<p>College and Program:*Swarthmore College, Early Decision 2</p>
<p>Stats:
SAT I (by section): 780W 770CR 720M (Total 2270)
SAT IIs: 770 Literature, 730 Math IIc
APs: I take the IB.
GPA (UW): 6.4 out of 7
Rank: School Does Not Rank</p>
<p>Awards: Honor Roll every year. Community Service Award. But these awards are only school-wide, so they're not very impressive.</p>
<p>Subjective:
ECs listed on app: School Magazine Writer, Philosophy discussion club, Junior Achievement Business Programme (Sales and Marketing Director), various charity groups, Piano grade 8, guitar 2 years, school rugby team, school athletics team, muay thai, ultimate frisbee, went to Thailand and Mongolia for charity work.
Essays (subject and responses): Common app was about the photograph 'pale blue dot' and my main theme was philosophy. Might seem kind of impersonal to the adcoms, but it was definitely from the heart on my part. Why Swat essay was about 500 words, and i think it managed to convey my enthusiasm and love for the school. I'm a strong writer, and it shows.
Teacher Recs: Very good and good
Counselor Rec: Good
Applied on (EA?): Early Decision 2
Hook (if any): Sister is attending Swarthmore at the moment.
Interview: Requested, but no response.
State or Country: Hong Kong
School Type: Private, Rigorous.
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Male</p>
<p>Comments: I was more or less going for the literary/philosophical angle on my applicant 'character'. Do you think retaking the SAT IIs is worth it? Anything glaringly obvious that I can work on? Thanks in advance everyone.</p>
<p>All your SAT scores are very good. No need to re-take, and if you’re applying ED2, there isn’t really time to re-take.</p>
<p>FYI my IB courses are:
History HL
Econ HL
English A1 HL
Chinese B HL
Math SL
Physics SL</p>
<p>I freakin love the “Pale Blue Dot” monologue by Carl Sagan :D</p>
<p>But ya, you seem really solid. If your essays are as good as you say, you’ll be fine. The essays make or break Swarthmore applicants. My GPA was 3.72/4.00 and I got in somehow XD</p>
<p>@benadams
Congrats on getting in! I love Carl Sagan as well, he was a true beast. Hopefully I’ll be seeing you on campus next year. :)</p>
<p>As for everyone else… 300 views and 2 replies? That is some srs lurkin. Please do give me some feedback; would really appreciate it!</p>
<p>wow, you have a sister attending and you’re all the way from Hong Kong! that’s some international enthusiasm. </p>
<p>your SATs are great, but I have no idea how to judge a 7 point GPA. You’re ECs are a bit lacking, and I’ve heard in some circles that charity trips are a turnoff unless the interest is continued back at home. If you have really good essays that might make up for it though. Good luck!</p>
<p>Yeah, your app looks solid. Having a sister enrolled should help, too. Ultimately, essays will make or break. Good luck!</p>
<p>Hi! 
I’m honestly very impressed, it seems to me that your application is definitely really strong. Your courses are rigorous for sure (I take IB too) and your SAT grades demonstrate your ability to excel. I personally think that your EC’s are varied and being in that philosophy club will definitely be interesting to an admission’s officer if you were looking to portray a philosophizing character I was admitted Early Decision I, and I honestly think my essays saved me, so I agree with everyone who said that essays will make or break you.</p>
<p>Good luck! Hope to see you on campus in the fall!</p>
<p>Swarthmore has 2 rounds of ED, so why have 2 rounds? And the difference between the 2? If one has very good SATs but slack GPA (<3.7 in IB program), and the essay is believed to be great, is there still a good chance of getting in?</p>
<p>@CollegeHowWhy
Schools have two rounds of ED so that students who are not prepared to commit to a certain school in November (like me!) have the opportunity to express first-choice interest in a school! Also - though I am unsure this is a benefit - student who are rejected/deferred from their first choice can apply to their second ED2 (Amherst is a school that only has ED1, probably to prevent this).</p>
<p>I applied ED2 with a good ACT score but below average grades for Swat, so we will see when I (we?) get decision letters!</p>
<p>For those still interested, I was accepted Received the letter three days ago; am still getting sporadic surges of bubbly happiness. WOO! So excited and humbled knowing that I will be attending Swarthmore later this year. Good luck to the RD applicants, and good luck to those who weren’t as lucky as I was for this ED2 round. Honestly there’s a huge element of chance in the process, and any self-selected ED applicant to Swarthmore will probably make it somewhere amazing.</p>