rd decisions are in!! big decisions to make now

Colleges and Universities A-Z Swarthmore College
1

<p>yup, i got in :). im very very excited!!!!!!!! i guess "official" decisions dont come out till later, but they sent me a letter saying congrats early - anybody else?</p>

<p>now comes the big decision for us rd-ers. swarthmore is awesome, no question, but i applied to a bunch of other schools and liberal arts colleges (ursinus, etown, etc) and got really great scholarships. i heard that swarthmore only gives loans though. also, i want to go to med school after college, so so ill have like almost half a million in loans after i graduate...would it really be worth it to go to swat? any opinions are appreciated</p>

2

<p>i was wondering when swarthmore will get around to send the early writes.</p>

<p>do intls get early writes?</p>

3

<p>hey, where do you live and when did you get this letter?
oh, and congrats, of course :)</p>

4

<p>Congrats!!!!</p>

<p>About financial aid:</p>

<p>-Average need-based ** gift ** award to full-time degree-seeking undergraduate financial aid recipients: $22,251</p>

<p>-Average need-based ** loan ** to full-time degree-seeking undergraduate financial aid recipients: $3,141 </p>

<p>Swat gives a lot more gifts than loans</p>

<p>-Average per-student cumulative indebtedness of undergraduates in last graduating class who borrowed through any loan programs (federal, state, subsidized, unsubsidized, private, etc., excluding parent loans). Includes only students who borrowed while enrolled at this institution: $13,533</p>

<p>Swarthmore College
Financial Aid Statistics</p>

<p>2004-05
Percentage of all enrolled students
(including study abroad)
receiving need-based aid 50%
Family income of aided students
$40,000 and below 22%
$40,001 - $60,000 12%
$60,001 - $80,000 15%
$80,001 and above 51%</p>

<p>Average Swarthmore Scholarship $21,426
Average total aid award $27,421
Annual expected student earning contributions
Summer earnings
First Year $1,450
Continuing Student $1,890
Campus Work $1,556
Standard four-year loan for
graduating senior $14,990</p>

<p><a href="http://www.swarthmore.edu/Admin/institutional_research/FAStats.pdf%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.swarthmore.edu/Admin/institutional_research/FAStats.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

5

<p>Congratulations.</p>

<p>Swarthmore has one of the largest per-student endowments in the United States and spends heavily on need-based financial aid, so what you heard about "only" loans is certainly not accurate. </p>

<p>Of the students who received need-based financial aid packages this year (53% of the freshmen), the average aid package was $27,300 and the average loan amount in that package was $2,047. Of course, averages don't mean as much as your particular package!</p>

<p>If the decision comes down to finances, then the only thing you can do is wait to receive your finanical aid offer so you can make an actual comparision. If Swarthmore is your first choice, but the finances don't work, I wouldn't hesitate to contact the financial aid office and talk about it. They try very hard to make things work.</p>

6

<p>i live in pa, about an hour an a half from swarthmore, and i got my letter this morning...my mom was sure it was a rejection because it was early and in a pretty small envelope (swat's standard "half paper" size), but it was an acceptance!!!!!!! i definitely want to thank all the great parents and students on here (like you, interesteddad) for all the awesome advice throughout the process.</p>

<p>and yes, the decision definitely will come down to finances. i fall in the "under 40,000" category (i might be just a tad over because of my dad's disability income) so i guess im just as anxious for april to get my finaid packet and see if i can attend (im crossing my fingers)</p>

7

<p>Congrats LSR!!!</p>

<p>Does anyone know when they mail the rest of the letters? Does "April 1" mean that they will mail them on that day or that applicants will have been notified by that day?</p>

8

<p>LSR was it sent US Postal service or Fedx?</p>

9

<p>it was sent us postal service. it said on my letter that most ppl would hear "late march" ..or maybe you'll be getting an early write soon, since getting to boston might take a couple extra days..good luck!!</p>

10

<p>Hey, congrats on your acceptance! I, too, have just received my letter. I'm pretty excited, although I'm not exactly sure if I'll be going there or not. Whereabouts in PA are you from? I'm about 3 miles away from Swat (which is almost definitely going to be too close for comfort) and planning on going onto med school. </p>

