I’m honestly so surprised, but I received a likely letter from Swarthmore today! I wasn’t expecting it, and to be honest, Swarthmore hasn’t been high on my list of schools, but this letter is making me reconsider. How many people get Swarthmore likelies?
Also, this is going to seem very superficial (don’t hate me) but do you guys feel like Swarthmore is well known? I mean, obviously at CC, we’re familiar with the country’s best LACs, but when it comes to jobs and such, are people as well informed? If any current students want to chime in, please feel free!
Finally, when I applied, the reported quirky and intellectual nature of Swarthmore really appealed to me. Is that exaggerated, or are people truly like that? I haven’t visited yet, so I’m very in the dark. Thanks in advance for the help!
Congratulations, marshmallowpop! Can you tell us when you got it and how (mail or email)?
And where do you live?
Congrats, again. It must feel nice.
I also received a likely letter from Swat today, and I’m in the same boat as well and ask the same questions. Though It was on my list of “probably will reject me schools”, this letter has me rethinking everything.
Marcoroca- it was a letter in the mail; NJ
Congratulations to you too, Ovation4Cg!
Hey! I also received a likely letter today 
I honestly didn’t expect to get in, especially when I saw how small the envelope was, so you can imagine my surprise and excitement when I was admitted! I live in Virginia and received the letter by mail postmarked the 11th of March! Also asking the question about the student body??
Thank you, @marcoroca! The letter was physically mailed, and I live in PA (only an hour and a half or so away from Swarthmore).
@Ovation4Cg @muna1997 Congrats, guys! I hope someone answers our questions 
since I live pretty close by, I think I might try to visit this weekend (even though it’s spring break, and campus is likely dead haha).
Congrats to all who got the letter!
Would you mind sharing your stats? thanks. I’m really nervous. @marshmallowpop, @muna1997, @Ovation4Cg.
Why are folks calling it a “likely letter” which is a recruiting device for athletes? My son (Maryland) received one and it’s pretty clearly an admissions acceptance letter. To quote from the letter: “Congratulations! It is my pleasure to welcome you to the Swarthmore College class of 2019!” and “You have my very warmest congratulations on your admission to Swarthmore College.” It says something to the effect that his application was so impressive that they’re notifying him a couple of weeks early. Ok, that last bit is probably a bit of marketing by the school. True, the letter also says that the offer of admission is contingent on a satisfactory academic record and conduct for the rest of the senior year but that’s standard.
You’re right, PennAlimParent. These are what they call “early writes,” not likely letters.
@PennAlumParent … Sure sounds like an acceptance letter. The only question I have is who signed it? If it was Jim Bock (admissions dean), I’d say it’s a done deal. If not Jim…then who?
These letters are a way for schools to sink the hook first during RD. If your child goes to school and word gets out, it has a way of building into a decision before hearing from others. Kids get used to the idea of being a student at a certain school, and it becomes emotionally more difficult to say no to that first “yes”.
I’m interested in learning if there were any hooks for those receiving the letters? Athletes, minority, first college student in the family, musical instrument, etc.?
Yes, it’s signed by Jim Bock. My D got one today.
Eyevee, I think different schools use these early writes for different reasons. My D got them from Swarthmore, Amherst and Williams. She is a minority student and had attended both the Discover Swarthmore Program and the Amherst equivalent, so it could be in part because of her minority status, but she is also strong academically, a talented musician and creative writer (and sent in supplements in both categories), so those might be factors as well. People also get early writes purely for academics. I know that Williams gives out a very prestigious scholarship to 10 of their early writes, which not only covers their Williams education, but pays 3 years of graduate school afterwards. I’ve heard the argument that the people who get early writes in the top LACs are likely to be accepted at Ivies, so the LACS attempt to snatch them before the Ivy notification date. This is all new to me - I looked it up after my D got her first one on March 4.
Yes, you’re right, it is actually an early write - they very clearly offered admission. I just called it a likely letter because that’s what I thought these were typically called. Sorry for any confusion!
