My chances of getting into Swarthmore College with Scholarship

Colleges and Universities A-Z Swarthmore College
1

I am starting the process of applying to colleges as the deadlines are approaching soon. I wanted to know feedback and my chances for this school since it is a reach for me so that I do not waste time and money.

Objective
SAT I (breakdown): 1420 (700 reading & writing) (720 math)
ACT (breakdown): N/A
Weighted GPA: 3.9 (school weighs things differently than others)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): school doesn’t do rank
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Lit (3), AP Comp Sci Principles (3)
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP Physics, AP Lang, Honors World History, Spanish 5, Differential Calculus, Psych/Soci (independent dual-enrollment study)

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Mock Trial (Lawyer for Prosecution-9th grade),
Auxilium (11th grade),
Dance Team (9th grade),
STEP Team (11th grade)
XC (Varsity, #1 Girl Runner at MOT 9&11th grade),
Volleyball (10th grade),
Soccer (10th grade)

Job/Work Experience:
Tutor (1yr, paid, 9th grade, tutored 8th grade)
Chick-Fil-A (6 months-present, paid, 11th grade-present)

Volunteer/Community service:
STEM presentations- AP Computer Science Presentation Project - 2 hrs- This project means to show me accomplishments and knowledge in the computer science field and to showcase a project that I have done to staff members and students.
Jefferson Award Auxilium- 7 hrs- This project means that I am doing public services and showing leadership skills by making a difference and acting on giving back to others.
Rehoboth Beach Cleaning Volunteer Work- 6 hrs- This project means to make the community’s environment a better place by cleaning local places trash and waste and help plant more grass and flowers near the beach areas.
Food Bank- 2hrs
January 2015-Present (every other weekend) The Bridge Church Volunteer- 100hrs- This project means to help out with kids in the nursery for my church by helping and teaching kids during church services so that their parents can go to the service in the time being.

Summer Activities: Y2 academy program, FAME enrichment program, DGCA program, Chick-Fil-A Job, Food Bank Volunteering for the Homeless, The Bridge Church Volunteer

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
Teacher Rec #1: 10/10 My Biotech Major Teacher-- close relationship, haven’t seen the recommendation, been my teacher for 2+ yrs, knows my strengths
Teacher Rec #2: My Math Teacher-- 8/10 good connection, haven’t seen the recommendation, been teacher for 2+ years, knows my strenghts, knows my hard output of works, my active thinking in class, my skills, love for math and more
Counselor Rec: 10/1- new counselor, very impressed by me, likes me Alot, knows my determination and persistence
Additional Rec: if allowed-- will get one from my Pastor
Interview: Setting up one in November 2018
Other
Applying for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Pre-Med, Health Professions
State (if domestic applicant): DE
Country (if international applicant): US
School Type: Charter, mid-sized, Rigorous & Challenging, Above Avg
Ethnicity: Caribbean, Black, Indian
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: 100,000+
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): N/A

Reflection
Strengths: strong determination, well-spoken, good stats, type of SWAT girl, good extracurriculars, outstanding recommendations
Weaknesses: GPA and I’m not that good at standardized tests (see-APs), Not that many awards are offered at my school

2

Good chance but apply to many others too

3

You should have a good shot at admission to a school like Swarthmore. However, even for excellent students, admission isn’t assured for schools this selective. Build a balanced reach-match-safety list to maximize your chances of admission to colleges you like and can afford.

Swarthmore grants very few merit awards. Only 4 of them went to first time, first year students in 2017-18.
Whether you would be eligible for need-based aid, and the amount, depends largely on how far above $100K your family income is. Run the online net price calculators for Swarthmore and any other schools that interest you.

4

When you say scholarship, do you mean financial aid? Swat gives very few merit scholarships and your test scores wouldn’t likely be high enough. I think a 1420 is about an ACT 31

How much will your parents pay each year? Ask them, please don’t guess. We see later posts from a lot of disappointed students who thought their parents would pay more.

Have your parents run the NPC and see if you qualify for enough FA.

Do your parents own a business? Or take business deductions? Or own properties other than their home?

5

“Income Bracket: 100,000+” really does not tell us much.

For a California resident with family income of $100K, with $50K in cash savings and 2 kids, Swarthmore’s net price might be about $13K (before deducting “self help”), according to its online NPC.

Increase family income to $150K with $75K in cash savings, and the net price jumps to about $27K.

YMMV. Run the NPCs. Have a frank family conversation about whether your parents are able and willing to cover the EFCs.

