<p>Rejected</p>
<p>Stats:
Don't feel like filling it all out right now, kinda angry. Similar stats to those rejected...</p>
<p>Advice? Commiserations? Feel like bragging?: I seriously felt like I had a really good shot. I think my rejection is either because 1) Swarthmore has tuft's syndrome or 2) my race (Asian). Like many, Swat was my top-choice, I really wanted to go and made sure that my "Why Swat" essay reflect that. Oh well, I'll feel better over time I guess.</p>
<p>Rejected</p>
<p>Stats:[ul]
[<em>]SAT: 1470/2230
[</em>]SAT II: 760 world history, 720 lit, 700 math i, 690 bio fresh year
[<em>]ACT:
[</em>]GPA:105 weighted
[<em>]Rank:1
[</em>]Other Tests (AMC, AP, IB):
[/ul]Subjective[ul]
[<em>]Essays: passionate personal why law essay; good why swarthmore
[</em>]Teacher Recs: haven't read them but i'd say good; they are in charge of the ecs i lead
[<em>]Counselor Rec: should be very good
[</em>]Supplementary Material: violin recording of scherzo tarantelle
[<em>]Hook(recruited athlete, legacy, Nobel Prize): an Asian living on Long Island? :P[/ul]Personal[ul]
[</em>]Location: LI
[<em>]High School Type: parochial
[</em>]Ethnicity: asian
[<em>]Gender female
[</em>]Applied for Financial Aid: N[/ul]Other[ul]
[<em>]Extracurriculars: captain of mock trial for two years; founder of model un; editor in chief of school newspaper and sent copy with letter detailing the complete revamping of the paper i've done the past year; scholar service institute--community service projects; senior shepherds--peer leaders; long island walk for autism council; raised 1000 for hospital; nhs science olympiads; recommendation letter from harvard summer school; mock trial camp
[</em>]Awards: scholarships, writing contests, violin stuff
[*]Advice? Commiserations? Feel like bragging?:[/ul] eh.</p>
<p>interesteddad, i dont think most of the people rejected from swarthmore with outstanding achievements were rejected because they only wrote four sentences for the "Why Swarthmore" essay...I think most of them would have given very good and thorough answers because if they weren't very interested in Swarthmore in the first place, they wouldn't be paying $60 to apply. I'm just saying I don't think everyone rejected from Swarthmore should go doubting their self-worth immediately because they may not have been rejected for being 'underqualified'.
the people who have been accepted are all very extraordinary individuals who would probably do very well at Swarthmore, and almost everyone on here will do very well wherever they attend</p>
<p>[ size=+1][ color=red][ b]Rejected[ /b][ /color][ /size]</p>
<p>[ b]Stats:[ /b][ list]
[ *]SAT:cr:740 m:730 w:720 total 2190
[ *]SAT II:math 2 710 us hist. 750 chem 740
[ *]ACT:
[ *]GPA:97.7
[ *]Rank:2/173
[ *]Other Tests (AMC, AP, IB):apush 5 ap world 4 ap chem 4 ap eng. lit 5
[ /list][ b]Subjective[ /b][ list]
[ *]Essays:I loved my common app essay, thought my why swat was good but maybe not detailed enough/dedicated enough...I think I got screwed by not having a first choice college.
[ *]Teacher Recs:didn't see them, but guessing they're v. good
[ *]Counselor Rec:dunno, but she would say good things about me
[ *]Supplementary Material:n/a
[ *]Hook(recruited athlete, legacy, Nobel Prize): naw.
[ /list][ b]Personal[ /b][ list]
[ *]Location:NY state
[ *]High School Type:public
[ *]Ethnicity:white
[ *]Gender:female
[ *]Applied for Financial Aid: Y
[ /list][ b]Other[ /b][ list]
[ *]Extracurriculars:marching band 5 years(section leader), orchestra 6 years, chamber ensemble, girl scouts, science olympiad
[ *]Awards:school academic awards, national merit semifinalist
[ *]Advice? Commiserations? Feel like bragging?:admissions have gotten so tight...it's ridiculous...I'm guessing they focused a lot on the "why swat"...the rejection letter was so short, though, didn't like that.[ /list]</p>
<p>Rejected</p>
<p>Stats:[ul]
[<em>]SAT: 2350 (800W, 780M, 770CR)
[</em>]SAT II: 780 Math 2, 800 Chem, 770 French
[<em>]ACT: 36
[</em>]GPA: 4.72W, 4.0UW
[<em>]Rank: 3/316
[</em>]Other Tests (AMC, AP, IB): AIME 2 years, 5s on 5 AP tests, 4 on 1.
