murmillo) is that the pass/fail system for your first semester is a wonderful thing. It really does give you time to find your own organizing and coping strategies - your own assigned-reading triage plans, for example - and do whatever catching up it is that you may need to do. My kids were pretty well prepared, but when I went to Swat a million years ago, I was <em>not</em> ready. I did spend the first weeks convinced I was an admissions mistake, but by the time the first semester was over I was holding my own.</p>
<p>everything that has been said on this thread has been so helpful, thank you!! i am sort of the in the same boat as gaarachick. my school, though competitive in some respects, also is very lenient, and i am afraid that swarthmore’s rigor will be a smack in the face. i also hope to major in biology/a hard science and be pre-med, so that’s even more intimidating. can anyone offer some words about majoring in a science/being a pre-med at swat, and also about the grade deflation and “sophomore slump” that i’ve heard many swatties suffer from? thanks!</p>
<p>Swarthmore wants you to succeed as a student there. There are many supports built in to the system. From WAs (writing associates) to Ninjas (computer science mentors) almost every department has a system in place to provide tutoring for students wanting/needing extra help. My son in is math/physics major and all of his major related courses have included problem sessions where students and faculty work on problem sets. The faculty is always willing to provide extra help if needed.</p>
<p>I transfered into a very rigorous boarding school from a competitive international school in the 11th grade. Though my previous school was competitive, I developed a much stronged work ethic as a result of moving.</p>
<p>The first term was “rocky” to say the least. My grades suffered because I was unprepared. I floundered a bit. I had a tough time. Then, I learned to study harder. I talked to teachers, I got a science tutor, I took better notes. Slowly I built up a (pretty) solid work ethic that propelled me through the next two years. </p>
<p>In short, I struggled, but it was <em>so</em> worth it. In the end, I ended up stronger than before.</p>
<p>You have to be willing to work hard, though.</p>
<p>PS. I have a good friend in Swat and he absolutely adores it. He told me there is very little competitiveness among the students, and everyone is very helpful & compassionate towards each other.</p>
<p>This is an excellent thread. That the expectations are rigorous–there’s no doubt. I do see the demand balanced with a compassion within the community. D has 3 more weeks to decide. We’ll see if Swat it is!!! =D</p>
<p>Swarthmore is the epitome of “hard.” They accepted you, though, because they believe you have the potential to succeed in their extremely rigorous program.</p>