Waitlisted at Swarthmore. What next?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Swarthmore College
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I was waitlisted at Swarthmore College today. I was happy it wasn’t a rejection, but naturally I wondered what made them not accept me. What can I do next to possibly get in? Also, does anyone know the stats for Swarthmore’s waitlist or similar LACs? Thanks :slight_smile:

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You can let the admissions officer know ASAP you want in and will accept if they admit you. If they have a form asking if you want to be on the waitlist, fill it out ASAP.

That said, never get emotionally attached to a school. Swarthmore is fantastic as are many others - so hopefully you have plenty of other alternatives.

At a school like Swarthmore, there’s no such thing as a sure thing so you shouldn’t be surprised not to get in.

This year, as many top schools got more apps than normal, they are wait listing a lot - just in case their projections on hitting their #s is off base.

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Make sure you really want to attend Swarthmore and not just get admitted. It is a small school with a distinct culture (Ex: Swatkward/ workaholic). Reach out, connect with AO. Be genuine. My daughter was accepted off waitlist for Class of 2022 and is incredibly happy and cannot imagine being anywhere else. Life changing. She often jokes that all her friends were admitted either ED or off the waitlist! Her brother is the rare RD in her world- just admitted Class 2025.
Make sure it is what you want it and keep fighting for it. In the end things usually work out with hidden blessings. Best of luck to you where ever you end up!

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Also- don’t get discouraged! Likely over 11,000 incredible students got rejected or waitlisted. No way to know what/ why for each. They try build a curious, healthy, diverse, balanced class that they hope will enroll.

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Has anyone else received two emails from Swarthmore asking to confirm interest in staying on the waitlist? I’ve said yes twice but wanted to know if this was common.

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I asked about the waitlist:

I appreciate your checking in and hope things are going well on your end. At the moment, we’re still unsure if we would go to the waitlist this year given the movement we continue to see in and out of the class. We will send an email update on the status of the waitlist in the coming days - apologies for not having a more definite answer.