[/ul]Subjective[ul]
[<em>]Essays: Decent.
[</em>]Teacher Recs: Glowing
[<em>]Counselor Rec: Great
[</em>]Supplementary Material: None
[<em>]Hook(recruited athlete, legacy, Nobel Prize): none [/ul]Personal[ul]
[</em>]Location: NJ
[<em>]High School Type: Public
[</em>]Ethnicity: White
[<em>]Gender: F
[</em>]Applied for Financial Aid: N[/ul]Other[ul]
[<em>]Extracurriculars: A bunch. Leadership, community service.
[</em>]Awards: Lots, some fairly prestigious
[*]Advice? Commiserations? Feel like bragging?:[/ul] It's funny how little I care... I got into MIT, I don't care about Swarthmore. It was right of them to reject me. Congrats to all the acceptees! =D</p>
<p>Rejected</p>
<p>Stats:
SAT: 2040 (720W, 660M, 660CR)
SAT II: 650 Math 2, 700 US History
GPA: 3.9W, 3.6UW(School uses 7point scale)
Rank: don't rank, at least top 10%
Other Tests (AMC, AP, IB): 5, 5, 4 and 1 credit for college in hs
Essays: Very good
Teacher Recs: Didn't read but most likely great
Counselor Rec: Didn't read
Supplementary Material: DVD- I was on CNN, 2 newspaper articles
Hook(recruited athlete, legacy, Nobel Prize):Athlete
Personal
Location: PA
High School Type: Public
Ethnicity: White
Gender: F
Applied for Financial Aid: YES
Other
Extracurriculars: Student Council, NHS, varsity soccer, classic soccer, ODP soccer, Soccer ref, volunteer soccer coach, volunteered at non profit and an art studio and interning now for Dem. primary, tons of work experiance
Awards: PA west scholarship for refereeing, nothing too special for academics
Advice? Commiserations? Feel like bragging?:
Upset. It was my "dream school", I felt like I had good ec's and qualifications, but I guess I'm not individual enough. It really hurt getting rejected.</p>
<p>
Eh, don't mind him. He's all bluster. It's obvious you're pretty brilliant, so you'll probably do just fine, wherever you end up (which will probably be somewhere like CalTech or Harvard or Amherst... assuming you don't experience Tufts syndrome at those places, too :D). I think it's also quite probable your ethnicity and location were a hinderance at Swarthmore. This is something a former professor of mine there complained about, that a lot of very intelligent people were being turned away for demographic/diversity reasons. So it goes.</p>
<p>:) aznfishy already got into Caltech and Amherst and Williams and MIT and Duke. If Swarthmore doesn't want her, it's their loss.</p>
<p>this is brutal.</p>
<p>S didn't apply, but this thread looks like Harvard's.</p>
<p>
[quote]
aznfishy already got into Caltech and Amherst and Williams and MIT and Duke. If Swarthmore doesn't want her, it's their loss.
[/quote]
Indeed. I really question my alma mater when I see things like this. It actually reminds me of one of my friends growing up, who applied to Swarthmore and Reed, and was accepted at both. He ended up choosing Reed, one of the reasons being the acceptance letter he received from them being so inviting and personal, while Swarthmore's was basically just a form letter. It seems like, instead of giving up and resorting to Tufts Syndrome tactics, Swarthmore admissions might want to actually try harder to recruit top students by making a real, personal effort to go after the best of the best.</p>
<p>This really makes me question things like recruiting among Swarthmore graduates for talent for employment/business opportunities (which I've done in the past), when I can see plainly that talent is going elsewhere, apparently by design.</p>
<p>Rejected</p>
<p>Stats:[ul]
[<em>]SAT: 2240 (710 CR 730 M 800 W)
[</em>]SAT II: 730 Lit/World His (self-studied); 760 US History
[<em>]ACT: 34
[</em>]GPA: 4.41 W (out of like 5.3 something, weird scale--I got A-s and B+s throughout HS
[<em>]Rank: 46/490
[</em>]Other Tests (AMC, AP, IB): Three 5s and one 4 on four AP exams; 4 more courses this year.
