<p>Hey I just visited swarthmore and i really loved it. I was reading up on their engineering major and it sounds very interesting. It seems like it doesnt really prepare you to go straight into the field. I want to go to grad school anyway, but im wondering about the quality of the program? I would assume a swarthmore education would be great for pre-grad school but im wondering what its like for engineering</p>
<p>also, is there a better chance of getting in if you apply ED? My stats are definitely sub-standard for swarthmore but im not totally out of it. I still have to visit other schools but so far swarthmore is by far my favorite</p>
<p>oh i just remembered one more question...does the size bother anyone? i know its a very small school and im wondering if this has any big disadvantages? thanks!</p>
<p>ED does give you an advantage. Swarthmore accepts a large percentage of its class ED, and you statistically do have a significantly higher chance of getting in. That said, your competitors would be (generally) more attractive to Swat as well. Still it is a check in your favor, at least over RD folks.</p>
<p>Swarthmore could not be Swarthmore without its size. The education is too interactive (both student to faculty and student to student) to be scaled up to a larger size. Additionally, everything from exceptionally strong sense fo community, to the concensus governance, to the student-oriented nature of the school requires a small student body. So size would have to be near of the top of the list of Swarthmore's strengths. </p>
<p>Obviously, there are some tradeoffs to having a very small student body, as well. For example, you'll never have the same depth and breadth of extracurricular options that you would have at a larger school -- because there just aren't the students to support them. It's harder to be anonymous.</p>
<p>im going to look more into the engineering dept. If I write a really strong essay about why Swarthmore about how i feel their approach toward engineering fits me perfectly, would that help in showing passion?</p>
<p>Swat is definitely keen to keep up enrollments in its engineering division. They try to have around 30 would-be engineers in the freshmen class. Because there's attrition in engineering at Swat just like everywhere else. The rising senior class has only about 13 B.S. candidates left. </p>
<p>I don't know if it's true today but in the past would-be premeds would sometimes say they planned on engineering because the competition to get in is fiercer if your application indicates that med school is your ultimate goal. So the admissions people try to figure out whether the applicant has a true passion for engineering, from internships or summer programs, etc.</p>
<p>So yes, declaring engineering would help, as would applying ED. However, Swat is one of the few schools that strongly encourages taking the SAT II Math IIC if you're planning on engineering. That should tell you that the math program at Swat is very rigorous and fast-paced and you need to be well prepared. My son took only AP Calc AB in high school (that's all that was offered) and he was definitely one of the less well prepared students in his freshman class.</p>
<p>In your interview it's a good bet you'll be asked why you're looking at Swat for engineering--so be prepared with a good answer. There are some really interesting double major available, like enginering and public policy, so that could be one answer. And be sure to check if Swat hass the specific field you want: chemical engineering is not offered, for example. My son is interested in civil engineering, which is offered, but they don't have any courses in transportation engineering. Penn has those but it is difficult to arrange to take courses there because of the problem of scheduling labs into an engineer's schedule. </p>
<p>It's an amazing, unique place. You just need to be sure it's right for you.</p>
<p>thanks for the info! The program does look very very good. In fact, I just read on their site that 95% of engineering majors are accepted into their top choice grad school, with the majority going to MIT, then stanford, berkeley, princeton, etc. very impressive.</p>
<p>I think I want to be a chemical engineer. I used their ask a professor feature and im wondering if anyone here knows while i wait for an answer. Would a degree in engineering from swarthmore prepare me well enough to get a masters and possibly a PhD in chem engineering if thats still what i want to do, or would i not knwo enough in the subject</p>