***Swarthmore RD 2021 Results Thread***

Colleges and Universities A-Z Swarthmore College
1

I didn’t see a thread for this so here I made one!
This is for results only. Comments will be removed.

Remove the “a” from the first three brackets!

[aB][asize=4][acolor=#008000]Decision: Accepted[/color][/size]**
[aB][asize=4][acolor=#FFA500]Decision: Waitlisted[/color][/size]**
[aB][asize=4][acolor=#FF0000]Decision: Rejected[/color][/size]**

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown):
ACT (breakdown):
SAT II:
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0):
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):
AP (place score in parenthesis):
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load:
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Job/Work Experience:
Volunteer/Community service:
Summer Activities:
Essays (rating 1-10, details):

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
Teacher Rec #1:
Teacher Rec #2:
Counselor Rec:
Additional Rec:
Interview:

Other:

Applied for Financial Aid?:
Intended Major:
State (if domestic applicant):
Country (if international applicant):
School Type:
Ethnicity:
Gender:
Income Bracket:
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):

Strengths:
Weaknesses:
Why you think you were accepted/rejected/waitlisted?

General Comments:

Other schools you applied to and their decisions:

2

Decision: Accepted

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown): 770M, 750L
ACT (breakdown): 33C, 34SC
SAT II: 710 Math II, 690 Chem
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.97
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/245(+/-)
AP (place score in parenthesis): USH(3), Chem(3), Lang(4)
IB (place score in parenthesis): n/a
Senior Year Course Load: Spanish 1 and 2, AP Calc AB, AP US Gov’t, AP Lit, Physics, Band
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Finalist, National Hispanic Recognition Scholar, AP Scholar

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Band (Section Leader), NHS (Pres), Science Club (VP), Chess Team, Knowledge-bowl Team, Exercise
Job/Work Experience:n/a
Volunteer/Community service: Mostly through NHS (emphasis on tutoring)
Summer Activities: Mississippi Governor’s School, Weight Loss
Essays (rating 1-10, details): CommonApp Essay: 9/10, fantastic and well thought out. Had lots of help from teachers. Swarthmore Supplement: 5/10, I was stressed when I wrote this. My girlfriend noted that it was particularity bad for me.

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
Teacher Rec #1: 10, English teacher of 4 years, smart lady and respects me
Teacher Rec #2: 10, Math Teacher of 3 Years, loves to boast about me
Counselor Rec: 6, Not well acquainted with her
Additional Rec: 9, Good
Interview: n/a

Other:

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Astronomy
State (if domestic applicant): MS
Country (if international applicant): n/a
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Hispanic
Gender: M
Income Bracket: 120k-140k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Hispanic from underrepresented area of the country.

Strengths: URM. Teachers very likely spoke well of me.
Weaknesses: Stats are within range but not high enough to make up for discrepancies.
Why you think you were accepted/rejected/waitlisted? CommonApp essay and recommendations likely made me stand out.

General Comments: I was rejected for Discover Swarthmore so the acceptance came as a surprise!

Other schools you applied to and their decisions: Accepted: Williams; (Unofficially) Accepted: Rice, Columbia, Cornell, Colgate; Waitlisted: UChicago; Deferred: Princeton; Rejected: None so far!

3

Decision: Accepted

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown): 1470
ACT (breakdown): 34. 35SS
SAT II: 790 M2. 720 US History.
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.8. Competitive Magnet Program in a decent school. Send about 20 kids to top 20 uni per year. Most of the 20 kids get into multiple top 20/ivy.
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 13/770+
AP (place score in parenthesis): 10 AP up until senior yr. No AP senior year due to IB.
IB (place score in parenthesis): 7 IB classes total taken over 3 years.
Senior Year Course Load: HL English Lit, HL History, HL Psych. SL Bio and TOK
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National AP Scholar, Commended Scholar

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Ran a small business with revenue about 30k.
VP of Financial and Investment Club
Secretary of UNICEF Club
Founder and President of ACT Prep Club
Competive Computer Science summer program at local uni.

Job/Work Experience: The small business as well as working as a freelancer on the internet as a writer and a translator.
Volunteer/Community service: 150 hours at a place that I am very passionate about. 50 hours at local library.
Summer Activities:
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 7/10. Writing is meh but it is passionate, has my voice, and genuine.

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
Teacher Rec #1: Legit 9/10
Teacher Rec #2: Never read. probably very average
Counselor Rec: 7/10? Not super close but closer than many students.
Additional Rec:
Interview:

Other:

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Econ
State (if domestic applicant): FL
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Vietnamese
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: <$30k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): First-gen immigrant

Strengths: Passionate. No filler bs.
Weaknesses: Not the best writer in the world.
Why you think you were accepted/rejected/waitlisted?: lol. beat me

Other schools you applied to and their decisions:
Accepted: Williams, Colby, UF, Rollins, FSU
Waitlisted: Uchi, Washu(possibly bc I need too much money)
Rejected: None yet
Waiting to hear back from: Ivy except Brown/Cornell, Stanford, Duke, Vandy.

