<p>How much emphasis is placed on the why swat essay? And the question says to provide a "brief statement". How long is that exactly? Also, are the interviews weighted heavily? And my last question: Can a music supplement contribute greatly to the decision?</p>
<p>The “Why Swat?” essay is one of the most important parts of your application. It is your opportunity to stand out, demonstrate why you think Swarthmore is a strong fit for you, and explain how you intend to contribute to Swarthmore. It carries a lot of weight in the admissions office - a poor essay can be the reason your application is rejected. Because it is so important, you will want to familiarize yourself with Swarthmore by looking very closely at all aspects of the website including student and faculty pages. My daughter’s Why Swat essay was three pages, 12-point font, double-spaced. As a college professor, I offer workshops to undergrads for their “Why grad school?” essays. Here is some advice that I think applies also to undergraduate “Why?” essays. You will want to plan on several drafts and ask for feedback from others (a teacher for example). If your essay is under 1 1/2 pages, you may not be making the best case for yourself; if it is over three pages you are asking for more than your fair share of attention. One purpose of a draft is to lay it all out in however many pages it takes (5-8 even). Then, given feedback from others and your own ability to “slash and burn,” you can select the strongest ideas and themes, winnowing your essay down to a polished gem at no more than three pages. On my understanding, interviews are neutral or can help; unless you show up stoned or drunk, they won’t hurt you. My daughter submitted a creative writing portfolio as a supplement; she won’t ever know for sure, but she thinks that may have tipped the balance in her favor. A supplement enables you to show a specific area in which you stand out from the crowd, even the high-powered crowd that consists of all Swarthmore applicants. So I recommend the music supplement. Good luck!</p>
<p>Thank you for the advice. Why do they ask for a brief statement if they are actually seeking an in depth 2 or 3 pages? I was planning on just writing 1 page max–and I thought that was pushing it!</p>
<p>Having worked in admissions at a “top 3” liberal arts college, I have to disagree with libartsmom. The “Why Swarthmore” question is not a statement of purpose and the admissions office is not lying when its asks that it be brief. I would suggest not going over one or two pages. Regardless if it is a statement that reads very well or poorly, an admissions officer often won’t read beyond the first couple pages as she or he is operating under a tremendous time crunch. Often, when students do write several pages, they repeat things that they also wrote about in their personal essays. Some of the best answers I have seen to these types of questions have been one or two paragraphs. </p>
<p>Admissions officers prefer clearly written, succinct statements rather than ones that drag on. For graduate school applications, though, I would agree with libartsmom but that is a different type of admissions process.</p>
<p>So, answer the question in the way that best suits you. But do not try to stretch it out beyond what makes sense to you because it will also read that way.</p>
<p>libartsmom makes some very important points, all of them well informed. </p>
<p>I have to disagree on the importance of the length of the essay, though I agree with everything else she says. I have two Swatties ('13 and '10), and neither of their final Why Swat essays ran longer than a single page (+/- 280 words). Expressing yourself well and sincerely matters more than how long you go on.</p>
<p>My daughter ('12), wrote 1 and 1/2 pages in her Why Swat essay. She also submitted a theatre supplement and a music supplement. She did interview on campus during her overnight stay.</p>
<p>Ok that’s what I thought. I just wanted clarification. Thanks!</p>
<p>The Why Swat essay is very important. That has been volunteered in multiple interviews by Jim Bock, Dean of Admissions. It really is an oppotunity to demonstrate knowledge of the school (or, at the very least, competent research skills!) and to make a pitch as a living, breathing teenager who can be seen as an an active, interesting Swattie.</p>
<p>I agree that short is good. I would set an initial target of 250 words or one page. If you need more, you need more…</p>
<p>There are a lot of forum postings elsewhere on CC about the college application essay length. 500-750 words is a commonly reported range; many posters suggest not going over 1000. I don’t think it is wise to suggest that brief only means “under 300.” This essay is too important to ask someone to limit her or his thoughts to less than a page. All five essays in my favorite college application book, Acing the College Application (written by Michele Hernandez formerly in Admissions at Dartmouth), clock in at 800-1000 words. I think Interesteddad makes the best point in suggesting that if you need more than a page, you need more. That can be done and is done all the time.</p>
<p>Swarthmore’s supplemental essay prompt is unusual in not specifying a word limit or recommendation. I know people (classmates, '14) who wrote essays as long as libartsmom is recommending, and people who only wrote a few paragraphs; my own Why Swat essay was 1.5 pages, double-spaced, but I was aiming for one page.</p>
<p>Supplemental essays, as a rule of thumb, shouldn’t be longer than your main Common App essay.</p>
<p>^ I just violated your rule of thumb (my Common App essay: < 500 words; Swat supplement: about 700 words). But, well, they’ll understand.</p>
<p>I’m just going to write as much as I think necessary to answer the question. It will probably end up being about 1 to 1.5 pages. I think when they say brief, they actually do mean brief.</p>
<p>My son’s essay was one page in length. Part of it focused on his impressions of specific aspects of the campus and the rest was about his interdisciplinary interests. He also sent a music supplement. He’s a current freshman so something clicked with admissions.</p>
<p>Hello, I’m an international applying to Swarthmore too. Is everybody here answering to the same question which is ‘Please write a brief statement telling us why you have decided to apply to Swarthmore i particular’? In the common application space given, it says 2000 characters. So I based my essay on the instructions given. But you people here are saying more than 1 page! How am I going to write that long?? Never visited campus, the only source of information is the school website!</p>
<p>My impression is that you write as much as you need to. Never write more if you think it is too short. Never cut down what you have written if that means you need to cut out important details. Make sure you say everything you need to say, while remaining concise and clear, and your final essay’s length is whatever it takes to do that. Like everyone else said, don’t repeat yourself, and don’t even bother with the cliche “it is intellectual” or “close attention from teachers” and other obvious statements unless you can really explain how important those are to you. It’s possible that your Common App essay will make you stand out as a person, but if your Why Swat essay doesn’t communicate well why SWARTHMORE is good for you, they might reject you regardless of your awesomeness.</p>
<p>Do I have to mention extra-curricular aspects in my “Why Swarthmore Essay”? I talk a lot about the academics but I haven’t mentioned much about the extra-curricular opportunities. Is it okay or will they think I am a wallflower?</p>