My child who is a Senior is applying ED to Swarthmore. He is at the top of his class, will have 10 APs, & is a musician with many extracurriculars. His ACT score is 32 & he had a terrific interview on campus last month. He loves the school - has a tremendous work ethic (completely self-driven). However, for various reasons, he did not put in the same amount of studying for his SAT subject tests last month and just got the following scores:
690 literature
680 math 2
650 US history
He is disappointed in them. We have been advised that he can opt to not include them or just send the top two in & they won’t be viewed too harshly.
My question is, I know Swarthmore says it is optional to submit these scores but do they actually want to see them? Would his application be weaker if he doesn’t include them?
You’re talking about one of the most selective colleges. It seems to me that you don’t want to give them a reason to deny, and those scores may not stack up very well against other applicants. (not that I think they are poor…I don’t.)
Since reporting is optional, I think I would leave them out. Focus on all the positives (does he have good AP scores?)
I am on my phone and am not going to look them up, but you can Google the percentile each subject test score falls into (I think look for 2014, that is the most recent year available). There is a table provided by College Board. Without looking, I’m going to guess those are maybe 50th percentile (but you will have to look up). I would not send them.
Thanks intparent. My child really doesn’t want to send them. He’s disappointed in the scores. I’m wondering if not submitting them would matter since Swarthmore says they don’t require subject tests with ACT. Thanks.
You need to check the percentages. While that is the “general wisdom”, admissions offices do look at the percentiles. For example, 700 on Math Ii is 48th percentile in 2015. I would not send it.
We are in a tough position because my son already said he would be sending in the scores before having the results.
Now that we see the numbers he would prefer not to send in the scores but it is already stated on the app that they will be coming Someone advised that my son call the school and ask the admissions officer for their advice. It’s such a shame because I believe my son would love it there. He could have just opted to not send them at all since he took the ACT -sent in the ED app too quickly.
If SAT 2s are optional at Swarthmore, I would not send them. SAT 2s are supposed to demonstrate mastery of a subject (whether they actually do that is another story). From what I have heard, a score over 700 does that but scores over 750 are preferred.
Thanks, @uesmomof2 - our problem is that he already said he would send them on the common app which has already been sent! Does anyone know if there is a way to change that once it has already been sent in error?
I would not call and I would not send them. Calling just tells them the info you don’t want them to know. These are NOT good scores by Swat standards (and I have a kid who was admitted here). I wouldn’t worry that he said on the app he would send them. They can ask his GC if they are curious.
@Cat4400: Don’t send the scores; don’t mention the scores. The scores are dead to you (and them). My DS told them he would apply ED. He didn’t and didn’t mention it. Still got in RD. Have him really work on his essays. The Why Swat essay is super important. Everyone who applies thinks Swat is great, but what does your son bring to Swat? Why would he flourish in their environment particularly? If he knows a current or former student getting some advice on that essay wouldn’t hurt. For the Common App essay, his personality and passion should show through. My DS knows a student who wrote her essay about Costco dinner rolls. I’m sure it was a well done essay! If your son didn’t spend a night on campus already and there’s still time, have him do that, if possible. The host will write a letter saying whether the applicant fits in that is submitted to the admissions office. What they want is to know that the person will fit in and thrive there.
The scores aren’t needed and they will raise questions about his abilities that will detract from his current profile. Do not send unless asked. If asked for them it says that they are interested, but he is borderline and the admissions officer is looking for additional data to support the case. Your son then needs to find something positive that he can also send that will offset the scores.
He has already visited, right? Confused about why he would visit again. Make sure you keep him going on his other apps after this one is submitted. It can be hard to rev them up again if they don’t get into their ED school, so moving forward in Nov is good.
Also, if he gets in ED, and he needs FA, do not have him let up on finishing other apps or even submitting them until he has seen his FA package and you are okay with it. You can ask for an extension on responding to the ED offer until you have done that. There was a kid out here a couple years ago who got in ED, then didn’t get sufficient FA to attend. He had stopped working on his other apps… it was a problem.
@cat4400 and @intparent: I guess my reason for the 2nd visit is for him to stay a night in the dorms, talk with the other students, talk with professors - be a student for a day. My son interviewed with an admissions officer when he went and got a lot of points for the quality of his interview, plus his host and some of his friends. He also bounced his essays off his host… If OPs son has already visited and interviewed with the admissions office then maybe it won’t be so helpful. I was pretty sure that in my DS’s case it made his app stand out from the others.
Someone advised that my son call the school and ask the admissions officer for their advice. It’s such a shame because I believe my son would love it there. He could have just opted to not send them at all since he took the ACT -sent in the ED app too quickly.