4

Decision: Rejected

SAT I (breakdown) : 1450 (730 M, 720 R)
ACT (breakdown) : 31 (30 M, 30 R, 36 E, 27 S)
SAT II : Horrible: 640 Physics, 690 Math II (only tried once w/o studying)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.9
Rank : 9/159
AP: Stats (4), Physics 1 (3), US History (2), English Lang (5)
IB: N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP US Gov, Honors Econ, AP Lit & Comp, AP Chem, AP Calc AB, AP Comp Sci Principles, DE Psychology (200), also taking AP Comp Sci A from self-study
Major Awards: N/A

Extracurriculars: School Help Desk, Yoshukai Karate (1st Degree Black Belt), Stanford EPGY courses in C Programming
Job/Work Experience: Theater Staff Leader (2.5 years), Startup Tech Support / Web Dev (6 months)
Volunteer/Community service: Tutor on occasion for free after school (not included)
Summer Activities: Just work
Essays (rating 1-10, details):

  • Swarthmore Essay (1): I applied because my counselor wanted me to even though I didn’t care much (i think last student to get accepted to prestigious school in my school went to Swarthmore 3 or 4 years ago). The essay was very sarcastic and in no way serious, targeting their reverse-psychology approach to advertising their programs, and was actually made just for my personal enjoyment without caring if it got me in. If anyone wants to read it, PM me, but I seriously didn’t care if I got in, and my essay may reflect such.
  • Common App Essay (9): Put a lot of time into, involves dealing with toils and failures of brick and mortar business despite experience and drive gains. Pretty good overall, and said to be outstanding by both of my lit teachers

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
**Teacher Rec #1:/b AP CSP + former Geometry teacher; we act like best friends to each other, I’m sure his was great
**Teacher Rec #2:/b AP Lang teacher; I was a good student with her and we frequently talk, so it’s all great
**Counselor Rec: /b I might as well be her unofficial aid, we talk every day
**Additional Rec: **Don’t remember if I did another one for Swarthmore
Interview: N/A

Applied for Financial Aid: Yes and no. I thought I did, but when they said that my FAFSA was not received even though all of my other colleges got it, I didn’t bother (considering my income bracket, that may have had an impact on their decision; why would a low-income student ever accept Swarthmore without financial aid?).
Intended Major: Computer Science / Engineering
**State: **Alabama
School Type: Small Public
**Ethnicity: **White
**Gender: **Male
Income Bracket: Low
Hooks: URM? I’m Russian by birth, moved here in 2006.

Strengths: Dev experience, Common App Essay, Good recommendations, underrepresented state, Russian immigrant
Weaknesses: Didn’t take essay seriously, didn’t bother to complete their financial aid because lost interest, horrible SAT II (although nobody currently in my school has taken a math or science SAT II), no major volunteer work/community service organizations, Engineering there is probably crowded.
Why you think you were accepted/rejected/waitlisted? Most of the above

General Comments:
I’m glad for all of you for your acceptance and hope that you enjoy yourselves there. I obviously didn’t care much about this school (my interests weren’t exactly aligned with this one) but it has a lot to offer and I do hope that other people will benefit from it. In hindsight, I wish I would have thought more for myself during my selection process while also doing more research prior, but why cry over spilled milk. Good luck to all of you!

Other schools applied to and their decisions:

Accepted: University of Alabama in Huntsville (in-state safety), Macalester College (pretty cool)

Rejected: Swarthmore College, Stanford University (hey, had to try, right :> )

Pending: Cornell (similar boat as Swarthmore), Rice (don’t know + reach), Richmond (pretty cool), Tufts (could be cool + may be reach), Vanderbilt (would be awesome + lottery reach)

5

[aB][asize=4][acolor=#FFA500]Decision: Waitlisted[/color][/size]**

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2350 Superscored (800 W/R, 750 M)
ACT (breakdown): 36- One sitting (36 E/R/M, 35 S, 32 W)
SAT II: Chem- 800. US History- 770. Math II- 800.
Unweighted GPA: 4.0
Weighted GPA: 4.9
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): top 5%
AP (place score in parenthesis): EHAP (5), APUSH (5), Chem (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis): n/a
Senior Year Course Load: all APs-- Calculus AB, Microeconomics, US Government, Latin, Physics 1, Literature
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Presidential Scholar candidate, National Merit Finalist, NLE Medalist, CHSSA Qualifier, CM Piano 10, Crafton Award, Nanowrimo

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Marching Band (uniform officer, section leader, president), Debate (publicist, secretary), IESC (treasurer, co-president), NEHS (activities director), Drawing Club (treasurer)
Job/Work Experience: private tutor, work at family business
Volunteer/Community service: IESC, music tutoring, coaching middle school debate
Summer Activities: internship for assembly campaign, music tutoring, private tutoring
Essays: main: 8/10. supplements: 8/10.
Teacher Recommendation: English: 9/10. Latin: 7/10.
Counselor Rec: 7/10.
Additional Rec:
Interview: went well! turns out the interviewer knew my English teacher. Small world.
Supplementary Material (portfolio, etc.): n/a

Other
Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
State (if domestic applicant): CA
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public, senior class of ~650
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: 60-80k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): uuhh English major?

Reflection
Strengths: tests, academic for sure. I’d like to say my writing…
Weaknesses: Extracurriculars.
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Just definitely not as strong with ec’s as other applicants
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Deferred- Yale. Accepted: UCLA, UCSD, Pomona

General Comments: I’ll be honest, I fell in love a little with Swarthmore, so I will be watching out for the notification like a hawk, but congrats to everyone who was accepted!

