Question about Swarthmore Supplement

Colleges and Universities A-Z Swarthmore College
1

<p>So I have been looking at this year's Swarthmore supplement, and I have a question.</p>

<p>One part says "Why Swarthmore? Please write a brief statement telling us why you have decided to apply to Swarthmore in particular."</p>

<p>Then there is another section that says "You may use this space to write about why you are interested in applying to and attending Swarthmore."</p>

<p>Are these supposed to be two different things? Is the statement supposed to be shorter while the other section is supposed to be more of an actual essay?</p>

2

<p>i think that that section is new to the application. we only had the "why swarthmore supplement.</p>

3

<p>not sure, but i think i remember reading that second part. i thought it was just a way of saying "write here if you need more space"</p>

4

<p>Looking at the supplement, I'm sure they are just offering you the opportunity to write your Why Swarthmore answer in the space provided. They don't want you to answer the same question twice. Reading 6000 of them is gracious plenty without doubling up.</p>

<p>My advice: take this question seriously. Try to learn about the college and think specifically about how you and Swarthmore are a good match. The Swarthmore admissions office really tries to enroll "Swatties", people who fit with and appreciate what Swarthmore does in some fashion or another. The Why Swarthmore? essay is a perfect opportunity to convey that you understand something about Swarthmore and something about you that says, "Swattie".</p>

5

<p>If you are planning on submitting your application online via the common application, you can also write your "why swat" essay and save it as a word document. The common app gives you the opportunity to upload your document and it includes it with your application.</p>

6

<p>Thanks for the responses.
(Sorry for this slow response...)</p>

7

<p>the question says "write a brief statement", yet they give you a 7900 character limit in the textbox. what do you think is a good length for the "why swarthmore" statement?</p>

8

<p>A good length for the Why Swat essay is long enough to say what you want to say and short enough so that the admissions officer doesn't lose interest and stop reading it.</p>

<p>There are so many different approaches to the Why Swat essay that it would be impossible to say what is "normal". However, I would think that most aim for somewhere in the 250 to 500 word range.</p>

<p>You really do want to keep in mind that the readers are plowing through thousands of these, often late at night, fueled only by coffee and they will not respond well to an overly long wordy essay that could have been edited to half the length and been twices as effective.</p>

9

<p>So a 550 word essay would not be too much?</p>

10

<p>Mine is 605 words… :slight_smile: I feel like everything I say is valid and to the point, so I’m not cutting it down. Write as much as you think conveys why swat is good for you. Interesteddad gave some good advice!</p>