<p>Contact them ASAP and ask to be changed to RD. I know students that have successfully done this with EA, I’m not sure about ED. Email admissions, and your local rep if you have one. You can try calling but I doubt they are taking calls over the weekend. Call first thing Monday morning. Given the hours you may have to do this from you GC office, which they should allow you to do.</p>
<p>Of course you can ask them to cancel the ED commitment. They don’t want to lock in someone who can’t fulfill its requirements. Call them Monday and ask what needs to be done. It’s not a big deal whatsoever.</p>
<p>Changing to RD is not a problem, but wait for some replies on your other thread, or move it here. Someone is giving you really horrible advice and basically has no idea that Swarthmore may not have the name recognition in Texas, but it is in fact more academically rigorous than the Ivies.</p>
<p>Okay, goodness, I had not read the link. I agree you are getting some poor advice. This is a decision for you and your family to make. As for the question is independent living in college too difficult and a distraction? For a very few, yes. For the vast majority, no. Again, it’s a very personal decision that should be made by you.</p>
<p>Ugh: I argee! Your family friend’s advice is very bad. Laundry + cooking = too much for his precious? Really?</p>
<p>Swat is one of the best colleges in the country. If accepted, they have the fullest confidence in you. Something drew you to applying ED to Swat. Revisit those. The lack of a nanny or a housemaker (as your friend feels is required) is not a reason to step back from those things that originally attracted you.</p>
<p>Agree with all of the above. The “advice” you’re getting is garbage . . . really, does this person really think that a 19- or 20-year old is incapable of operating a washing machine?</p>
<p>This decision is up to you and your parents, and everyone else should stay the heck out of it. From now on, when someone asks where you’re applying, just say that you haven’t made a final decision yet, and when you do, you’ll let them know. (Then send them an invitation to your college graduation in four years!) Really, there are dozens of threads over on the parents’ forum talking about exactly this issue - well-intentioned “friends” of the parents criticizing their child’s college choice. And it’s tough for parents to know how to respond to this nonsense . . . so it certainly must be harder for you!</p>
<p>If you and your parents have decided that Swarthmore is a good choice for you, and it’s affordable, then apply!</p>
<p>By the way, in response to your question, all non-Ivies are not the same! Further, all liberal arts colleges are not the same. Swarthmore happens to be one of the most competitive schools in the country . . . and for good reason. If your family friend doesn’t know this, his ignorance is showing.</p>
<p>First, you won’t have to cook; at Swarthmore (which is considered equivalent to Ivy, BTW), you"ll be eating in the college cafeteria.
All you’ll have to do is master the laundry machine, which less intelligent students have mastered. Watch The Big Bang Theory from time to time, even Penny does it (joke)
To put your worries to rest, here’s a step by step “how to”, with pictures. Laminate it and you’re good to go.
[How</a> to Do Your Laundry in a Dorm: 21 Steps (with Pictures)](<a href=“http://www.wikihow.com/Do-Your-Laundry-in-a-Dorm]How”>How to Do Your Laundry in a Dorm (with Pictures) - wikiHow)
In short, don’t go back on your ED commitment just because a friend (even a trusted adult friend) told you it wasn’t worth it. You chose that school for a reason. If it chooses you, it thinks you can do the work. They can pick from thousands of students and they only pick those who will succeed.</p>
<p>I wonder if this “friend” has another purpose- are you a good candidate for Swat and can your family afford it? You have to figure if this is really about not going far- or really about not setting your sights too high or for a college that won’t truly be affordable for your parents. </p>
<p>Other than UTA, are there other colleges in mind that this friend (and maybe your parents?) think would have been a better choice? Have you possibly been missing some other message?</p>
<p>as a quick reply to affordability, Swarthmore is super generous with its grants, and the net cost calculator is showing us a very swallow-able parent contribution amount</p>
(joke)