6

Decision: Waitlisted

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2210 superscore (770 CR/760 W/680 M)
ACT (breakdown):
SAT II: 780 USH, 680 Math I, 690 Math II, 650 & 640 Spanish (took twice)
**If schools allowed score choice/only recommended SAT IIs, I sent the 780 USH and 690 Math II
GPA (out of 4.0): 3.97 unweighted, 4.36 weighted (as of first semester senior year)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): I was Cum Laude so at least top 10% (but school doesn’t officially rank)
AP (place score in parenthesis): US History (5), English Language (5), Human Geography (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP Calc AB, AP Lit, AP Biology, AP Spanish, Honors International Relations, East Asian Studies, various arts classes
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Cum Laude, AP Scholar, 3x Silver Medal on National Spanish Exam

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): mental health awareness club (founder & leader), Amnesty International Student Group (member 9, 10, 11; leader 12), editor in chief of student newspaper, theatre all 4 years of high school
Job/Work Experience: none
Volunteer/Community service: infrequent (animal shelter, music therapy, etc.)
Summer Activities: educational camps, family travel
Essays (rating 1-10, details): probably 8/10
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: 10/10 IR teacher, loves me
Teacher Rec #2: 8/10 APUSH teacher, probably very good
Teacher Rec #3: Where I could I sent a third rec from my 10th grade English teacher, 10/10 (I read it, it was incredible)
Counselor Rec: 7-8/10
Additional Rec: For some schools I sent a peer rec, probably an 8/10 my best friend who attends Stanford (class of 2020) wrote it for me
Interview:

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: no
Intended Major: International Relations
State (if domestic applicant): NY
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: private
Ethnicity: caucasian
Gender: white
Income Bracket: high
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none!

Reflection

Strengths: LAC-personality, strong grades and strong IR focus
Weaknesses: I don’t think I really fit the Swarthmore persona. Happy with the waitlist.
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I was expecting a rejection honestly! No idea
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted at Georgetown and Lewis & Clark EA, Middlebury RD

7

ACCEPTED

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown):
ACT (breakdown): 31
SAT II:
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/297
AP (place score in parenthesis): Physics-(5), Lang., Macro., APUSH, AB Calc.-4, Music Theory, Biology. Chem.-3
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: AP Calc. BC, AP Micro, AP Lit., AP Human Geo., AP Psych., Honors Anatomy and Physiology, Honors Wind Emsemble
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Marching Band (section leader), Honors Wind Ensemble (Intern Director), STEM, 5 Honors Societies (President of 2), All State Hornist, Carnegie Hall’s National Youth Orchestra, E2@MIT
Job/Work Experience:
Volunteer/Community service: sumner volunteer at town’s Summer Music Program mentoring young Hornists, volunteer at local Hospital
Summer Activities: Sumner Music Teacher, one summer of STEM at NJIT, NYO, E2@MIT, hospital volunteer
Essays (rating 1-10, details): common app. essay - 8 (?) - talked about my instrument, how I started it, and where it’s led me. Swarthmore essay - 7 (?) - talked about how I learned of Swarthmore at MIT, what drew me to it, and what I saw myself doing there. Honestly wrote it in about 15 minutes.

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
I haven’t read any of them
Teacher Rec #1: ? AP Biology teacher
Teacher Rec #2: ? 9th grade English teacher and NEWS advisor for which I serve as Pres.
Counselor Rec: ???
Additional Rec: ? From my Genetic Engineering Professor at E2@MIT. This probably helped a lot.
Interview: None

Other:

Applied for Financial Aid?: yes
Intended Major: Biology
State (if domestic applicant): NJ
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: bi-racial
Gender: f
Income Bracket: 120k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):
First generation
Strengths: my passion and accomplishments on my instrument (?), grades
Weaknesses: Test score
Why you think you were accepted/rejected/waitlisted?

General Comments:

Other schools you applied to and their decisions:

Accepted: WUSTL, Chapel Hill, Rutgers-honors college, Brandeis, Washington and Lee, Case Western Reseve

Waitlisted: UChicago

Waiting for: UPENN, Duke, Yale

8

Decision: Accepted

Objective:

  • SAT I (breakdown): 770 M, 750 CR+W, 20 Essay
  • ACT (breakdown): 36 Composite, 35 English, 36 Math, 36 Reading, 36 Science, 11/12 Essay
  • SAT II: 800 Math II, 760 Chem, 760 Physics
  • Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.98 UW, 4.61 W (scaling is subjective per school so don’t take this too seriously)
  • Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 4th out of 230
  • AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Chem (5), AP Physics 1 (4), AP World (5), AP US History (5), AP Calc BC (5), AP Calc AB Subscore (5)
  • IB (place score in parenthesis): None
  • Senior Year Course Load: AP US Government, AP Literature and Composition, AP Physics C: Mechanics, AP Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism, AP Psychology, AP Statistics, AP Physics 2, AP Biology, Multivariate Calculus, Linear Algebra
  • Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):
    • Academic awards: AP Scholar with Distinction, National Merit Scholarship Program Letter of Commendation, Excellence in Mathematics and the Natural Sciences from the Society of Women Engineers (CT Section), Presidential Scholars Semifinalist.
    • Dance awards: Dance Teachers Club of CT Scholarship Winner (2010, 2012, 2013, 2015), DMA National Jr. Mr. Dance Most Talented Non-Finalist (2012), DMA Jr. Mr. Dance of CT (2012), Sophisticated Production’s Highest Scoring Solo (age 15 and under) (2013), DMA Teen Mr. Dance of CT (2014), DMA Tap Class Audition Scholarship 1st Place Recipient (2016), Numerous First Overall Solo and Group Awards (2010 – Present).