<p>Does anyone know how strong the pre-med program at Swat is? I've heard a lot of conflicting "stats" and descriptions, but I want to get a better idea of it.</p>

<p>Congrats again on your acceptance.</p>

11

<p>LisaSimpson, congratulations!!! If you are in the "under 40 or a tad over" bracket, you are sure to get generous financial aid. Congratulations, again!!!</p>

12

<p>would you please post you stats (lisa).</p>

13

<p>congratulations lisa and marcus!</p>

<p><em>crossing my fingers for a letter soon</em></p>

14

<p>marcus - im from schuylkill county, pa, about an hour an a half from philly. im definitely going pre-med too..ive heard swat just is generally great for every subject, and if you take advantage of opportunities and work hard, you can get into pretty much any med school. the only thing that has me a <em>little</em> worried is that my gpa from swat might be lower than someone coming from a less intense school, but usually those things work themselves out.</p>

<p>achat - thanks, and thanks for all your advice and help throughout the whole process!!</p>

<p>ursdad - i have 1490 sat (750V, 740M), 800 writing, 760 chemistry, 740 math2c, 4.5 gpa (on 4.6 scale), 2/237 from a rural-ish public high school..i had a couple of good activities and probably got extra consideration because im a minority (from pakistan). good luck to you and your son/daughter</p>

<p>twink - thanks, and good luck!!!!</p>

15

<p>LSR you sound amazing!! Best of luck. Don't worry too much about the GPA from Swat- I've heard that grad schools take it into account.</p>

16

<p>
[quote]
and probably got extra consideration because im a minority (from pakistan).

[/quote]
</p>

<p>I doubt that helped you. However, it probably doesn't hurt at Swarthmore like it might at some schools.</p>

<p>As far as "pre-med", I don't think there are any bad departments at Swarthmore. There may be some that are too small for a particular student's interest, but still excellent.</p>

<p>I can't think of anything about the pre-med at Swarthmore that isn't absolutely top-shelf.</p>

17

<p>
[quote]
<em>crossing my fingers for a letter soon</em>

[/quote]
</p>

<p>I will cross my fingers for you all as well :)</p>

18

<p>hey, does anybody know where i could find a list of medical or graduate schools where swarthmore sent its student last year or how many students they usually send to which schools?</p>

<p>(im trying to convince the parentals to let me go to swarthmore, and they wont believe that swarthmore can send students to great med school - they want me to do a 7 year medical program or somewhere with guaranteed admission - BLAH!!!)</p>

<p>thanks.</p>

19

<p>hmm... I was going to apply to swarthmore till i visited. I currently go to a private school (smalltastic) and don't want to go to another school that size. :) I prefer a larger school.</p>

<p>Congrats on getting in though. This is a terrific school academically.</p>

20

<p>Hi LisaS!! Congratulations on your acceptance to Swat! I have heard only positives where pre-med is concerned when talking to my D, who graduated last year. (She is in grad school, though not med school.)</p>

<p>Some info which might help your folks, from Swat's Guide to Applying to Medical school </p>

<p><a href="http://www.swarthmore.edu/Admin/health_sciences/guide_for_applying_to_med.html#Postbaccalaureate%20Programs%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.swarthmore.edu/Admin/health_sciences/guide_for_applying_to_med.html#Postbaccalaureate%20Programs&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>The Admissions Outlook</p>

<p>"In 2003, 17,539 applicants were accepted to allopathic (MD) medical school out of 34,786 who applied, for an overall acceptance rate of 50%. However, the acceptance rate at any given school is considerably lower. At Case Western School of Medicine, for example, only 3% of the total number of applicants matriculated (146 out of 4,504); at Tufts University, 2% (170 out of 8,207). The outlook for Swarthmore premedical students is much better than the overall acceptance rate of 50%. Our acceptance rate in 2003 was 78% - substantially higher than the national average - a record that few other colleges can claim."</p>

<p>Best of luck as you make your decision!</p>