[/ul]Subjective[ul]
[<em>]Essays: My downfall, probably. I took a risk with mine and I'm pretty sure it didn't pan out.
[</em>]Teacher Recs: Don't know. Probably decent.
[<em>]Counselor Rec: Same as above.
[</em>]Supplementary Material: None
[<em>]Hook(recruited athlete, legacy, Nobel Prize): None.
[/ul]Personal[ul]
[</em>]Location: NJ
[<em>]High School Type: Public (I'm in a magnet program within it)
[</em>]Ethnicity: Asian
[<em>]Gender: Male
[</em>]Applied for Financial Aid: Yes
[/ul]Other[ul]
[<em>]Extracurriculars: Co-founder/Attorney for Mock Trial, Co-founder/Treasurer of Amnesty International chapter; Co-founder/Captain of Forensics Team; Class Vice President 3 years in a row; Newspaper Political Editor
[</em>]Awards: Won Mock Trial counties last year; top three in the state this year; couple regional newspaper awards, National Merit Finalist, AP Scholar with Honor.
[*]Advice? Commiserations? Feel like bragging?: Don't take too many risks on the essay, and apply to MANY MANY SCHOOLS. Swarthmore seems to know when its applicants are obviously going to be attracted to go elsewhere. In my case, I was already accepted to UChicago (Just waiting for Ivy Leagues now) and would definitely have chosen to go there instead of Swat. However, the rejection still stings. I applied to a good number of schools, and I've been pretty even with my results. Swarthmore might suffer from Tufts' Syndrome; it might not. That's not for me to say. But in today's hectic college admissions process, it always pays to be less than sure. Don't put all your hopes into one school.[/ul]</p>
<p>What an amazing group of applicants. Congratulations to everyone who got accepted and condolences to those who didn't and who all will have great options when it's all said and done. Clearly, everybody posting stats here was more than qualified academically for Swarthmore. It's all a matter of building a class: does your "stuff" match one of the slots a particular college needs to fill. Each college has slightly different needs each year.</p>
<p>Just to correct one mistatement in this thread: being Asian American certainly isn't a liability in admissions at Swarthmore. The acceptance rate among Asian Americans in recent years has been about 50% higher than the overall acceptance rate. The percentage of Asian Americans at Swarthmore is higher than at most of its peer schools.</p>
<p>Rejected :(</p>
<p>haha. My "Why Swarthmore?" Essay ... was a kaffufle!'</p>
<p>I tried to be edgy.. but in the end I think I may have insulted the school LOL....</p>
<p>I talked about what a strange name Swarthmore is.... (I thought it was funny)... psh</p>
<p>Anyway. I'm pleased that I didn't get in my counselor pressured me to apply there.. when I really didn't want to...</p>
<p>Fun.</p>
<p>Good job to all who made it!</p>
<p>Also.. I am Hispanic and was not accepted :((( -- so much for Swarthmore's diversity...kidding.</p>
<p>There seems to be a lot of commentary here that Swarthmore didn't except "the best of the best." That's slightly insulting to those who did happen to be accepted...</p>
<p>** Rejected **</p>
<p>** Stats: **[ul]
SAT: 1480/2160
SAT II: US Hist. - 760; Ecological Bio. - 720; Math II - 700.
ACT: didn't take it.
GPA: 3.96 unweighted/ 4.37 weighted (although school won't count classes taken at UC Berkeley honors (in terms of GPA)
even though they say it's honors, superficially.
Rank: 4
Other Tests (AMC, AP, IB): World Hist. - 4; US Hist. - 5; Biology - 5.</p>
<p>[/ul]** Subjective **[ul]
Essays: "Why Swarthmore" was probably a little hollow; Swarthmore wasn't my first choice. Also, I could have done a better job inferring about what kind of person I was from what I liked about Swarthmore. I felt really happy about the regular, Common App essay
Teacher Recs: One superb, the other, good, although I originally disliked one bit but realized later that it showed a growth in maturity, whereas I had only seen the original, negative part (the later actually directly asked me to look at it! suffice to say, I felt a little uncomfortable).
Counselor Rec: pretty good, I think (I didn't see it).