Subjective:

  • Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
    • Competitive Dancer (Senior Competition Captain) [Tap: 10 Years, Ballet: 9 Years, Jazz: 9 Years, Hip-Hop: 7 Years, Contemporary/Modern: 7 Years]
    • Nutcracker Ballet (I've played the role of Prince and Cavalier these past 3 years)
    • National Honor Society (Tutoring coordinator/tutor)
    • French Honor Society (Executive Officer)
    • Seaperch
    • Math League
    • Varsity Tennis (4 singles, 3 doubles)
    • Offered to produce music for small fashion lines
  • Job/Work Experience: None
  • Volunteer/Community service:
    • Assistant Dance Teacher Ages 9-14
    • Nutcracker Ballet Student Rehearsal Assistant
    • NHS Tutor, all subjects
    • Writing Center Tutor
    • Math Center Tutor
  • Summer Activities:
    • 4 Weeks of Dance Intensives/National Competitions
    • Helped build a dance studio/gym in my basement
    • Dance training
    • College Tours
    • Tennis
  • Essays (rating 1-10, details):
    • Common Application Essay Rating: 9?? I had my AP Lit teacher read it over, as well as a few friends. They all said it sounded really personal and unique while being memorable, but I couldn't judge myself accurately.
    • Swarthmore Essay Rating: 10 I did this essay independently. Swarthmore was my top choice at the time so it came naturally and I visited over the summer with the intent of attending. So I think it sounded genuine and interesting.
  • Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
    • Teacher Rec #1: AP Calc/Multivariate/Linear Teacher, Math Team Coach
  • I assume it would be very good as he knows my intense schedule in and out of school, my work ethic, my sense of humor, and my sociability.
    • Teacher Rec #2: AP Chem Teacher Same as Rec 1, with the addition of my love and curiosity of the natural sciences plus my drive and independence in the classroom.
    • Counselor Rec: Unknown, but she used to attend my dance studio? So maybe that helped. This was also her first year, so personal details may have been rough.
  • Additional Rec: None.
  • Interview: None.

Other:

  • Applied for Financial Aid?: None.
  • Intended Major: Astrophysics
  • State (if domestic applicant): Connecticut
  • Country (if international applicant): NA
  • School Type: Public
  • Ethnicity: White
  • Gender: Male
  • Income Bracket: IDK
  • Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Male dancer?
  • Strengths: Test scores, extracurriculars, strong commitment to dance, national dance awards, rigorous course schedule, 3 independent studies in physics (shows initiative)
  • Weaknesses: Didn't interview.
  • Why you think you were accepted/rejected/waitlisted: Dance major, test scores, strong essay, unique

General Comments: None.

Other schools you applied to and their decisions:

  • Muhlenberg: Accepted
  • William and Mary: Accepted w/ 2 honors program opportunities
  • Middlebury: Accepted
  • Columbia: Likely Letter, probable acceptance
  • Duke, Stanford, Tufts, Wesleyan, NYU, Williams, Amherst, Brown, Cornell, UPenn, Yale, Harvard, Dartmouth, Princeton: Waiting
9

**Decision: Accepted! **

RD

Objective:

  • [] SAT I (breakdown): New: 1510 (790M/700E) Old: 2200 (800M/710W/690R)
    [    ] SAT II: 790 Math II & 700 Physics
    [] Unweighted GPA: ~3.9
    [    ] Weighted GPA: ~4.6
    [] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 2/450
    [    ] AP (place score in parenthesis): 5’s on Calc BC and Stats; 4’s on Lang, Physics I, Psych, and APUSH
    [] Senior Year Course Load: AP Physics II, AP Chinese, AP Econ (macro/micro), AP Studio Art, AP Lit
    [    ] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): OOTM World Finalist Freshman Year and a few scholar-athlete/hockey awards. Nothing special.

Subjective:

[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): 3D Printing club (founder/president), Activism Organization (executive committee), Varsity Ice Hockey (Captain), Varsity Lacrosse, Local non-profit (Volunteer and Liaison of Corporate Sponsorship), School Ambassadors, Student Government (Vice President), Odyssey of the Mind (Participant and Coach), Peer Mediation/conflict resolution (President), Science Olympiad, Intern for a Congressman
[] Job/Work Experience: Avid babysitter.
[] Summer Activities: M&TSI @ Penn <3
[] Essays: I really liked my Swatty supplement. Probably 8-9/10
[] Teacher Recommendation: One should be phenomenal and the other generic.
[] Counselor Rec: Generic.
[li] Interview: Did not interview[/li][/ul]

Other

  • [] State (if domestic applicant): CT
    [    ] School Type: Public Magnet
    [] Ethnicity: Multiracial (Caucasian and Chinese)
    [    ] Gender: M
    [] Income Bracket: High
    [    ] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): lol

Reflection

  • [] Strengths: I think I’m pretty well-rounded and somewhat successful in a variety of activities.
    [    ] Weaknesses: No strong focus or “hooks”
    [] Why you think you were accepted: My essays and “fit”.
    [    ] Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Accepted: Pomona, UCLA(BizEcon), Georgia Tech(MechE), Babson, and UVA. Deferred: Wharton(ED). Waitlisted: WashU and Northwestern

**General Comments: **
I’m so excited to be accepted! I’m still waiting to hear back from Yale, Princeton, Dartmouth, and Penn before I make any decisions!

10

**Decision: Accepted/b

Unweighted GPA: 4.135 out of 4.00 (? This is how my funky school calculated it so)
Weighted GPA: 4.600 out of 5.00 // I got a B+ in Calc it’s def gonna go way down now smh @ me

SAT I score (HA! A joke…): New- 1320 Math-700 CR/W-620; this score is depressing // Superscore- 1370
ACT (composite, essay, english, math, science): So pathetic I pretend never took it. POOF deleted from my mind
SAT II (subject, score): Math II 640 (LMAO, is my acceptance a mistake?) , Chemistry 660 (lol)
Rank (numerical or percentile): 6/390
All AP test scores: AP US Gov/Politics (5), AP Chemistry (3), AP Statistics (3 feel like an idiot)
IB: School doesn’t offer, can barely offer Honors and a couple AP’s
Senior Year Course Load: AP Biology, AP English Lit/Comp, AP Calc AB, AP World History, AP Microeconomics (this year sucks so much cougar butt hole)

Major Awards: Questbridge Scholar, AP Scholar, I was nominated for this local award but my school is so lazy that my principal forgot to submit his recommendation & on top of that the school gave me the app like 3 days before the deadline & nothing was handed in…lol

