Tips?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Swarthmore College
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<p>I am a Junior and i will probably apply to Swarthmore ED next year. Would you recommend applying online or through the mail? Besides maintaining grades and doing well on the SATs, is there anything i can do in the next year to improve my chances of admission? I lived in Africa for a year and i'm bilingual (Swahili). Should i do something with language? If you know anyone who goes to Swat, what put them ahead of other applicants w/ high scores and good grades? Any suggestions are appreciated.</p>

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<p>Hello!
That's awesome that you can speak Swahili! Apply by mail or online? Whatever you feel more comfortable with. I myself like paper, so I applied by mail. I highly doubt they will hold anything against you if you choose to apply by mail or choose online instead. Definitely browse through Swat's website, a lot. Perhaps towards the end of the year, send an email or two to the admissions counselor for your area. If you find a department that you're interested in, you could try emailing a professor. Swat likes to see kids who like them. Make sure to visit if you haven't already. If you choose to apply ED, you may also want to schedule and interview and an overnight if you so desire. But don't worry about that until senior year. And one tip for all the colleges you apply to, get cracking on those essays towards the end of your summer!</p>

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<p>Assuming you have the grades, class rank, and SATs to be in the running at Swat, then I think there are several things that someone a strong candidate:</p>

<p>a) Understanding what is unique about Swarthmore and presenting yourself through your application as a Swattie.</p>

<p>b) Demonstrating that you are intellectually curious -- that you have used your "smarts" for something above and beyond the stuff you are supposed to do for school.</p>

<p>c) Bring some experience to the party that is interesting and could be viewed as adding something to the campus community.</p>

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<p>Absolutely. If you carry your African experiences over into an on-going activity or interest, this would be exactly the kind of thing that lights Swarthmore's fire. BTW, they have a fairly recent alumni from Ghana who made a gazillion dollars at Microsoft and then return to Ghana where he founded a liberal arts college modelled after Swarthmore.</p>

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<p>Oh, I forgot to mention that I know one kid who goes to Swarthmore... well, I don't know what his stats were, but I don't think he was at the tippy-top of his class, but he definitely was a very good student. He was a pretty quirky kid. Everyone loved him because he was weird, but amazingly kind. His senior peers voted him as the classmate you'd "Love to be stranded on a deserted island with." He loved reading books... Uh it also doesn't hurt that he played a major part on a nationally ranked track team. He was a very talented athlete.</p>

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<p>Thanks a lot for the advice. I read about the man from Ghana on swat.com--that's really cool what he's doing. I think I am going to do something with Swahili--research or translate a book maybe. I also want to fundraise for aids/malaria relief because some of my friends died from aids and i had all four types of malaria.</p>