Congratulations! Did you apply ED2 or RD? @longliveseth
@Zackkk the interviewer was an alumnus - actually a professor at a local school here, in the sciences.
@Happytoapply Spanish, History, and Psych! Still undecided though. Best of luck to your daughter with the rest of her decisions!
Status: Rejected
ACT: 32
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.99 (I only received 1 A-)
Class Rank 11/360
AP: Environmental Science, European History, Calculus AB
IB Diploma Candidate
EC’s:
Received 16 Varsity Letters in 4 different sports- cross country, hockey, track and lacrosse (participate in track and lax during the same season)
3x Captain
500+ Hours of Volunteer Work
NHS member
Various Leadership Positions in 3 other clubs which I have been a member of since freshman year
Lt. Gov at 2017 Girls State, was a top 10 finalist for Girls Nation
Essays: Why Swarthmore was the best supplemental essay I wrote, Common App was very good
Recommendations: Both teachers love me and have had me in class for many years
Interview: My interview was really good it was over an hour long
Financial Aid: No
Intended Major: Premed, Bio and History
State: Prefer not to say
Race: White
Gender: F
Income Bracket: Prefer not to say
Hooks/tips (URM, athlete, legacy, 1st gen, etc.): none
I know college admissions are basically the luck of the draw but I was surprised when I got straight up denied, not waitlisted or admitted. Please tell me if you think my ACT score is what did my application in.
@hockeygirl10kat In my opinion, it is kind of hard to determine whether your essays are considered “good” for admission officers.
@hockeychic15 I agree with @Zackkk It’s hard to determine if your essays are good, and unless you’ve read your LoRs, it’s hard to determine those as well.
I certainly wouldn’t blame it on your ACT score. A 32 falls right in the middle as I believe that’s the median or mean (I’m not sure which) of admitted students at Swarthmore.
I honestly think college admissions are truly just a gamble—especially when you’re applying to highly selective schools. I had one friend last year who applied to 24 schools (ikr, 24 frikin’ schools) including every Ivy and most of the top LACs. She was admitted to a total of 3: UMich, UCLA, and Yale, (she picked Yale), and she was REJECTED (not even waitlisted) from every single other one. Keep in mind she ended up being our valedictorian and had a perfect SAT score and did multiple ECs. I think that sums up college admissions.
Don’t worry about it too much, though. You’re obviously very accomplished (at least way more than me!), so I bet you’ll get into a bunch of great schools. Best of luck to you!
@hockeygirl10kat The ACT score didn’t do you any favors, but I think the worst thing you have going for you is your demographics. As a white, wealthy female, you are in the most highly competitive candidate pool. If you are from Mid-Atlantic or Northeast you probably would have had to find a cure for cancer to get in.
I feel your pain. I am your competition, and I got straight up denied, too. I feel crushed since I believe Swarthmore is the best possible fit for me.
@SuperGymnast_04 wow good for you!!! it must be exciting to hear back from so many! I applied to Amherst, Williams, Cornell, Dartmouth, Middlebury, Colby, Colgate, Skidmore, Vassar, Bowdoin, and Swarthmore. Good luck to you!!
@hockeygirl10kat I think your ACT was fine. Who knows. Maybe they wanted you to have started your own non-profit? Maybe they wanted students from high-end prep schools? Maybe your essay didn’t make them cry. My D was rejected. She’s got an ACT=35, GPA uw 3.95, all IB courses - even took Calculus her freshman year, AP Calc BC exam score 5, studied Japanese her freshman year and took an exam to skip a full grade into College in the Schools Year 3, then after that lived a year in Japan on exchange (now fluent), black belt in Taekwondo, symphony violinist, took math classes at the university like multivariate calculus and differential equations and got A’s. She’s interested in majoring in physics and math which are less common for girls…seemed like she had a good chance. Two schools gave her early writes admitting her, one with a $100,000 scholarship and both specifically said her essay really moved them. And…she got rejected from Swarthmore. So who knows? Swarthmore is known for being quirky - maybe they are seeking really quirky applicants? Maybe they just had amazing applicants and there was just no good way to choose.
Hey guys! I never post on CC but I figured I would do so to give some hope to those looking into Swarthmore.
I got accepted RD.
SAT: 1470 (3rd try)
APUSH: 4
AP Euro & AP Seminar = 3
I did not submit SAT subject tests.
GPA: 99.093
ECs: run track, co editor of newspaper, competed at DECA Internationals, Cabaret Night Vocal Captain and did some social activism in my community but that only started during my senior year.