Applied for Financial Aid? Yes.
Extracurriculars: Debate (co-captain), Track & Field, Model UN, Mu Alpha Theta, NHS, Spanish Club (nothing great)
Job/Work Experience: NONE (Not allowed to work)
Volunteer/Community Service: Usually runs or school events
State: PA
Intended Major: Engineering (Planning on switching to CS or Chemistry)
School Type (public, private, online, etc.): A Public one with a diminishing budget
Ethnicity: Caribbean Black (I don’t consider myself African-American whatsoever)
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: ~$23,000
Assets: My 10 yr old ipod and comfty blanket lol; nothing
Extenuating Circumstances/Hooks: Dad is dead to me, druggie brother that had intense fights & steals from us, controlling abusive mother, very poor
Stand Out Info (e.g. first gen college student): First Gen (nothing else I’m pretty vanilla), QB Scholar?
Essays (rating 1-10, details):
7/8, I talked about how Swarthmore had a trifecta which was necessary for LIFE. lol a bit dramatic

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: Glowing like a star. I am a “charitable person” lol
Teacher Rec #2: Glowing. He wrote a book about my “excellent assignment work” and “engaging in classroom” lol that’s just codeword for being talkative and a blabbermouth
** These are their words (I didn’t read it), they said that’s a snippet of what they put and mentioned how long it was.
Counselor Rec: Glowing, she can talk about me for days.
Interview: None, I felt dejected since I did two for MIT & Upenn and felt like it was a waste and didn’t add much to my app.

Hooks:
I guess my essays were the bomb dot diggity! I thought my essay was pretty mediocre because it described the struggles I overcame everywhere I go. I had no place to call my sanctuary. etc. At home it was like a battlefield anything said or done triggered my mom, at school a lot of violence, low budget, environment overridden by gangs etc.

I’m pretty sure my counselor talked about my growth over the years since we are pretty tight. Teachers’ recommendations I am confident are at least an 8 since I’ve shown leadership qualities, had for two years, converse with them, and turned in quality work.

Strengths: My QB essay on my sad life
Weaknesses: My QB essay on my sad life, SAT scores definitely, GPA
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I was accepted because they liked my QB essay of struggles, also my Why Swarthmore essay was very mellow compared to it.

General Comments: I wish I could tell the future so I wouldn’t have wasted my time to some other colleges I applied to. I don’t want to see how the next two weeks of waiting will look like…I’m a mess lol. Sorry if formatting is off from the template, I hope it gives hope to someone out there!

Other schools you applied to and their decisions: MIT, Upenn- REJECTED

Ivies except Brown-Waiting , Widener,Wilkes,Duquense,Albright,RIT-Accepted (Safeties, received highest scholarships from each except RIT still waiting for fin aid)

11

Decision: Rejected

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown): 2250 (750 CR, 710 M, 790 W) and 1540 (800 CR/W, 740 M, 24 Essay)
ACT (breakdown): 34 (36 English, 33 Math, 34 Reading, 34 Science, 29 Writing)
SAT II: 740 Literature, 690 Math 2)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): My school uses a different scale, my weighted GPA is 5.79
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1
AP (place score in parenthesis): US Gov (4), World History (4), English Language (5), Physics 1 (1, but only three people in my entire school passed because of the teacher), Calculus BC (4, 4 AB subscore), US History (3)
IB (place score in parenthesis): n/a
Senior Year Course Load: AP English Literature, AP Statistics, AP European History, AP Biology, AP Spanish 6, Health/Honors Economics, GT Orchestra
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Scholarship Commended Scholar, AP Scholar with Distinction,

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Model UN, Inklings book club (president), Spanish Club, National Honor Society (President), National Science Honor Society (VP), National English Honor Society, National Art Honor Society, National Spanish Honor Society, National Music Honor Society, Cross-Country/Track, Madrigals Singers (featured soloist), All-County Orchestra, Theatre (supporting roles)
Job/Work Experience: Summer camp counselor for the YMCA, babysitter for a child with Downs Syndrome and other kids in the community
Volunteer/Community service: Tutoring through NHS, camp counselor for a 4-H camp (over fifty hours of training each year for one week of camp), service days and work trips with youth group, volunteering at school
Summer Activities: Internship at a local university in a neuroscience lab, collecting amphipods and doing research with a university professor, fun dissections (cat and sheep’s heart) with a professor in my basement :slight_smile:
Essays (rating 1-10, details): My essay was kind of basic and I wish I had done something more unique. It does reflect me well, but it seems as if everyone writes about being cut from a sports team. I guess I thought that I had taken it farther with my interpretation of my reaction to the problem.

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
Teacher Rec #1: 10 (I did not see my recommendations, but I trust the four teachers I chose 100%)
Teacher Rec #2: 10
Teacher Rec #3: 10
Teacher Rec #4: 10
Counselor Rec: 8 (they know me well but the counseling office at my school is woefully understaffed)
Additional Rec: 10 and 10
Interview: yes, and visited twice!

Other:

Applied for Financial Aid?: yes
Intended Major: Biology/Pre-med
State (if domestic applicant): MD
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: white
Gender: female
Income Bracket: >100k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): female interested in STEM with research experience

Strengths: Motivation, ability to handle pressure, organized, not a procrastinator, passionate about learning for the sake of learning, never cheated in my life, felt like I fit the Swarthmore culture, loved the school to pieces
Weaknesses: Afraid of failure, involved in many things without being incredible in one thing
Why you think you were accepted/rejected/waitlisted? I honestly do not know, I guess it was luck of the draw. There isn’t much else I could have done. Swarthmore was my favorite school, my top choice, my dream college. However, I do have the disadvantage of being a white student from a public high school in a competitive state. I wish that I had gotten in, but I just have to trust that I will do fine wherever I go and that in the end, its not the heartbreaking thing it seems to be right now.

