My Chances and Fit at Swarthmore

Colleges and Universities A-Z Swarthmore College
1

<p>I am a rising high school senior from Massachusetts who is completing my last two years of high school by taking a full college course load at Harvard University’s Extension School. I am a ballet dancer and dance professionally with a company in Boston. I am also a competitive figure skater and compete at fairly advanced levels in individual free-style and ice dancing. </p>

<p>My first year of high school was completed at a very competitive public high school where I took the maximum number of honor courses and received all As. In my second year I attended a well-respected arts conservatory (for ballet) with a very good college preparatory program and again received all As.</p>

<p>This last year at Harvard I completed a program that included Calculus A and B; a 300-level World History class; Expository Writing; a 300-level Conversational Spanish course; Bio-chemistry and Earth Science courses and a course in the English novel. My unweighted GPA is 3.75. </p>

<p>In addition to my ballet and skating, I have participated actively in a Model UN program for home-schooled students. In August I will travel to lecture at several Model UN programs in Puebla, Mexico. I also tutor 4 high school students in Spanish and participate regularly in 3 volunteer community groups.</p>

<p>This summer I have a paid internship as a research assistant in a highly respected molecular biology laboratory at Tufts NE Medical School, a position I held last summer as well. </p>

<p>My SAT score (first time) was 2100+ (700s across the board). I took the biology SAT II freshman year and received a 710. Recently I received at 760 on Spanish Sat II and a 690 in Math2. </p>

<p>I am beginning to look at colleges for the fall of 2008. I intend to enter as a freshman. There are few things important to me in a college The school should have excellent biology and language programs. It should also present me the opportunity to partcipate in either dance (ballet) or figure skating. A cohesive “school spirit would be great. The only school I've looked at to date has been Dartmouth, which has a great skating program and an interesing and flexible curriculum (the D-Plan). I am interested in both LACs and universities in the northeast and west coast.</p>

<p>I would like your feedback on the attractiveness (or not) of my application at Swarthmore with suggestions as to whether or not this a fit for me academically and extra-curricularly.</p>

<p>Thanks in advance.</p>

2

<p>You definitely have impressive stats, both with grades/standardized tests and with extra-curriculars. You would be a strong candidate at Swarthmore as long as your essays, recommendations, and other sections were also solid and interesting. :]</p>

<p>As for whether or not Swarthmore fits, Swat does have ballet, but no figure skating that I know of, and has good biology and language programs. As for school spirit, Swat is known for having a really cohesive community that I think is really comfortable. You have to visit yourself, if you can - going there is a really good indicator of whether or not you might like it.</p>

3

<p>the idea of "school spirit" in an athletic sense is nearly nonexistent (although a lot of people do hate Haverford, our rivals... did I mention I hate Haverford? :))</p>

<p>however, I think otherwise you would fit in very well. we don't have a figure skating program, but the ballet program is quite good from what I understand, and from personal experience the language and biology departments are very good. one of the great things about the biology department, specifically, is that it is very large and well-funded, so not only are the classes quite good, but you have a lot of research and job opportunities (both during the school year and during vacations).</p>

<p>as for your chances - very very good!</p>

4

<p>Your situation is so unique that you really should contact the head of the Dance department at Swarthmore and begin a conversation about what a program for you might look like. You can fly down to Swarthmore for $29 each way on Southwest. Hop on a plane and go visit.</p>

<p>You would obviously be a competitive applicant. The goal should be in trying to determine if Swarthmore is right for you and whether you are right for Swarthmore.</p>

5

<p>It wouldn't hurt to take the SAT again. You're right around average for Swarthmore and a little below average for Dartmouth, so it is probably worth a shot to try and score a few more points, just to give yourself a little boost. That said, you can probably get into either of those places.</p>