<p>Good decision, I guess. My impression is that, to be really happy at Swat, you need to be excited about it. There are things that make Swarthmore Swarthmore (though I think the unusual-ness of Swat has been decreasing over the past five-six years), and the whole academic pressure thing can hit you hard if you aren't excited about everything else the school has to offer.</p>
<p>Be true to yourself if you can't possibly see yourself fitting into the environment at Swarthmore. I thought Swarthmore was the right place for me until I visited. It sounded great on paper. Then upon arrival, and seeing the people; I don't think I would have thrived there. at all. I ended up staying out West.</p>
<p>just tell them the truth. It's just the same as umpteen
other top lacs and that, although, you'd rather go to
Penn, you wouldn't mind attending Swat. You might
request a special room in the best dorm, and of course,
you are expecting a full ride... and could the maid do
your room more that once a week. Then, maybe you'll
consider it.</p>
<p>What is Questbridge?</p>
<p>Plainsman, the QuestBridge National College Match helps outstanding low-income high school seniors gain admission and full four-year scholarships to some of the nation's most selective colleges.</p>
<p>Colleges pay an annual fee to Questbridge and then a "recruiting fee" for each Questbridge student still enrolled in the college after a year. I can't remember the exact recruiting fee. It's several thousand dollars.</p>
<p>What's low income? How do I get my kid into QuestBridge? I think I'm middle class, which seems to be the most disadvantaged class when it comes to getting financial aid that you don't have to pay back. The poor get full rides and the rich don't need it. Those of us in the middle get screwed.</p>
<p>From the Questbridge website:
Financial Criteria</p>
<p>The National College Match is designed for students who come from families experiencing economic challenges.</p>
<p>Some of the factors we use to assess financial need include:</p>
<pre><code> * Annual household income: Most National College Match scholarship recipients have come from households earning less than $60,000 annually. If you come from a household earning more than this amount but still feel that you have faced economic hardship, there is room on the application to explain your situation.
* Additional information about household circumstances such as:
o Number of people in the household.
o The cost of living in your area.
o Other financial commitments, such as medical bills or support payments to family members outside the United States.
</code></pre>
<p>Also from their website are data that show that about 80% of previous Questbridge recipients had family incomes of $40,000 or less.</p>
<p>The Questbridge progam is small but growing. In 2005 there were 46 recipients. In 2008 there were 260 recipients.</p>
<p>How ridiculous is it to use "I really, really like your architecture" to tweak a generic Why ____ essay?</p>
<p>I think it would be possible to do a really good Why Swarthmore? essay on the architecture of the campus; however, it would have to be a really good essay showing a lot of detailed knowledge, and/or research.</p>
<p>It would be really cool from a student with a passion for geology and rocks to write an essay about the various types of gray rock used in Swarthmore buildings: the Pennsylvania schist, the quartzite from Vals, Switzerland, etc. Use it as a metaphor for diversity or something. That kind of essay could work.</p>