And as for myself, I’m not a URM (I’m Indian), I don’t have any sort of hook, don’t play any instruments or sports, and am really not sure why I got a likely at all! I’m definitely thrilled though. I had a solid SAT (2300) and an okay GPA (3.8-3.9ish), so I guess mine was academic? It might have actually been because of my extracurriculars, but I’m not sure about that. @marcoroca I was deferred from Yale EA, so I don’t know if likelies at top LACs are necessarily indicative of being accepted at Ivies (I totally hope so, though!).
@luv2sk8 I posted my stats in the RD results thread (which some people seem to be miffed by the creation of, haha - I think they thought it was unnecessary bragging or something). As a Swat applicant, I was always bummed out by the fact that there’s not too much info (or people’s stats) on this forum, so I thought it’d be helpful for people to post their stats there.
@marshmallowpop: For information on post-graduation plans, check out: http://www.swarthmore.edu/sites/default/files/assets/documents/career-services/2004-2014_postgrad_survey.pdf. It is a survey, so many graduates never get around to filling it out, but it gives a sense of what graduates are doing. Additional information can be found here: http://www.swarthmore.edu/career-services/post-graduation-statistics.
You should also check out graduate school placement because it says something about the academic environment at the school. The link below takes you to a table that gives the percentages of graduates who went on to receive doctorates. Swarthmore’s rate was 20.3% overall (4th), and 13.1% for sciences and engineering (5th).
http://www.swarthmore.edu/institutional-research/doctorates-awarded
The Wall Street Journal did a study of placement into top business, law and medical schools a few years ago. The link is now dead, but Swarthmore was in the top 10 in that ranking as well. The only schools in the top 10 in the doctoral rankings above and the WSJ ranking were MIT and Swarthmore. So, yes, Swarthmore is well known.
My son’s letter was signed by Jim Bock. He is a URM (Hispanic) and also strong academically (attending a well-regarded Jesuit school, 4th in his class of 179 young men, GPA 4.32 weighted, ACT 34, 10 APs and honors in the rest). He’s also a national-level athlete but Swarthmore doesn’t field a team in his sport (fencing). No other ECs to speak of, other than some volunteer work in the summer, because his sport takes up most of his free time. For comparison purposes, he was deferred in ED to RD at U Penn (Wharton) where he’s a legacy. The Penn coach was interested but didn’t extend a recruiting offer (Penn had a fantastic recruiting year for men’s fencing). Being deferred by Penn may be a blessing in disguise (as blessings usually come) because better opportunities may come his way. For example, U Maryland, College Park (our state school flagship campus) also accepted him into its honors college, awarded him a Banneker/Key scholarship (their most “prestigious” scholarship) for tuition, and he had an interview for a “full ride” scholarship. We attended a day-long program for B/K kids and we left very impressed with Maryland. Maryland gives out 150 full rides.
While Swarthmore does not have a varsity fencing team, it has an extremely active club fencing team. Here are the tournament schedule (http://orgs.sccs.swarthmore.edu/swatfencing/tournaments/) and the roster (http://orgs.sccs.swarthmore.edu/swatfencing/rosters/)
Coase, yes if he attends Swarthmore, he’ll happily fence for Swat’s club. As a former varsity fencer myself, I know two of the club’s coaches. Some fencers at my son’s level refuse to fence for club teams but he has a different view. And he ought to be quite a boost to the club’s competitiveness.
Maryland is the same – no varsity team but a competitive club. The kids in the club know my son and are lobbying him to attend Maryland.
Another early write here, pretty happy about it! Also, buddy, you’re not an athelete, so it’s really not a likely letter.
Just to answer my own question a bit – I’m family friends with the dean of Health, Human Services & Nursing at a certain school, and he absolutely insists that medicals schools love Swarthmore. Haha, this is all anecdotal, but the guy does have 20+ years of experience.
My son also received an early write last week in the mail. Does this mean he is highly desirable to the Ivies? We, like everyone else, is waiting for March 31 to arrive. Just curious as to the source (other than common sense) that an early write means increased likelihood of acceptance at other highly selective schools. Thanks.