General Comments: Congrats to everyone who has gotten in to Swarthmore! I hope you love it as much as I do should you choose to go there :slight_smile:

Other schools you applied to and their decisions:

Accepted: UVA, UMD College Park Honors College, St. Mary’s College of MD, Colby, Denison, Kenyon
Waitlisted:
Waiting: Princeton, Dartmouth, Brown, Davidson, Carleton, Williams

12

Decision: Waitlisted

[ b]Objective:[ /b][ list]
[ *] SAT I (breakdown): N/A
[ *] ACT: 34
[ *] SAT II: World History: 760, US History 770
[ *] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): around 3.6/3.7
[ *] UC GPA: 4.08
[ *] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A (but def in top 25%)
[ *] AP (place score in parenthesis): World History(5), Human Geo(5), Lang(5), US History(5), Stats(4), Chemistry(3)
[ *] Senior Year Course Load: AP Psych, AP Micro, AP Gov, AP Lit, Philosophy, Calc
[ *] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Can’t say- for privacy

[ /list][ b]Subjective:[ /b][ list]
[ *] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Community Service, all clubs in school were debate/speech related, can’t be specific because will give out too much info
[ *] Job/Work Experience: N/A
[ *] Volunteer/Community service: had around 450 hours
[ *] Personal Statement: 10/10, really different. The teachers who read my essays said they were the best they’ve ever seen.

[ /list][ b]Other[ /b][ list]
[ *] Applied for Financial Aid?: Yup
[ *][ b] Intended Major [ /b]: Anthropology
[ *] State (if domestic applicant):CA
[ *] Country (if international applicant):
[ *] School Type: Public
[ *] Ethnicity: Latino
[ *] Gender: Female
[ *] Income Bracket: around $80,000- $90,000
[ *] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): URM, first gen

[ /list][ b]Reflection[ /b][ list]
[ *] Strengths: ESSAYS, test scores, interests, non-impacted major
[ *] Weaknesses: lmao Grades
[ *] Schools were you accepted/waitlisted to? UC Berkeley, UCLA, UCSD, UC Davis, Fordham(full ride), Tulane(full ride), University of Georgia(with lots of $$)
[ *] Schools you were rejected from? None yet
[ *] Schools you are waiting for? Amherst, Wesleyan, Georgetown and other liberal arts/private schools
[ /list][ b]General Comments:[ /b] I’m surprised I got into so many places so far with my stats. It was definitely the essays. I thought I’d be rejected, so the waitlist was a pleasanton surprise!

13

Decision: Accepted

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown): NA
ACT (breakdown): 36 (on all sections except 34 on reading)
SAT II: 800 physics and math II
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): school dont rank
AP (place score in parenthesis): 5s on Calc BC/APUSH/Gov/Physics C/Chem
IB (place score in parenthesis): 42, 7s on HL Physics/Math/History/English
Senior Year Course Load:senior english/history, ap stats, ap bio, wind ensemble
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): just the ap awards

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): swimming (captain 11th/12th), Boy Scouts (Life Rank)
Job/Work Experience: current internship at local university’s molecular engineering lab
Volunteer/Community service: Boy scouts, cofounded nonprofit summer camp for 4th-7th graders
Summer Activities: Boy Scouts, swimming, band camp, lounging around
Essays (rating 1-10, details):
9/10 common app, struggles with making connections in high school and how my hobby of origami helped me
50/10 swarthmore essay. Wrote it framed as a baking recipe. Hit on the liberal arts tradition, close relationships with classmates and professors, the amazing outdoors around campus, and sports

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
Teacher Rec #1: 10/10 History. Teacher says I’m one of his best students he’s had.
Teacher Rec #2: 8/10 physics. Nothing wrong with the teacher, she just had a lot of recs to write.
Counselor Rec: pretty good? Don’t know her that well
Additional Rec: Spoke to the swim coach, she might have written me one, IDK
Interview:

Other:

Applied for Financial Aid?: yes
Intended Major: Engineering
State (if domestic applicant): WA
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Male
Income Bracket:
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): antihook as asian male, possibly recruited for swimming except I notificed coach very late in the recruiting season so most likely not.

Strengths: Stats/consistency in and outside of class
Weaknesses: Writing could be better.
Why you think you were accepted/rejected/waitlisted?

I put a lot of effort into my Swarthmore essay and people who read it were amazed at how much information i fit in and how much personality i showed.

14

Decision: Accepted

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown): 1520 (new- didn’t submit)
ACT (breakdown): 35 (36 reading, 36 English, 34 math, 34 science)
SAT II: 800 USH, 800 Lit, 750 Math 1
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0s
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 3/300
AP (place score in parenthesis): 5: Spanish Lang, APUSH, English Lang; 4: Physics
IB (place score in parenthesis): 6 SL Mathemtatics
Senior Year Course Load: Full IB/ AP Calc BC
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit

Subjective:

Extracurriculars: MUN (President), NHS (VP), youth group (president), lots of community engagement work
Job/Work Experience: Internship that aligns with career interest but very little paid work
Volunteer/Community service: Lots
Summer Activities: Internship, volunteering, various programs
Essays (rating 1-10, details): No idea how to rank myself because I haven’t read anyone else’s, but I definitely meant every word I wrote and was fairly specific.

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
Teacher Rec #1: 9.5/10- Teacher knows me VERY well and has seen me work in many different activities (class, volunteering, clubs, internship etc)
Teacher Rec #2: 8/10- Did well in class and likes me but writes a bunch of recs every year
Counselor Rec: 9/10 We have a good relationship, I’d say
Additional Rec: Sponsor of one of my activities outside of school, very good rec
Interview: It was nice! Very friendly, talked about everything from history to current politics to literature to social issues in our city.

