Swarthmore is a well-respected small liberal arts school that is also very hard to get into. There are fewer than 2,000 students, and the most recent first-year acceptance rate was just under 7.5%. This was actually a slight rise from the acceptance rate for the Class of 2027, when it was below 7%. Compared to this, the Early Decision acceptance rate across Early Decision I and Early Decision II is comparatively generous at 16%.
To us, this is a really good argument for applying to Swarthmore ED II if you missed the ED I deadline, or weren’t accepted to your first-choice school ED I. Swarthmore prioritizes applicants who prioritize them, and a high percentage of accepted first-years are accepted in the Early Decision rounds. In this post, we’re going to break down what you need to do to strengthen an Early Decision application to improve your chances of being accepted to the college with one caveat: you have to have the grades. Most students accepted by Swarthmore have a GPA above 3.8. You can technically get in with a GPA under a 3.8, as it has been done, but usually there are extenuating circumstances that don’t apply to most applicants. So, if you have the grades and your interests align with what Swarthmore offers, this is what you need to do.
If you aren’t sure whether you are a strong candidate for Swarthmore, contact us. We can help you craft your ideal college application strategy.
Applying Early Decision, ED I or ED II, offers your best chance of getting into a highly-competitive dream school like Swarthmore. Simply applying ED isn’t enough, though. You need to approach the application with a clear strategy and perspective that will underline your interest and truly highlight why you are a great fit for the college.
The Quaker Question
As part of the Swarthmore application, they ask if you are a Quaker. If you aren’t sure, you aren’t a Quaker. Swarthmore asks this, though, because they have Quaker roots and may give a boost to applicants who hold the Quaker faith. With this boost in mind, each year we are asked by students whether they should fib and say that they are Quaker even if that isn’t true. This is a terrible idea.
Don’t fib. Seriously. We shouldn’t even have to say this, but every year we hear students ask, “but will they even check?” Maybe, maybe not. But that doesn’t really matter. Be ethical. Tell the truth. Don’t try to get a leg-up through something that could completely tank your application should it be found out.
So, the answer to this question is truly simple: If you are a Quaker, tell them. If you aren’t, tell them.
The Supplement
Then there is the supplement. The Swarthmore supplement is required, which doesn’t really matter because we don’t believe in optional supplements. If you want to get in, they are all required.
Interestingly, the prompts for the Swarthmore prompts are very long (and honestly confusing), but the room you’re given to answer isn’t. Let’s get into them.
Topic 1: Swarthmore College maintains an ongoing commitment of building a diverse, equitable, and inclusive residential community dedicated to rigorous intellectual inquiry.
All who engage in our community are empowered through the open exchange of ideas guided by equity and social responsibility to thrive and contribute as bridge builders within global communities.
Our identities and perspectives are supported and developed by our immediate contexts and lived experiences – in our neighborhoods, families, classrooms, communities of faith, and more.
What aspects of your self-identity or personal background are most significant to you? Reflecting on the elements of your home, school, or other communities that have shaped your life, explain how you have grown in your ability to navigate differences when engaging with others, or demonstrated your ability to collaborate in communities other than your own. (250 words)
Ok, so that’s a really wordy prompt. It can feel really overwhelming even to read through it. So, take a deep breath, and focus on the last paragraph. Specifically, the first sentence of the last paragraph.
“What aspects of your self-identity or personal background are most significant to you?”
After that they give ideas of avenues through which to respond to the prompt.
We agree with their ideas. Writing about how a community that is meaningful to you has shaped your life and helped you grow as a friend, community-member, and team member is a great avenue through which to answer the prompt. But it’s also not the only way.
Our biggest concern for you is that you may try to address everything they’ve listed in the 250 words they give you. The prompt is so long, and the ideas they give are so numerous, that it can be easy to try to do it all. Instead, we challenge you to focus. Pick one aspect of your identity or background. Pick one community or piece of your life. Pick one story to tell. And then knock it out of the park.
Topic 2: Swarthmore’s community of learners inspire one another through their collaborative and flexible approach to learning. Swarthmore students are comfortable with intellectual experimentation and connection of ideas across the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, and interdisciplinary studies through a liberal arts education.
Tell us about a topic that has fascinated you recently – either inside or outside of the classroom. What made you curious about this? Has this topic connected across other areas of your interests? How has this experience shaped you and what encourages you to keep exploring? (250 words)
This prompt is less bloated, but still asks for a lot. Again, in only 250 words.
Again, we can focus in on a single sentence: “Tell us about a topic that has fascinated you recently – either inside or outside of the classroom.”
Ignore everything else, and focus on this.
When you are writing the answer to this single sentence, tell them a story that embodies a passion that is either within your prospective major, or adjacent to it in a meaningful way. But while we just said “tell,” what we really mean is “show.” You need to write a story that makes the application reader as fascinated about the topic you are writing about as you are. They should feel excited by your passion, and want to learn more out of pure curiosity. The best way to do that is through a focused, detailed narrative that brings your passion to life, while contextualizing it (briefly) within a broader interest.
The Optional Interview
Swarthmore also offers optional 20-30 minute “interviews,” or conversations with a current student or alumnus. You can pick which type of interviewer you would like, a student or a former student, and we recommend picking the alumni interview option whenever possible.
After the conversation, the interviewer will write up notes that are added to your application file. And, while they say that not doing an interview will not hurt your application, we know for a fact that doing an interview will improve your chances of admission. However, they are not available to international students attending high school outside the United States.
The secret to a strong interview is to turn it into a conversation with a back and forth. You should ask questions, as well as answer them. Remember, though, that they aren’t your friend. You need to approach this with the formality of a job interview. You can get along really well with a potential boss, but you don’t jump straight into treating them like a buddy. Remember that this is formal, even if it is enjoyable (which it should be). And always, always, always send a thank you note via email after the interview. In the note, thank them for their time, and emphasize one thing that they shared that stood out to you.
Video Response
As if Swarthmore didn’t have enough information about you already to make a decision on your application, they offer a “Video Response” that is done through the Swarthmore application portal after you’ve submitted your application. The Video Response is open to all applicants, including international applicants.
You can learn more about the video response here, but the quick version is this:
When you’re ready to do the interview (i.e., you’re dressed, look pulled together, and have a quite space with good Wi-Fi), you hit record and they send you a random question from a list you can’t see in advance. You then have 30 seconds, yes, 30 seconds, to come up with a response to that question that you can deliver in under 2 minutes. Two minutes goes by super quick, and you don’t have time to practice. To help you out, we advise students to practice two-minute (or less) answers to simple questions before doing the video response. To do this, ask a parent or friend for a question then play through the rest of the exercise. Give yourself 30 seconds to prep, then give yourself 2 minutes to respond.
The questions don’t have to be college-oriented, either. Swarthmore gives “What do you do to unwind?” as an example.
They will let you try one more time (with a new question) if you mess up on the first go, but you can’t delete your second try if you don’t like it either.
What you say is unlikely to make a massive positive difference for your application, but not doing it can reflect poorly on your application if it is evident from your background that you have access to the tools necessary to do a video response. A trainwreck of a response can hurt your application, too. So don’t try to be funny; do be earnest.
When applying to Swarthmore Early Decision II, the bottom line is that they need to see in your application, interview, and video that you know Swarthmore, and that you know yourself.
Applying to college is as much of an art as it is a science. We bring both together for outstanding outcomes. Email us to learn more.