6

Swat is highly selective and it is important that your application stands out and demonstrates why it is important that they admit you and how you will benefit the school. Based on the info you provided, I would say Swat is a long reach for you and I strongly doubt you would be in the running for a merit award. My reasons are as follows:

  1. Your SAT is closer to the 25th percentile than the 75th percentile for admitted students. See https://www.swarthmore.edu/sites/default/files/assets/documents/institutional-research/SAT.pdf .
  2. Schools ask for both weighted and unweighted GPAs to get a sense of the rigor of applicants’ coursework as well as a sense of how well they did in more rigorous courses. Ideally, there should be an increase of at least several tenths of a point, if not at least a half point, from the unweighted to the weighted GPA. However your school calculates weighted GPA, it will have to be spelled out to the admissions folks. A weighted GPA of 3.9 without any clear explanation gives me pause, as it may indicate (1) you have lower grades in the more rigorous courses resulting in an unweighted GPA more in the 3.5-3.7 range or (2) you have high grades in a less rigorous curriculum. If the committee doesn’t have a clear picture of this when it reviews your application, it could hurt your chances for admission.
  3. Your extracurriculars are average. There isn’t anything showing a longitudinal commitment with a defined outcome (e.g., led food drive that brought in $x and x pounds of food to support local food bank; earned Girl Scout Gold Award by developing and leading project that built new playground for local elementary school; etc.). Your church service is okay, but your comment regarding it gives the impression that it was something you did while you going to be there anyway. Worth mentioning your service nonetheless; just need to sell it better.

A lot of people who consider Swat also look at Haverford and Bryn Mawr. Haverford would also be a long reach for you; it also does not award merit aid. If you are ok with a school that is not coed, Bryn Mawr might be a good fit; I think you have a better shot for admission there than at either Swat or Haverford. Bryn Mawr also gives out quite a bit of merit aid. Also, be aware that many all-women’s schools are very interested in increasing the number of women in STEM careers, including medicine. There are also professional organizations out there who look to help young, high-achieving women get into the STEM fields. Bryn Mawr has a very good pre-med counseling program and even offers a coed post-baccalaureate pre-med program for those who have decided post-college to apply to medical school. Franklin and Marshall also has a good pre-med rep. Look also for schools that have pre-admission arrangements with medical schools.

I second tk21769’s recommendation to make use of the NPCs available on each college’s website. You must have a frank discussion with your parents about what is truly within the realm of possibility; plan on a worst case of no merit aid an little to no need-based aid just in case. If you are considering medicine, you must consider how you are going to pay for eight years of school vice four. To get into a US medical school, you must have stellar grades and stellar MCAT scores. If you were to get into a reach school and then struggle, you might have to reconsider your career plans because your grades don’t meet the mark. Likewise if you don’t work on improving your self-reported standardized test-taking skills. Keep in mind that many state universities, including the U of Delaware, have honors programs that provide a differentiated educational experience to top students at a fraction of the cost of a top LAC. (For U of Del, see https://sites.udel.edu/honors/ ).

Best of luck.

7

Very frank and detailed responses to the original posters question. My D is going to be applying to Swarthmore for 2019 and has no illusions about merit aid. She is also coincidentally interested in Haverford and Bryn Mawr. I’m going show her this thread as part of our discussion about applications.

8

It doesn’t matter that OP’s school “weighs things differenty.” Most high schools have their own scheme. And she should be able to look at her record of actual grades and calculate the unweighted gpa. Adcoms will look at the transcript, not some individual hs’s calculation of weighted. It matters if she got less than A grades, especially in classes related the proposed major. Add that the APscores are low for this level of competitive college. Are those the only two AP classes that are offered? Nothing in sciences?

Read enough on their web pages to see what they look for. And then do a little self matching. 94% of admits whose schools do rank are in the top ten percent. That gives an idea of admits’ performance in hs. The ECs are also sparse, with too many one-year-only activities and very few onesie times of jusr a few hours of comm service. Nothing apparently related to the pre-med aspirations. (Pre-med, btw, isn’t a major. You’d indicate what academic field. And there is no ‘health professions’ major.) Working with nursery kids is admirable but do you know the level a top LAC wants to see kids involved? Aything with yourchurch where you actively help theneedy in your community?

Again, read all Swat says about what they want to see. That’s my advice.

9

As others have said, there is, for all intents and purposes, no merit to be had at Swarthmore (there are 4 full ride scholarships given each year; two of them go to regional applicants). So, as for scholarship, that’s a no. I have no idea about your financial situation, assets, etc. You have to run the Net Price Calculator and see if you qualify for need-based aid. In either case, Swat’s a reach school.

10

Is XC a hook? Swarthmore seems to be producing champions these days. Your grades are just fine (they look familiar!) if you are strong recruiting material. Call the coach. You need detailed financials to run the net price calculator. For example, deduct taxes and other items from $100,000 and you get free tuition. So grateful to Swat FinAid Office and the athletic department!