<p>Hi everybody,
So I am currently a junior and fell in love with Swarthmore this past summer/intend to apply ED next year. I was wondering if anybody could provide any suggestions for increasing my chances while there is still time for me to improve my application. I posted my basic stats below, let me know if you need any more information.
Thanks in advance...</p>
<p>GPA: 3.85 at a mildly competitive high school (we are the best school in the district but not nearly as competitive as some of the schools people on CC attend)</p>
<p>Rigor: All honors and AP classes, will have taken 10 honors, 6 APs and one dual enrollment class by time of graduation. I also take an extra language for credit outside of school</p>
<p>Standardized Tests: Just took the SAT, waiting on my results, 179 PSAT, 27 ACT (8 writing), I am aware these are low and am currently trying to improve them...</p>
<p>ECs: Good amount of community service with two organizations The First Tee and The Friendship Circle, I will have 400+ hours by time of application. Several board positions in my youth group, as well as a previous Diller Teen Fellow, I also have leadership positions in my yearbook and am favorite for editor next year. Other ECs include NAHS (membership officer), Math Club (membership officer), NACLO and an advocacy board for the local library. This upcoming summer it looks like I will have a paid internship and possibly be a TA at my local glass center as well.</p>
<p>Awards/Honors: Nothing major, the standard things like high honor roll. I have also won Scholastic gold keys two years in a row, as well as had my art appeared in local galleries and fashion shows. I will be submitting an art supplement.</p>
<p>Also I am sorry, I just finished writing this post and it ended up being much longer then I thought it would be. Thank you again!</p>
<p>Test scores, test scores, and test scores. Take a prep class, take a lot of sample tests and figure out exactly what you missed and why, and study math from the Gruber prep books.</p>
<p>You should aim to raise your standardized tests to somewhere around 33+ Act or 2200+ Sat. If you did this you would be a very competitive ED/EA applicant.</p>
<p>@JacobsWannaBe Yeah, I am sort of addicted to CC, it is one of my only opportunities to speak with a lot of students who have similar goals to mine…</p>
<p>@inparent Yes that GPA is unweighted, my weighted is around a 4.3 (it would be higher but all the classes I take for my major count as electives which lowers the weighted)… I just signed up for a local class and purchased a prep book that has a ton of practice tests (I purchased it right before the January SAT, but did not get a chance to use it). I will work to improve my scores. Thank you for the advice!</p>
<p>Then I would agree that getting your test scores up is your main goal. Also, be sure you have some really good, strong, specific reasons for wanting to attend Swat (the only essay most years is a “Why Swat?” one, but they take it quite seriously from what I have heard).</p>
<p>I agree that your test scores are important, but I would also just take the time to contact as many people at the schools you’re interested in. Do visits. Figure out why Swarthmore is a good fit for you, because that’s going to take precedence.</p>
<p>So I got my first SAT back, I absolutely bombed them (1760 total, 550 math, 560 writing and 650 reading), the math score was especially disappointing. I followed everybody’s advice and signed up for an SAT class (I am going to my third session tomorrow) and am now working through the blue book. I will be taking the March test in a few week. I did have the good news of officially being named editor for next years yearbook though. </p>
<p>Basically I have two more quick questions…How low of an SAT can I get away with and still have a realistic chance since I have no hooks? And would it be better to apply ED or try applying through QuestBridge (assuming I reach the matching stage)?</p>
<p>If you are unhooked (not an athlete, under represented minority, or legacy), you probably are looking at an absolute minimum of 700/700/700. And that is still low by Swat standards (under the 50% mark for every score). The midpoint for each score for Fall 2011 admissions was:</p>
<p>CR - 725
Math - 715
Wr - 725</p>
<p>Not sure anyone on this forum will be able to answer the Questbridge question, you should look at/post it on the Questbridge forum:</p>
<p>You might have heard about this for many times but write a thoughtful essay and show that you are passionately interested in attending Swarthmore. Have an interview and really learn what Swarthmore has to offer, and think about what you can offer to Swarthmore. If you can totally imagine yourself in Swarthmore, make sure you convey it in your essay. In addition, having good GPA and SAT scores is always a plus too (but from my personal experience it’s not the most important).</p>
<p>That you everybody for the responses, I was aiming for a 2000 on the March exam anyway, so hopefully I will reach my goal. As for my essay, I did start writing it (just a rough draft) a while ago and do think it will be strong, I am focussing on the little details and quirky aspect since the little things are what made me fell in love with the school. Out of curiosity does anybody think submitting an art supplement will help (I have a strong portfolio)?</p>
<p>I think that it is a very good idea. Submitting the art portfolio is another way for Swarthmore to get to know you. Every additional opportunity you have to allow them to get to know you more will help, especially if there are any parts of your application which would benefit from extra support. Clearly applying ED is a good step in that direction as well.</p>
<p>Yeah. I don’t really think heavily weighting your application process on perfecting your SAT scores is the best approach for a Swarthmore application. (I had fairly low SAT scores and I got in ED1.) </p>
<p>It’s important, sure, in order to show that you can do the work required of Swarthmore students, but it’s far far more important to Admissions that you’re a good fit for the community. As GvaMom says, you want them to have the chance to know who you are and what you bring to the campus community.</p>
<p>Thank you again everybody. I just got my most recent SAT score. I now have a 1930 (680 CR, 660 M, 590 W). If I only manage to raise the writing (I am taking my final SAT in June), how horrible would it be if the CR and M stayed the same?</p>
<p>ArtsyGirl, you might consider spending the summer doing something along the lines of the major you are interested in. My casual impression is that there is some value placed on depth of experience. Also, if there is anything unusual in your history that contributed to who you are, definitely mention it in your application.</p>