Swarthmore does not include all waitlist statistics on Common Data Set. For an idea of how it can go: Williams College Common Data Set for 2019-20 says…
9,715 applied
1224 accepted
546 enrolled
*** 1,857 waitlisted!! Note that this is more than were accepted.
** 651 students chose to remain on the waitlist
My daughter was waitlisted by 5 schools a few years ago. One school (LAC- Maine) waitlisted 3 times as many as they accepted!
My daughter’s (final) choices - Class of 22 -were Presidential Scholar/ Full ride at State School, Colgate with tremendous aid (her first year would have been less than $1k with local scholarships/ Scholar Housing and $10,000 research stipend, and Swarthmore for $16K- which was tough for us. She chose Swarthmore for what it had to offer for her heart and soul. She is completely fulfilled with academic rigor,professor support, incredible friends, arts community. She is pushed harder than she ever imagined and absolutely loves it. Her academic choices went a completely different direction due to SWAT’s pass/no pass first semester. She came in thinking English/ Classics/ Philosophy. She didn’t think her math was good enough to pursue science even though she loved it as well. She is now a 3rd yr AstroPhysics Major, Minor in English and Dance. Did Research Internship last summer. She had not danced since she was 6, and her profs have done EVERYTHING possible to support her in her goal of being on point by Senior year. They let her audit classes so she could take 2 different Ballet levels concurrently just to help her progress. She’s in University Choir and Garnet Singers. Daughter is not a partier. Has rich social life with amazing, fun, interesting, supportive friends from all over US and world. Coming from a small town close to a National Park, she really appreciates Swats gorgeous, spacious campus. Walks in the Crum Woods have become special part of connecting with friends and staying sane during Covid. CHECK SWAT’s Covid response. It is very strict and incredibly successful. They bend over backwards to keep things healthy and safe for the students.
I recommend having your student think carefully about their priorities. What are their academic, financial, career, and social goals? SWAT has high % of students attending grad school and receiving Academic Awards. Read lots of student reviews for all the schools. Focus on the best and worst reviews and see if anything stands out for or against. Could be just one little thing that makes a difference. Good Luck!
If you do not mind me asking, does your daughter ever talk about grade deflation? I am premed and worried about not getting good enough grades for med schools. My brother’s baseball coach is a Swarthmore alum and, although he enjoyed his experience, is not recommending the school for that reason. He says he remembers a professor telling him he did a great job on a paper and really enjoyed reading it, only then to find out he got a C+. I loved the campus and all that Swarthmore has to offer. I count myself very lucky to have been accepted but I am spooked now by the grade deflation talk I am hearing. I would appreciate any insights on this topic. Thank you.
My daughter is definitely no longer a straight A student. However, Swarthmore has an incredibly large percentage of students (around 75%) moving on to grad school and Phd programs within 5 yrs of graduating, I have not heard of issues not getting accepted. Numerous award recipients as well. From google search:
“Despite the school’s small size, Swarthmore alumni have attained prominence in a broad range of fields. Graduates include five Nobel Prize winners (as of 2016, the third-highest number of Nobel Prize winners per graduate in the U.S.),[13] 11 MacArthur Foundation fellows, 30 Rhodes Scholars, 27 Truman Scholars, 10 Marshall Scholars, 201 Fulbright Grantees, and many noteworthy figures in law, art, science, academia, business, politics, and other fields”
Check out Swat website for post graduation statistics. Also Check out Honors Orals as well. It is very unique. Reach out to your admissions officer. I’m sure they have more accurate info to share! It is my understanding Top Grad schools are aware of Swarthmore’s rigor.
Astro7777 - thank you for a great post which really helps my DD and me to evaluate Swarthmore better. DD has been fortunate and accepted at Swarthmore, Wellesley, Haverford, Mount Holyoke and Smith (with good merit scholarship) so far. Originally we were very keen on Swarthmore (she wants to go on to PhD in astrophysics and eventually research/academia) but we have been wondering if Swarthmore is fun/supportive as well as academically excellent. Our daughters personality sounds similar to your daughter - any chance they could connect one day via Zoom or similar?
Oh my goodness, my daughter would love that! She was really disappointed to not have admits on campus again this year. She has hosted in past. She has Spring Break next week and should have some flexibility. How do we share contact info discreetly on this site? Or maybe she can email Ask a Swattie-Janet Bardoll -She is my daughters best friend and a sweetheart. She can answer some questions and put her in touch with my daughter. My daughter says the astro/ physics professors are amazing. She’s done research with one. Has done grading for another. This spring one Prof is holding seminar classes with 3-4 students at a time just so he can meet with them in person. Super supportive and enthusiastic.
I just sent you a private message on this site. Thank you so much!
My daughter said yes! Contact her through Janet as I mentioned in other reply. And ask Janet to connect her with astrophysics friend across the hall :). And be sure she connects with Janet as well. She was really helpful to my son when he was working on his app and needed someone other than his sister to discuss things with.
Will do - Janet sounds interesting (Math and Art!) and we are also connecting with Elena Lee on Ask-a-Swattie.
I am so impressed with every communication from Swarthmore.
I gave little input on my student’s final college application list. Once my two most favorite schools did not make the cut, I started decision season truly open (beyond cost, of course). Now that we have visited more schools, I definitely prefer some to others. I am doing my best to stay neutral in front of my student, but I just have to say somewhere how much I love Swat.
Good luck to all!
There’s another wildcard this year - a number of admits to the Class of 2024 deferred for a year, so there were a pre-set number of Class of 2025 spots already occupied at the start of this cycle. I don’t think Swat (or many schools, for that matter) have publicized deferral numbers.
Anyone know how many admit in RD? How many in WL this year? I heard one person admit this year in RD, had both JMO and AMO, bar is so high
As the parent of a recent grad, I will tell you that grading is harder at Swat than almost anywhere else in the country. Back when I cared, I found an article that had detailed math about grading vs. (I think) GRE or LSAT scores…and Swat had the largest gap between test performance and grade. It’s hard.
That said, there are countless kids in elite medical and grad schools from her class. It was shocking to me, the names of the grad schools just among her friends that they turned down. If you know about grade deflation, don’t you think the grad school folks have a sense of your performance? What if you go somewhere and get better grades…yet you don’t get into the grad schools you’d like? There is no way to know.
My advice: Go where you want to study for four years, with people you want to be around in an environment that you feel comfortable. Everything else will take care of itself.
Agree, sometimes the peer pressure will “kill” people’s potential.
Just to make sure we’re in agreement… the pressure at Swat isn’t competitiveness or jealousy. The students are smart and driven and focused…but they are also collaborative and engaging and supportive.
Maybe it comes from knowing you’re pretty bright…but there is a confidence that doesn’t manifest itself in competition. IMO…the largest draw to Swat is the other students you get to learn with for 4 years.
YES! SOOO Collaborative and supportive. My daughter has weekly study/ homework groups on campus and even while they were fully online at home.
Even though it seems that your daughter isn’t considering Haverford, I thought that she would find this article about Elizabeth Teng, Haverford '20, who’s getting her PhD in Astronomy at Northwestern. One benefit of being at Swarthmore, Haverford, and Bryn Mawr is how easy it is to take classes at each school. Where They're Headed: Elizabeth Teng '20 | Haverblog