Swarthmore vs. Williams

<p>^I don’t mind your “invasion” in the least. I do object, however, to HR–if he were a Swarthmore student, I would certainly take pains to disassociate myself from him. I assume he is older than me, so age is no excuse.</p>

<p>I understand that Keil, but I have a soft spot for young folks whatever college they attend. And I don’t feel judged by what others say. But I hope I have made it clear that I don’t share HR’s thoughts.</p>

<p>Older than “I,” Keilexandra. Gotta bring the A game to Swat.</p>

<p>^Oh, but I wouldn’t want to give anyone impressions of pretension, true or false. :D</p>

<p>SwatGrad,</p>

<p>Keil used “me” correctly. “Than” is both a subordinating conjunction and a preposition. When "than: is used as a subordinating conjuction it would be “I.” When used as preposition, it would be “me.”</p>

<p>Than as a subordinating conjuction: He is older than I am.</p>

<p>Than as a preposition: He is older than me.</p>

<p>How to tell if it is correct? When in doubt, switch to the plural. We would not say: He is older than “we.” </p>

<p>Sorry, but this is a pet peeve of mine! LOL!!!</p>

<p>When in doubt, one could also always use “I” and claim that the parallel verb is implied. But that sounds terribly pretentious.</p>

<p>???
hey where did they go? it is creepy.</p>

<p>I’ll have to check Warriner’s and get back to you.</p>

<p>UPDATE
Here’s my dilemma: Williams gave me about $1000 more than Swarthmore. Cornell, however, gave me $10-11,000 more than either of them. How do I go about calling W/S and asking for a better aid package? Should I do it myself or get a parent to call? I have no idea what to say besides the fact that I’m negotiating my aid package. Would it even do any good?</p>

<p>You should have your parents call rather than calling yourself. See this thread on the parent’s forum:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/906519-question-negotiating-financial-aid.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/906519-question-negotiating-financial-aid.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Call the financial aid office (parent calling is probably better), tell them that you would rather go to Swarthmore, and say that there is a discrepancy with Swarthmore’s aid package and the aid package at Williams or Cornell. </p>

<p>Make sure you are comparing apples to apples. For example, is Cornell including student loans in their “aid package”? </p>

<p>As I’ve said several times, if Swarthmore made a mistake in the way they are factoring something from the financials, they will correct it.</p>

<p>Actually I was wrong - Cornell is giving me only $3,000 in loans, but the grant is still $10,000 more than either Williams or Swarthmore.</p>

<p>I doubt Swarthmore or Williams calculated something wrongly since they both have similar financial aid and are similar schools…therefore it’s expected that my aid packages are very similar. I don’t really know why Cornell’s package was so much more…they claim to be need-based only as well. Supposedly the Ivies have better financial aid, but I can’t judge based on my case only.</p>

<p>By the way, I still don’t know if I’m going to Swarthmore or Williams. I’ll probably make my choice after Previews next week.</p>

<p>It’s interesting–and confusing–to me that Cornell is the generous one here. After all, it can’t afford to go no-loans, and I know several other students this year who received barely adequate FA packages from them. Of the ivies, only HYP are known for “better” financial aid.</p>

<p>I would definitely appeal, even if you don’t expect a change. Cornell is need-only, or at least claims to be.</p>

<p>Well, Cornell would also be a great choice, too!</p>

<p>I didn’t want to make a big deal about my decision, but I thought I should just post and explain my reasoning for my choice (so those of you who have been following this and its mirror thread have an end).</p>

<p>I visited both Williams and Swarthmore overnight, but I wasn’t convinced by either visit. Honestly, I was so nervous afterward because I couldn’t decide after Williams (I didn’t visit Previews, I visited the weekend after) when I thought I would know after the overnight. I was worried that maybe I was wrong and neither school was right for me since I didn’t love either one. I never got that “aha! now THIS is where I want to go” moment that everyone seems to talk about.</p>

<p>Anyways, I appealed to both Swarthmore and Williams for financial aid and decided that whoever gave me more money would be the school I would attend. Williams gave me an additional $5000, Swarthmore nothing.</p>

<p>But even before I heard from the financial aid offices, I talked to a few people who knew me very, very well. I’ll be honest - I was leaning towards Williams from the very start (I hid this so I could get somewhat more objective answers…though I guess it didn’t turn out that way haha). I thought the overnight would totally convince me, but…it didn’t. Now, however, I think that might have been a good thing that I didn’t have a totally perfect overnight experience. I am no longer going into college expecting every part of the college life to be absolutely perfect and the best experience EVER, with no flaws. I think many students, especially ED, go into college with that mentality - and when little things start to go wrong, it seems like the world is ending because of sky-high expectations.</p>

<p>Oddly enough, despite the initial misgivings I had from both overnights, I’m completely at peace. I tend to overthink things, and now that it’s over I can rest and look forward to next year. I’m happy that I chose Williams, and I guess I knew, deep down, that was where I would end up from the beginning. Though Swarthmore will always have a special place in my heart as well. I’d like to thank all of you for giving me your opinions and accounts about each school - perhaps I’ll see you all next year with posts on my experience at Williams!</p>

<p>PS: If you are curious or want me to elaborate on why I chose Williams over Swarthmore (besides the financial aid) or need help making a decision yourself, feel free to PM me, I’d be happy to tell you.</p>

<p>Congrats on your decision! Believe me, there is no wrong choice between those two. I wouldn’t sweat the overnight TOO much. Unlike you, I had a special feeling towards Williams from the outset … I was so into the school that I ended up applying ED. I went anyway to an overnight during previews, and I had a pretty bad experience. I didn’t really mesh with the people who were hosting me, and the other frosh I met were not people I ultimately befriended, which surprised me because my other exposures to campus were far more positive. I had also never consumed alcohol before college (I did ultimately start drinking at Williams, but not for the first semester) and that was a concern as well. So I was a bit apprehensive after that. But I (obviously from my posts here) had an incredible experience at Williams and made an amazing group of friends. But the lesson I learned from previews was, don’t get caught up in one small group too early in college, try to spend first semester meeting as many classmates as possible, to really seek out folks who you will ultimately form the closest bonds with. I dabbled in tons of different activities, with tons of different types of people, until ultimately I found my particular niche.</p>

<p>You have a very mature, well-grounded, realistic perspective, by the way, which I think will serve you well at college, and in life. Happiness in most situations are determined in large part by your enivornment, but in equally large part by your own perspective, mindset, and effort to engage and make the best of things. For all the parsing on this site, at most of the schools most of the applicants are ultimately deciding between, there will be lots of opportunities for a tremendous experience, so long as you adopt the right mindset and make affirmative efforts to branch out of your comfort zone.</p>