Other:

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Peace/ Conflict Studies
State (if domestic applicant): KS
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: White
Gender: F
Income Bracket: 120k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None

Strengths: Not too many applicants from my state, good enough test scores/ grades /recs/ essays, some unique ec’s and lots that pertain to my study interests
Weaknesses: No true hooks
Why you think you were accepted/rejected/waitlisted? I don’t want to speculate, but I think there are

General Comments: I still have a lot of schools to hear from, but I am so excited about possibly attending Swat!

Other schools you applied to and their decisions: So far I have been rejected from WUSTL and put on the waitlist at Northwestern (but I won’t accept a position on the list because I would much rather go to Swarthmore)

15

Decision: Accepted

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown): 1550 (760 CRW, 790 M)
ACT (breakdown): Didn’t take
SAT II: 800 Math II, 750 Lit, 750 USH
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.98
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Valedictorian
AP (place score in parenthesis): Human Geography (5), US History (5), English Language (5), English Lit (5), European History (5), Calc BC (5), Physics I (4)
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP US Gov, AP Stats, AP Spanish Lang, AP Chemistry, mandatory theology class, handful of electives
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): U.S. Senate Youth Program State Finalist, Harvard Book Award Recipient, AP Scholar, National Merit Commended Scholar, many local service awards, a number of local civic awards

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
State director of a 501©(3) and affiliated political action committee
Staff writer for a well-regarded independent publication
Executive board member of the state chapter of a well-known high school political advocacy organization
Captain of debate team
Co-captain of drama club
Student body treasurer
Co-chair of local chapter of a socialist organization
Editor of school newspaper
Editor of school literary magazine
Captain of trivia team
And muchhhhhh more political stuff that I won’t mention as it could possibly reveal my identity.

Job/Work Experience:
Intern for a U.S. Senator
Clerk at a local library
Field organizer for state rep campaign
Field organizer for state senate campaign
Regional director for presidential campaign

Volunteer/Community service:
I assist at just about every function that takes place at my school. Furthermore, much of my political activity could definitely be considered “community service.”
Summer Activities:
Yale Young Global Scholar
Other assorted pre-college programs
Campaigning for political candidates
The aforementioned internship
The aforementioned job
Essays (rating 1-10, details):
Common App: 9.5. I poured my heart into this essay while steering clear from sentimentality.
Why Swarthmore? 8. It was alright. I actually talked about how Michael Dukakis encouraged me to apply when I met him last summer lol

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
Teacher Rec #1: 9.5. “Best student of my career” and all that jazz.
Teacher Rec #2: 9. Didn’t read this one, but I was very close with this teacher.
Counselor Rec: 8. I’m sure it was fine.
Additional Rec: I had my state senator (whom I’ve worked with extensively in the past) and one of the candidates for whom I’ve worked write recommendations.
Interview: N/A.

Other:

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes.
Intended Major: Political Science
State (if domestic applicant): MA
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Small parochial
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: $150,000+
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None

Strengths: GPA, test scores, passionate investment in politics
Weaknesses: Lack of demonstrated interest
Why you think you were accepted/rejected/waitlisted? It’s a crapshoot. I was accepted immediately after being waitlisted by two of my top choices. A few friends of mine got into both of those schools and were rejected by Swarthmore. There’s definitely a level of unpredictability.

General Comments:
I’m thrilled to have been accepted! Though I still have to hear back from my Ivy Day schools as well as Stanford and Georgetown, I’d be more than happy to spend the next four years in Pennsylvania!

Other schools you applied to and their decisions:

Accepted:
Loyola University Maryland (safety)
Colby College
Reed College
Swarthmore College

Deferred:
Harvard College (SCEA)

Waitlisted:
Washington University in St. Louis
University of Chicago

Rejected:
None (so far…)

Pending:
American University
Amherst College
Brown University
Cornell University
Columbia University
Dartmouth College
Georgetown University
George Washington University
Harvard College
Princeton University
Stanford University
Union College
University of Pennsylvania
Yale University

16

You applied to 20 universities including all of the Ivy League? Why?

17

^^^ Why are you curious why he applied to 20 schools?

18

Decision: Accepted

Objective:

ACT (breakdown): 32 (35E, 33M, 32R, 27S, 9W)
SAT II: 740 math ii, 740 USH
GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0 UW, 4.3W
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1 out of 200ish
AP (place score in parenthesis): 5 APUSH, 4 AP Calc AB
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Just a few state awards in the clubs I’ve done

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): A lot but I think they might make me too easily identifiable so I won’t list them
Job/Work Experience:
Volunteer/Community service: Various activities through Key Club, NHS, etc.
Summer Activities: I didn’t have enough room to list them in my Common App
Essays (rating 1-10, details): I thought my Common App essay was probably the strongest part of my application. It went through about four people before I submitted it. My “why Swarthmore” essay was alright. I felt that I could’ve made it better; however, I made sure I did detail specifically what I liked about Swarthmore and what I would participate in if I were accepted.

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): Meh, I don’t think I can properly rate my recs from 1 to 10. I think my teacher recs were good, but I don’t know my counselor that well so I assume it was pretty generic
Interview: Nope. Swarthmore was a last minute addition so I didn’t have time to request one.

Other:

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Economics
State (if domestic applicant): KS
Country (if international applicant): US
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: F
Income Bracket: Middle class
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None lol

Strengths: Probably my extracurriculars and Common App essay. Also, I’m from a more rural area so that probably helped a lot
Weaknesses: My test scores are absolutely terrible for being Asian. I know.
Why you think you were accepted/rejected/waitlisted? Honestly, I have no idea. Swarthmore had an acceptance rate of 10 percent this year and they chose me even though there were probably a lot more candidates more qualified than me.

