<p>As some of you might have noticed I've been trying to unearth the true Swarthmore and the true Wesleyan over the past couple of weeks. I've visited both schools, and I simply love both of them. Now, I understand that these schools might share the most similar culture of all LAC's out there - but I know there are still differences. </p>
<p>I'm debating about applying ED to one or the other, but I'm having a hard time deciding. Currently, I'm leading more towards Wes, but that is just because of the geographical location (closer to home). </p>
<p>What I know so far is both share a genuine intellectual curiosity, have a high amount of diversity, and strive to make a difference in our societiy. Swat might be a little more academically focused, and Wes might be a bit more radical and a bit less main stream, although both share basically the same type of people. A good amount of NY/Boston surbanites, intellectual, liberal, moderate, maybe even a bit preppy. </p>
<p>If anyone can throw anything out there that would make my decsion easier in any sense, it would be greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>Swat's ED admit rate is 45% well Wes's is 44%, so they're basically the same. For RD Swat is 24% while Wes is 27%.</p>
<p>I'm in the top 10% of arguably one of the best public high schools in MA. (One of those rich, Boston suburbs). I'll have standout EC's, recommendations (one character reference from a senator), and an awesome essay. My standarized test scores might be a bit low, I got a 29 on the ACT, but I'm retaking and studying this time. I'm going to study psychology.</p>
<p>But I don't really want a chances thread =) More of a convincing one =)</p>
<p>It would not be fair for a stranger, or anyone for that matter, to convince you one way or the other. You have to investigate on your own and go with your gut. Either way, you will probably be happy.</p>
<p>I agree. As strangers, all that is really fair for us to do is recommend that you consider various schools.</p>
<p>I am not an expert on Wesleyan, but I really don't view Wesleyan and Swarthmore as all that similar.</p>
<p>There are substantial differences in size, diversity on campus, per student endowment, per student spending, social scene, history, and, despite the fact that they are both considered to be "liberal", I don't think they attract the same students.</p>
<p>Speaking purely from a personal standpoint, my daughter viewed Swarthmore's location as a huge plus. She felt like her whole life through high school was enough exposure to New England and looked forward to something at least a little different. Other than the times you drive a carload of stuff down to Philly, the distance is a non-issue. There are dirt-cheap flights back and forth to Phila. from various Boston region airports for $29 to $79 each way. It's quicker to fly home from Phila than it is to drive to southern Conn.</p>
<p>Moot, your logic re comparative selectivity is faulty. While the acceptance rates of the 2 schools may be similar, I believe the applicant pools are probably noticeably different. A couple of years ago at least, freshman SAT scores averaged 70-90 points higher @ Swat than Wesleyan. I think it is safe to assume this difference is at least somewhat indicative of other differences in the credentials of the respective pools.</p>
<p>Fortuitously both schools have ED I and ED II programs so even if you get turned down ED I at your 1st choice you will still have an opportunity to apply early at your 2nd.</p>
<p>And the overall acceptance rate at Swat last year was 22% which means that the acceptance rate RD was much lower than 22%.</p>
<p>But it shouldn't be incumbent on us (Swat board participants) to "convince" you of anything. For one, we don't know you. For another, you are not a sure bet at Swat and the biggest mistake you could make would be one of too much hubris. I think the same applies to Wesleyan.</p>
<p>when were swarthmore's sat scores 70-90 points higher than wes', and what were the scores at each school then? just curious, as i had been looking at these schools in the last couple of years and don't remember quite that large a difference. currently they're 1430 at swat, and 1400 at wes.</p>
<p>it takes 2 hours to drive from middletown to boston. by the time one travels to the airport in philly, goes through security, waits, boards the plane, flies, arrives in boston, and gets picked up at the airport, have less than 2 hours gone by?</p>
<p>99.4% of the freshmen submitted SAT scores.</p>
<hr>
<p>It's an hour and twenty minute flight from Phila to Logan. Swat is about 15 minutes from the airport. So, figuring check-in time and all, maybe three hours. If you live in Boston and going to college within two hours of home is a big priority, then Wesleyan would be a better choice than Swarthmore.</p>
<p>jimmyarrivederci is correct. Wesleyan's median SAT for matriculating (as opposed to admitted) students has been 1400 for the last two years. Most experts would agree that a <50 pt difference between two SAT scores is insignificant:</p>
<p>so, then, from an admissions standpoint, pomona's students, whose median sat is about 1470, are significantly more talented than swarthmore's or williams' students?</p>
<p>so when were swarthmore's scores 70-90 points higher than wesleyan's?</p>
<p>It does mean that Pomona may be a bit harder to get into than either Swarthmore or Williams. It's a little hard to tell because last year Pomona and Swat had the same 75th percentile scores, but the 25th percentile scores were 20 points higher at Pomona -- indicating a different distribution in either the accepted or enrolled cohorts. This could indicate a number of factors, ranging from degree of affirmative action to the relative attractiveness of UC state universities to applicants from the lower end of Pomona's pool.</p>
<p>I think USNEWS does a pretty decent job with their selectivity index (based mostly on SATs and % of students in the top-10% of their graduating class). On their index, Pomona, Amherst, and Swarthmore are tied for the #2 spot for overall selectivity, behind Harvery Mudd. That sounds about right to me. On average, I think that all three of those schools are equally difficult to get into overall. Individual circumstances may shift things in one direction or another. For example, applying to Pomona from the East Coast or Swarthmore from the West Coast probably shifts the odds slightly in the student's favor.</p>
<p>The difference between Wesleyan and Amherst/Swarthmore is more pronounced on top-10 % than on SAT scores. If I had to guess (and I really haven't looked at Wes that closely), I would guess that Wes probably enrolls more kids from competitive prep schools. That's generally where students outside of the top-10% class rank come from. With the exception of magnet schools, it's difficult to get into any of the top LACs from outside the top decile at public schools.</p>
<p>BTW, I never said that there was a 70-90 point spread between Wesleyan and Swat's SAT scores.</p>
<p>i understand. however, when I applied to college last year (to wes, swat, brown, vassar, carleton, and others), brown's median sats were about 1390-1400, lower than swat's and identical to wes', but i don't think anyone would say it was easier to get into brown than to any of the others.</p>
<p>Brown's 75th percentile SAT is now 1520, so I would view its difficulty of acceptance as roughly comparable to Swarthmore or Amherst, especially with the huge number of apps Brown receives based on its participation in a particular athletic conference. However, so much depends on the individual applicant. </p>
<p>I think there is more opportunity for an individual to positively influence his or her odds at Swarthmore and Amherst due to the scale of the admissions operation and the importance of fit at small LACs.</p>
<p>The point is, that for it to draw within 40 combined SAT points and 5 selectivity percents of a competitior that has twice its endowment and, for twenty years consistently had the USNews rankings blowing at its back, says a lot about the strength of Wesleyan's momentum.</p>