Race: Afro-Caribbean
Income: about 100k
Each college has a particular fit that they do not tell students. It goes beyond mere grades and school involvement, but instead who the student is at heart. That’s why the Common App essay and supplements are so important, especially for highly selective schools. For Swarthmore, I wrote a kind of love letter as my supplement lol. I used to read CC and feel so insecure about my scores and involvement. I’m telling you IT DOES NOT MATTER. Everyone’s gonna tell you what you should/should not doas if there’s a particular formula. THERE ISNT. Stay true to yourself. Do things because you really enjoy them, not because you think a college would prefer it. College acceptances are not a crapshoot. If you didn’t get into a school, then their loss! You did your part and they did theirs. Don’t sit and wonder what it was about you that made them deny you and do not sit and try to evaluate why a particular person got accepted. It’s a waste of your time. You may not have been a good fit for them but you sure as hell will end up where you belong. Everything happens for a reason so sit back, relax and get off of this dumb website!!!
Also, here is my supplement. I already submitted it so i think it’s okay to post. I was so scared to actually submit this but the deadline was approaching and I had no time to change it.
I had a crush on Swarthmore long before I visited. I remember the first time I laid eyes on Swarthmore, well its mail. I was immediately attracted to the intelligent, yet comedic prose each letter included. However, I was careful to not let my love go too far, as I knew it was merely superficial. So, I decided to visit to truly see if my admiration was sincere. Before the campus tour started, our tour guide casually introduced herself as a double major in political science and math, with a pre-med track. She also was an active stage crew member for the Theatre Department. I could almost feel each parent’s uneasiness with her “lack” of focus. Coming from a high school where seemingly every senior knows what they want to do for the next twenty years, I was relieved by her confidence in exploration. At Swarthmore, I can take Elements of Musicianship 1, the Meaning of Life, and Financial Accounting without feeling the pressure to limit my curiosity. Here, I can pursue my passions whether it be performing original music at the Olde Club or conducting research on Caribbean culture.
To this day, Swarthmore is the only college apparel I own. As I visited other schools, I couldn’t help but compare each to Swarthmore. I found that no other institution was going to challenge and foster my academic and extracurricular ambitions as well as you, Swarthmore. There’s just one thing I need to know: is my love unrequited?m
for anyone with a low ACT/SAT score and is apprehensive to applying to a place like Swarthmore. Do not allow a low test score or GPA to prevent you from doing so 
even if these people on CC have stellar stats (good job for anyone who does!)
Status: Accepted
ACT: 29 (30 superscore after 4th try lol)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.65 (I even failed a class freshman year of highschool but I definitely proved to them that I could handle any course work by excelling in the most difficult courses offered at my school since. Do keep in mind thay i explained this in my “Additional Information” essay section because I believe so had a reasonable explanation)
Class Rank 6/49
AP’s: none, but I’ve been taking Dual Credit courses at a community college for 4 years now
EC’s:
I didn’t have a jaw dropping, laundry list of activities. I just did what I loved, excelled at it, and cared to better my community and society. I proved this in my essay too. No where did I mention the numeric value of community service hours either. IMO community service hours are overrated because the ultimate incentive to record ones service hours is for personal gains, and why do that when you can do something that you love that already implies you’re helpful service-oriented member of society?
Essays: I wrote about my experiences working at a laundromat, the lack of personal finance being taught in public schools, and my efforts to teaching personal finance to people within my community and online.
FYI: I put my heart into my essay. I wrote this essay because it’s something that really does matter to me. I was honest and I made it as personal as possible while still being professional.
Letters of reccomentation:
I go to a small school (200 people) so it wasn’t hard to develop good relationships with my teachers. I got one from my 10th grade English teacher that was also the advisor of a school service club that I invested a considerable amount of time in. I got one from my Civics and Economics teacher. I also got one from my principal.
Interview: lol I wish!!
Financial Aid: Yes
Intended Major: Economics
State: North Carolina
Race: African American and Hispanic
Gender: M
Income Bracket: 150,000+
Hooks/tips (URM, athlete, legacy, 1st gen, etc.): URM but it’s not like I fall in a low income bracket so I’m sure it was not a huge boost to my application as I did not face any economic hardships in my life. I do believe applying from an under represented state did help though.
Like I said before, stats arent everything and I wasn’t expecting to be admitted. I just knew my self worth, and I know I can succeed at the highest level among other bright and hardworking peers. If you have low scores or are unsure if you can be accepted but think Swarthmore is the right fit for you, do everything in your power to let the admissions team to think that too.
I thank Swarthmore for giving me the opportunity to explore their welcoming program, and I cannot wait for Swatstruck!!
waitlisted, some basic stats:
SAT: 1540 (Math 790, Reading 750) Subjects: Math II 800, Chem 720
ACT: 35 (Math 35, Reading 34, English 35, Science 35)
AP: Calc. BC 5/5, Chem 5, Bio 4; Physics I/II, Lit, Lang, and Stats to be taken
~4.2 weighted GPA, top of the class
Honors track, taking all offered AP courses at my school
ECs mostly performance (theatre, speech/debate, band) and community service
I was sort of surprised by the result, I did an interview which felt really good, but I guess I just don’t fit their class image. It’s ok because I’m in at Princeton, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Carleton, Grinnell, and Macalester.