I heard that is easier said than done, but you’d have to dig in to verify.
This means that Swarthmore allows students to choose their major after they enroll. Swarthmore may, and apparently does, consider applicants’ academic interests and prospective majors when considering them for general admission.
Understood - I was thinking about this b4 and the can of worms it opens. If, for example, they might take a dance student over say, a poli sci, maybe the admit rate for the Econ, Comp Scie or Biology major (their top 3) may be that much lower than the classics kid, etc.
I took it too literally I guess.
I took / take it to mean - like U of Florida that - we admit based on qualification to get into the school and then the student can choose whatever major they deem appropriate.
Thanks for the clarification.
@TonyGrace is correct.
BMC and Haverford share a registration system and allow for automatic enrollment.
Swat requires some additional system enrollments and approvals from the “sending” departments for applicability to the major/minor etc. Our Haverford kid took 4 or 5 classes at Swat, so it’s very “doable”. Our Swattie took one or two classes at BMC that weren’t offered at Swat. It was pretty easy for her as well.
Classes at Penn are different animals. They usually require some combination of applicability and not being offered at the home school. It happens, but the number of kids who enroll at Penn from any of the other three is smaller than you would think having discussed it with any of the admissions departments.
The other issue is that while at Penn, the Tri-co kids are on an island…no dining priveledges, they need additional approvals for library admission, it takes a few hours to commute… I would tell anyone applying across the Tri-co to ignore the Quaker consortium when applying.
I know this is way past ED and RD, but for future applicants who are scrolling college confidential while waiting for decisions or those scrolling before finishing their application— anything is possible. Don’t necessarily look at their data and stats and think you don’t have a shot. I applied RD to Swarthmore with a 32 ACT score (34 in English, Reading, Science, and a 31 in math). I GOT IN! Yes a 32 and I got in. So don’t let these stats and averages of the class get you down. I will say that I wouldn’t submit anything below a 32 maybe 31, but some people still find these “low.” Colleges want you to prove you will succeed at their school and yes, test scores can do that, but so can grades and AP and IB and dual enrollment classes. The most important thing is to show passion for the things you are doing and that you will continue that passion. So that’s my piece of advice for people scrolling these forums like I was. Nothing is for certain till you open the decision letter!
I applied RD to Swarthmore with a 32 ACT score (34 in English, Reading, Science, and a 31 in math).
These scores appear to produce a composite score of 33.25.
Congrats! I almost forgot about this thread.
My Daughter got accepted RD. She applied ED and was deferred (I think they wanted to see her midyear grades). She submitted a 33 ACT. Again, she really built her application around Language and the Ancient world. She is a total humanities kid and her English score was a 36.
@ducky22 have you accepted or are you waiting for other schools? My daughter is 90% there…still waiting for Yale. I expect she would ultimately turn Yale down though. Best,
DHD
Omg, so sorry my superscore is a 33 and my composite is a 32. My bad, my point still stands lol
And I am waiting for a few more schools(Ivy day) before I decide! But I don’t expect to get into them, so Swarthmore is being heavily considered! I am going to admitted student day to feel the vibes before committing!
Hmmm. Your point doesn’t really have merit IMHO.
First off, Swarthmore cares about all the academic stuff - gpa, rigor, rank - plus essay abd recs. Very important. Test scores - considered per CDS. Not important.
Secondarily, 61% submitted - not a huge #. And 33 was the mid point. 32 was the 25th percentile. So in this case that one point is a big deal. And your 33 is really 33.25. So one total point away from a 34.
Glad you got in. Glad you are optimistic for others.
But I find your argument lacking in the basis of fact.
Good luck.
I do agree with you, my main point is to not get in your own head and just wait for the actual decision because you never know because there are so many factors! And this is incredibly difficult to do! I just don’t want people to get even more stressed about college by doubting themselves in the process!! I do realize my ACT score is within the range, but it’s not the highest! As long as you are strong academically anything is possible and you won’t know till decisions are out! Wishing everyone the best with the college process! Future applicants, I have faith you will end up where you are supposed to be!
wow this is so sweet! thank you for the kind words
Did you receive any information in the mail after you were accepted? My daughter got accepted in the RD round but hasn’t received any mail yet. Afraid we are missing something.
I haven’t gotten the mail package yet, but I assume it’s coming!