Supplementary Material: no
Hook(recruited athlete, legacy, Nobel Prize): single parent, socioeconomically disadvantaged.</p>
<p>[/ul]** Personal **[ul]
Location: San Francisco
High School Type: public, non-competitive (everyone who is anyone in the AP classes goes to Berkeley)
Ethnicity: white
Gender: male
Applied for Financial Aid: Y</p>
<p>[/ul]** Other **[list]
Extracurriculars: French horn/trombone (in symphonic and jazz bands), soon to be Eagle Scout (as in, reallllly soon), varsity tennis, theater, choir at church.
Awards: school awards in History, English, Symphonic Band (both of the month and in one year). Questbridge prep scholarship winner, Questbridge finalist.
Advice? Commiserations? Feel like bragging?: well, I'm actually glad one more spot is open to someone who would have gone immediately upon acceptance. It's not a big, big disappointment to me, but a little disheartening going into the other decisions. I already have a strong alternate choice (Berkeley - but I really want to go East), so it's not that bad.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>From what I've seen in this thread I'm inclined to agree with A.E. and others. When 15% of applicants receive over 50% and the white 85% of the pool gets more like 45% of the admissions slots, you have to question how many stellar applicants were turned down in the name of increased diversity.</p>
<p>Or Swarthmore could also be using Tufts/Lehigh tactics, waitlisting and denying the very top applicants to increase their yield. If you combine the two, you wind up with an acceptance pattern that looks suspiciously like Swarthmore's.</p>
<p>I really hope that Swarthmore is big on demonstrated interest like Lehigh. An overnight visit, on-campus interview and campus visit from way over here in the midwest hopefully counts for something; I'm going to need everything I can get as a white male. Maybe imperfect test scores are the hook this time around ;)</p>
<p>Of course a lot of stellar applicants are turned down in favor of a different group of similarly stellar applicants. That's why nobody should take a waitlist or rejection from an highly selective college personally. It's all a matter of fitting your "stuff" with the slots a college is trying to fill that year. If your thing is playing the oboe and a college already has three oboe players from early decision, you are out of luck...in a set of circumstances that is no reflection on you.</p>
<p>BTW, if Swarthmore really cared about increasing the yield, they would just accept more students Early Decision.</p>
<p>Honestly, I don't regard a list of stats as a great representation of how amazing an application was, especially considering the type of student most likely to belong to College Confidential and the fact this minuscule group hardly accounts for the 6,000+ applicants that applied to Swarthmore.</p>
<p>Waitlisted</p>
<p>Stats:[ul]
[<em>]SAT: 2240
[</em>]SAT II: 750 Math IIC / 720 US History
[<em>]ACT: n/a
[</em>]GPA: 3.85 UW / 4.6 W
[<em>]Rank: top 5%
[</em>]Other Tests: APs - four 5s, 2 4s (taking 3 this year); full IB Diploma candidate </p>
<p>[/ul]Subjective[ul]
[<em>]Essays: I think my main one was pretty good..unique topic, but it was definitely a hit or miss (potential for controversy). My Why Swarthmore? one was good, highlighted specific elements of Swarthmore that appealed to me and why I was a good fit..
[</em>]Teacher Recs: great, strong
[<em>]Counselor Rec: good
[</em>]Interview: I thought it went pretty well. She liked what I had to say and what I had done.
[<em>]Supplementary Material: n/a
[</em>]Hook(recruited athlete, legacy, Nobel Prize): haha no </p>
<p>[/ul]Personal[ul]
[<em>]Location: California
[</em>]High School Type: private
[<em>]Ethnicity: Chinese
[</em>]Gender: Female
[li]Applied for Financial Aid: No</p>[/li]
<p>[/ul]Other[ul]
[<em>]Extracurriculars: EIC of school paper, service club president, yearbook section editor, decathlon, internship at local paper, NHS officer
[</em>]Awards: some school and county ones, NM commended, AP Scholar with Distinction
[*]Advice? Commiserations? Feel like bragging?: I'm pretty disappointed, but kinda expected it, given my lackluster stats and ECs. Demonstrated interest seems to be important..I didn't visit, and I don't believe they gave info sessions in CA; only had an interview. Just glad that it wasn't a rejection. I hope Monday is a good day..[/ul]</p>