Visited again today. Fell in love. Could I get in (new ACT scores)?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Swarthmore College
1

<p>I visited Swarthmore last year as a sophomore, but I didn't take an official tour and just kind of moseyed around. I rectified that situation today and absolutely loved everything I saw. Could someone please evaluate where I might stand when I apply in the fall? </p>

<p>I apologize for not just bumping my old thread, but I have new ACT scores and I felt like the old thread didn't accurately reflect my renewed enthusiasm. </p>

<p>Thank you in advance. </p>

<p>Ethnicity: White
State: Michigan
Gender: Female
School: Selective, somewhat competitive public magnet; highly ranked in the state and recipient of a USNWR bronze medal for the past few years. We send some grads to top schools, but most people don't really have a whole lot of ambition to look beyond the University of Michigan.
Potential Majors: History, biology, physics, computer science</p>

<p>Unweighted GPA: 3.97; school does not weight
Rank: School doesn't rank, but I'm pretty sure that I'm in the top 10%</p>

<p>Classes: I've taken a fairly demanding schedule that will probably be considered "most rigorous" by my counselor. I took three years of an English class for students in the county who had the top SAT verbal scores in the county (sixteen selected out of hundreds who took the test); it's being audited right now as AP Lang. This year, I have three APs; next year, I'll be taking two more and dual-enrolling at a local college that's well-respected across the country. I'm also planning on taking calculus, and I've had two years of honors science classes. </p>

<p>My school doesn’t designate many classes as “honors,” but almost all classes that aren't APs are generally held to be honors. </p>

<p>Test Scores:
--SAT<a href="January%202009">/b</a>: CR 750, M 640, W 720, Essay 10 (total: 2110)--will re-take
--ACT<a href="March%202009">/b</a>: E 36, M 29, R 34, S 30, Essay 11 (composite: 32)
--AP<a href="May%202008">/b</a>: AP Lit 5, AP Lang 5
Planned: APUSH, AP Euro, AP Bio, AP Gov
--SAT IIs**: Haven't taken yet, but I'm intending to do at least French and US History</p>

<p>Extracurriculars--The Weak Part:
--Choir (9, 10, 11, 12<em>). This is my primary extracurricular; it is a professional choir and I spend an average of five hours per week rehearsing with it.
--Almost 100 hours (3 summers) volunteering with an opera outreach education program for elementary school children; I'll have about 140 hours by the time I apply.
--Student Congress (10, 11, 12</em>)--top tens at several competitions, presiding officer award, one of the co-captains
--Quiz Bowl (10, 11 [varsity], 12* [varsity])—qualified for state, but we won’t be going due to a clerical error. My JV team was second-place in the JV league of the city last year.
--NHS and NJHS
--Work each summer for my father's business, but it's not major--like ~5 hours/week
--Interning with neuroscience unit of local hospital (12)*
--Joining a local robotics team (12)*</p>

<p>*planned</p>

<p>Awards:
--Several writing awards--second-place in fiction contest of regional youth writing festival; third-place overall in same writing festival in freshman year; first place in state literature competition—piece represented Michigan at PTSA national competition sophomore year. I had a poem professionally published in a selective international children's writing magazine in freshman year, as well. </p>

<p>--School-wide awards for excellence in algebra II, geometry, French, English, creative writing, etc. Not very exciting.</p>

2

<p>You’ve got a good shot. With your writing skills, you should be able to do a great job on the essay(s), right? So don’t let it/them be second-rate, and you’ll be competitive. If you can get your math SAT score up to 700, that would be a big plus.</p>

3

<p>You look like a strong candidate for Swarthmore. Key will be your letters from your teachers (pick ones who know you best and who have seen you at your most passionate as a learner). Next, the main essay and all the little essays will be very important so start working on them this summer for all your applications so that you can write several drafts. Finally, showcase those co-curricular involvements. You’ve done some interesting things and you will want to show that. Also, if you did not have an interview at Swat, schedule an interview near you (as explained on the admissions site you will be interviewed by an alum, usually within a 3-hour drive). These interviews can be as or more effective than on-campus interviews. To do all this, get the book, Acing the College Application, by Michele Hernandez and follow its advice closely. It has a great way to present your activities (just ignore those tiny boxes on the common application and send by separate mail a table as described in the book) and it has excellent advice on the essays and on preparing for an interview. I think you’ll see in that book that writing in one of the essay opportunities about that opera education project could be your way to stand out from the crowd. And it’s OK to wear your heart on your sleeve. Schools are looking for “yield” (accepted students who will commit to attend) so don’t be afraid to tell them with your application and with any follow-up additions to your file (writing samples, awards etc. that you get after the application deadline closes) that Swarthmore is your top choice. Specific examples of what captured your heart during your visit work better than generic comments. Good luck!</p>