General Comments: I have not the faintest clue as to why I was accepted with such mediocre test scores. Honestly, the college admissions process is like throwing darts at a board. I was deferred from Boston College in the fall, and I was absolutely sure I wasn’t going to be accepted anywhere because BC had the highest acceptance rate of the colleges I had applied to. Low and behold, I’ve had no rejections and only one waitlist from the schools I’ve heard back from. Also, don’t underestimate the cost of college. I would absolutely LOVE to go to Swarthmore but if their financial aid remains as bad as it is now, I won’t be able to attend in the fall. I thought getting into college would be the hardest part of the college process but affording it is a HUGE obstacle for people like my parents.

Other schools you applied to and their decisions: I have another thread about this so you can check dat out.

19

Decision: Rejected

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): N/A
ACT (breakdown): 33 (35 English, 31 Reading, 32 Math, 32 Science, 35 Writing)
SAT II: 710 French w/ Listening, 760 US History, 760 Math I
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.96/4.00
Weighted GPA: 4.68/5.00
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 9/524-- top 2%
AP (place score in parenthesis): Chemistry (4), French (4), English Language (5), European History(4), US History (4)
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP Environmental Science, Gym, AP French, AP U.S. Government and Politics, AP Macroeconomics, AP Calc BC, AP English, AP Art History
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Midwest Region Scholastic Art+Writing Gold Key for Poetry, 90th Percentile and up: National French Contest (10, 11); IL State Scholar; minor school awards

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Literary Magazine (Co-Editor in Chief, Published author), French tutoring (4 yrs), Intensive French Language Day (2 yrs), French Honor Society (3 year member), Nat’l Honors Society (2-year member), Nat’l Art Honor Society (Secretary), Scholastic Bowl (Varsity, 11-12), IL Youth Summit Representative (11)
Job/Work Experience: Summer Camp Jr. Counselor (11). 2016 Presidential Election Judge (Paid to work the polls)
Volunteer/Community service: 12 hrs/year for National Honors Society (11-12), French tutoring (every week since Sophomore year), National Art Honors Society (10 service hours, 12th grade)
Summer Activities: learned to code Java, school trip to France
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 7.5/10 Did not put much effort into this, I think it was well-written but I didn’t have much to go on for writing about Swarthmore since I never visited campus. I thought my Common App essay was great, though!
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: My 11th Grade Physics Teacher-- really likes me, I aced his class, we joked about how I might accomplish more in my 20’s than Newton :slight_smile: 10/10
Teacher Rec #2: My 11th Grade English Teacher-- on the first day of school he made me read my essay out loud to the class because it was so well-written. Really formed a friendship/connection with him, he told me he thinks I’ll get into every one of the 12-odd colleges I’m applying to. 10/10
Counselor Rec: I got to know her a lot over the past year–she was especially helpful with making me feel safe and comfortable at school. 9/10
Additional Rec: N/A
Interview: N/A
Other
Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Linguistics/French
State (if domestic applicant): IL
Country (if international applicant): US
School Type: Public, mid-sized
Ethnicity: White (European)
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: 200,000+
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): N/A

Reflection
Strengths: Strong commitment to learning French and sharing that knowledge with others, good extracurriculars, outstanding recommendations
Weaknesses: GPA and Class Rank (although my teachers seem to like me a lot), I’m not that good at standardized tests (see-APs), but hopefully my Subject Test scores will show I have mastery in those subjects. Not that many awards,
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: They could probably tell they were a safety school for me, I didn’t visit campus, maybe there were some major flaws in my essay.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Waitlisted at University of Chicago, Pomona, and Williams. Accepted at Carleton.

General Comments : I was caught off-guard by this rejection at first, but the more I think about it, the more it makes sense. Swat was not my top choice, and perhaps they could tell.

20

Decision: Accepted

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown): N/A
ACT (breakdown): 32 (36 English, 27 Math, 36 Reading, 29 Science, 12 Writing)
SAT II: N/A
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): ~3.5
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): ~25%
AP (place score in parenthesis): Took 11 tests, got mostly 3s and 4s, a few 5s.
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP Lit, AP Psych, AP Environmental Science, AP Statistics
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Debate (Captain)
Job/Work Experience: N/A
Volunteer/Community service: N/A
Summer Activities: Debate Camp
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 9, I spent a lot of time on these and I think they adequately reflected my specific situation and passions.

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): (I waived my right to view)
Teacher Rec #1: English Teacher, 10. Really enjoyed this teacher and she liked me a lot.

Teacher Rec #2: History Teacher, 7. Also enjoyed this teacher but we were in much less contact.
Counselor Rec: No idea, I was very familiar with my counselor so I would guess it was adequate.
Additional Rec: Debate Coach, 10. With this person every weekend, knows me extremely well, likes me a lot.
Interview: N/A

Other:

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Philosophy/Religion/Anthropology
State (if domestic applicant): Midwest
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: Free and Reduced (Sub 50k)
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): First generation, Questbridge

Strengths: Subjectives
Weaknesses: Objectives
Why you think you were accepted/rejected/waitlisted?
I had a lot of people advocating on my behalf and set myself up to make my application and evaluation very personal rather than merely statistical. I believe that had a great deal of importance in my acceptance and gave me a 3D rather than 2D presence for the admissions staff.

General Comments: Swarthmore was my top choice and I’m ecstatic that I was accepted. If you are a low income student, who only has a few or even one EC, and are worried about your chances - know that it is possible.

Other schools you applied to and their decisions: