April Showers

Spring is one of my favorite times of year.  The trees and flowers aren’t the only things blossoming – people are coming out of the winter hibernation, too.  Anyone in Admissions will tell you that our work lines up nicely with the natural season.  We spend the winter months reading applications and working through committee, often at the expense of daily social interactions.  We get to know “our kids,” we advocate hard for their place in the class.  We hoot and holler when they are admitted.  We stuff their admissions packets with a smile, reminiscing about their fantastic personal statement as we slide the glossy folders into envelopes labeled “The Fat One”.

Spring also represents a time of transition. We’re trying to woo the members of the Class of 2017, high school seniors who have a big choice to make about where they’re going to college, while welcoming the ever-growing curiosity and interest of the Class of 2018, high school juniors just beginning their search. We host a number of on-campus events, some of which are catered to these groups in particular.

Ride the Tide. RTT is our multi-day event for admitted students, held in mid-April. We typically have around 375 high school seniors come to campus for a whirlwind 36 hours, jam-packed with panels, club-sponsored events, faculty lectures, and tons of food. Programming runs from 9:00AM to midnight and there are very few required events, giving students tons of freedom to explore different aspects of college life. In the 5 years I’ve been in this office, we’ve always had spectacular weather.

In between classes, Parrish Beach is filled with current and prospective students alike. While it’s a fantastic chance for students to get to know the things that make Swarthmore unique, it’s also an exciting time for members of our office who finally get to meet the students we’ve come to know through this process. Students we interviewed in the fall, fought for in committee, and assembled acceptance packets for just a few weeks ago. So, if you attend an admitted student event, find your admissions counselor and introduce yourself! We’re excited to meet you in person.

Junior Visit Day. JVD is a program we do each year, typically in early May, where we invite students and their families to spend a day on campus learning about the college admissions process.

While we hope that ultimately many JVD attendees will apply to Swat, we also want to host an open conversation about college admissions as a whole. This means running workshops on financial aid, interviewing, and writing the all-important personal statement. We breakdown the admissions timeline, step by step, so that families can have the information they need to better navigate the process. For those who can’t attend, we post our materials on our website to ensure everyone is able to benefit from what we have to share.

Spring is a time of new beginnings. Whether you’re sending in a deposit to your top choice college, ready to join their incoming class, or poking around on college websites, getting a feel for what makes them each unique, it can be a time filled with excitement and possibilities. We strive to help you through this process, no matter what stage you’re in. Hope to see you on campus soon!

A Quiet Calm

There is a quiet calm hovering over campus on this gray, rainy Monday morning that feels something like the calm before the storm.  For some, it is the rush of the last final exams and papers of the semester.  For some, it is the excitement in returning home for the winter break and enjoying time with family and friends.  For some, it is the flurry of applications about to be read, analyzed and discussed. Ok, to be fair, that last category really only applies to the Admissions Deans but we are excited! 

The Admissions staff has recently completed our review of Fall Early Decision applications and those applicants have been notified of their admission decisions.  It has been great to hear from the first members of the Class of 2017 with such great enthusiasm!  As we look forward to the winter break, our staff is already reviewing applications for Winter Early Decision and Regular Decision.  Although our office will be closed from Dec ember 24 through January 2, the application deadline remains January 1.   Can you imagine what our office used to look like coming back from winter break to bins and bins of applications delivered from the US Postal Service and FedEx packages from our international applicants? With online applications comprising over 98% of our applicant pool, the volume of mail has diminished greatly but there is no less work to be done.  Our incredible processing staff will compile complete files so that each Admissions Dean will be ready to hit the ground running after break (by running we clearly mean sitting at a desk, dining room table or couch reading applications on our computers!).

As we look forward to some time off over the winter break, there is no doubt many of you will be putting the finishing touches on your applications.  Thank you for the careful attention paid to your applications and for your interest in Swarthmore. We look forward to reading your applications. 

So Where Does That Admissions Representative Come From?

The fountain at the Detroit airport — one of 13 airports that I dropped by during my travels!

It’s mid-November, which means that in the world of college admissions, our travel season is wrapping up. As early decision deadlines loom on the horizon or quietly pass into the past, those of us working in admissions offices around the country switch from being road warriors to reading warriors. Soon, we will go from visiting high school after high school to reading hundreds upon hundreds of college applications. But, before we do that, let’s look back on what the past couple of months may have looked like for some folks in admissions.

You could write a book about the life and travels of an admissions officer (indeed, some writers have done precisely that). Many admissions offices organize their staff by dividing the country (and the world!) into various territories. Each admissions staff member will typically oversee a few territories, reading all the applications from those states, and travelling to high schools in those areas. My own task this year is to cover the Midwest and the state of Virginia. To do this, over the course of eight weeks, I traveled to 101 high schools, dropping by 4 college fairs, visiting 3 community-based organizations, and interviewing 13 students along the way. To get to all of these places, I sat on a plane for a total of roughly 8,689 miles, flying through 13 airports, and drove a rental car for a total of about 3,991 miles. I stayed in 19 different hotels and stepped foot in 14 states.

Looking down from the top of the Gateway Arch in St. Louis. Hope you’re not afraid of heights!

So what’s all this actually like? A typical day will start nice and early, around eight in the morning, leaving our hotel for a high school that hopefully isn’t too far away. Once we’ve made it through morning traffic, we’ll hit another three or four high schools, usually seeing anywhere from four to six high schools a day. Depending on our travel schedule, where we are, and other responsibilities, we may use an afternoon to visit a community-based organization that works on access to higher education, or we may meet with local students to interview them for the admissions process. Sometimes, a college fair will be scheduled in the evening, or if we’re staying in a city over the weekend, we may attend a college fair then too. Needless to say, our travel days are pretty busy and packed! Occasionally we may get lucky and finish up in the afternoon, but usually we still have to drive over to another city or get on a plane somewhere.

Thankfully, many of us have smartphones and GPS to make our lives a little easier. Still, we’re often traveling to new places where we’re not familiar with the roads, have to deal with unexpected traffic, or quite simply take a wrong turn and getting momentarily lost. Plus, it can get lonely and disorienting — many an admissions representative will tell you of that time when they woke up in an empty hotel room, pausing for a moment before remembering what city — or state — they’re in.

A quick walk in the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden never hurt anyone…

But it’s totally worth it. When we actually get to a high school, meeting with students to talk about the college or students’ interests, nothing else matters. For us, it’s helpful to get to meet the students who often end up applying, and it’s exciting to talk to a student about how our school fits what the student is looking for in a college. The enthusiasm students will show when they hear that your college is exactly what they’ve been waiting for all these years is wonderful. Plus, we love getting to meet your college counselors and learning more about your high school and where you grew up. It’s instructive for us to understand what your experience has been like, and it helps us better understand where you’re coming from and what you’re involved in.

We’ll usually have some time off at night: a great time to explore a city like Chicago!

A must for any visitor to Chicago: the bean!

And that’s the other great thing about travel season: going new places and trying new things. This year, when I wasn’t visiting schools, I got to try lamb brain at a Mediterranean restaurant in Minneapolis, visited the John Hancock Observatory in Chicago, took a ride to the top of the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, and got to browse the wonderful Cincinnati Art Museum. Last year, when I visited the West Coast for the first time in my life, I got to go surfing in Santa Cruz after some interviews with high school seniors. There is some downtime, and there are some pretty great perks to traveling!

For the adventurous, travel season is a great time to try unusual foods — like lamb brain.

When all is said and done, however, it’s great to come back home and get ready to read applications. That’s why we do all that traveling after all! So as we all wrap up our travels and start heading back, we now turn over to your early decision applications and get ready to do the opposite of traveling: stay in the same place and read for hours a day! In the meantime, let us know if you have any questions about travel season.

 

A quick stop by one of Portland’s beautiful lighthouses after a day of school visits.

 

Fall Early Decision? Winter Early Decision? Regular Decision? Every Swattie takes a different path to get to Swarthmore.

That is the question. With only weeks to go before our Fall Early Decision deadline, you’re probably not the only one asking yourself this question. For seniors in high school, the thought of Early Decision can be both exciting and terrifying all at the same time. Your ED application is the first application you send out; it makes college feel that much closer. For students admitted to their ED college, their college plans are set by December and they don’t need to worry about applying elsewhere because they have found their dream school. Exciting, right? Yet, it’s terrifying because it is the first application you are submitting! All of your application materials need to be ready to go by November and you are seemingly making one of the most important choices you have had to make so far in your life! There are pros and cons to the Early Decision application, but before you decide whether it is right for you or not, let’s answer another really important question: “What is Early Decision?”

The annual Pterodactyl Hunt is a Swat tradition unlike any other!

Keep in mind that all colleges and universities have different policies and rules. At Swarthmore, Early Decision is a binding agreement, i.e. when you apply ED to Swarthmore, you sign an agreement saying that if you are admitted to Swarthmore, you will attend. Swarthmore has two Early Decision deadlines: November 15 (Fall Early Decision) and January 1 (Winter Early Decision). The most attractive part of ED is that you receive your admissions decision well before the regular spring notification. However, Early Decision is a very personal decision. Since you are making what you hope will be a four-year commitment, you want to make sure that you are absolutely sure that Swarthmore (or your ED college of choice) is your top choice! When applying ED, you are choosing to make a very bold statement with your application, so the decision to apply ED shouldn’t be made lightly. All aspects of a college need to be considered (Am I going to be happy at this college? Is my potential major offered? Where is the college located? What kind of food is offered on campus? Is there housing available? Does it snow in the winter?), so remember not to get too caught up on just admissions or academics since your college choice isn’t just about finding a school; it’s about finding a home.

So, now that we know what Early Decision is, should you apply ED, or not apply ED? There are advantages and disadvantages to applying ED. As said, the biggest perk is that you get to hear back from us earlier! If you are admitted during our Fall Early Decision round in December, you won’t even need to work on any other applications! Even with Winter Early Decision, you will know where you are going to college by February. A very enticing thought, eh? Read on.

Students enjoy one of Swarthmore’s newest traditions, the annual Harry Potter themed, Yule Ball. 

A ninja waits to deliver a Ninjagram to an unsuspecting class.

The Early Decision pool is what we describe as “self-selecting” – it consists of applicants who have all said Swarthmore is the college with which they most identify and to put it simply, they LOVE Swat and have no doubts in their mind about this love. While it is a smaller pool, we often find that is a statistically stronger pool. Students considering ED should also keep in mind that with Fall Early Decision, we will not be able to consider your senior grades, so you should feel confident about your course selection and grades up through your junior year. The most important thing to also keep in mind is that when you apply ED, your family is agreeing essentially that they will not need to compare financial aid award offers from various schools. Financial aid is certainly available to our ED applicants; however, if admitted, you will not be able to find out what other schools may have offered you and your family in aid. Your Financial Aid award is generally sent to you along with your acceptance letter, but also keep in mind, that this is a likely estimation of what you will receive. Therefore, you shouldn’t consider ED if you and your family are looking to compare financial aid awards from different colleges.

Early Decision can be a great thing, but it is not for everyone. Not everyone can narrow down his or her top choices down to a single college by January let alone by November, so if you need more time, relax – you can take your time!

Swatties cheer on the Swarthmore Garnet with Phineas the Phoenix.

This is why Swarthmore offers Winter Early Decision. If you decide by January 1 that Swarthmore is your first choice, then applying WED makes the same kind of bold statement you would have made by applying FED; they work exactly the same way. The only difference between FED and WED is that since January 1 is the Regular Decision deadline for most institutions, you would be submitting applications to other colleges (only one would be ED though). If you are admitted to Swarthmore, you would then withdraw all of your Regular Decision apps (note: you will not be refunded your application fees, so keep these expenses in mind too).

Nope, it’s not a power outage! The Class of 2016 gathered in the amphitheater for First Collection. We can’t wait to welcome the Class of 2017!

If you still need even more time, that’s fine too; you have the time! Applying Regular Decision by January 1 does not in any way hurt your chances of being admitted to the college. It just means you are still exploring your options.

Again, we find ourselves at the same question we had in the beginning: “Should you apply ED, or not apply ED?” The truth is that I can’t answer that question. Early Decision needs to be a personal choice that you make in your mind and in your heart along with your family. Both ED and Regular Decision have their pros and cons. In the end, you need to find what is best for you. Hope this helps in making your decision!

Best wishes to you in the admissions process! Please let us know if we can answer any questions along the way.

-  The Admissions Office, Swarthmore College

Fall Early Decision
Application deadline: November 15, 2012
Notification: December 15, 2012

 Winter Decision
Application deadline: January 1, 2013
Notification: February 15, 2013

 Regular Decision
Application deadline: January 1, 2013
Notification: April 1, 2013

A New Season, A New (and exciting) Year

September is not yet over and already the leaves on campus are starting to turn, a clear sign that autumn is underway. New first year students are well into their fourth week of classes and October Break is just a few short weeks away. Hard to imagine that the semester is already flying by!

For all of you seniors, fall marks the beginning of an important and exciting year in your high school careers. Some of you are enjoying the classes and electives you’ve waited 4 years to take, while others may be gearing up for Senior Appreciation Night on your sports teams or the final theater performance of your high school career. It’s also time to start hitting “submit” on your college applications as you prepare for your next adventure. In many ways, senior year is both an end and a beginning. It’s a time to enjoy the final moments of high school with friends and activities that have helped shape who you are, while also thinking about the kind of community and opportunities you’d like to experience next.

The college application process is a wonderful time to stop and reflect on these past few years, sharing your stories of growth, accomplishment, and discovery in high school, as well as your hopes for the future. As you finish up final edits on your essays and prepare for interviews with admissions officers or alumni, remember to infuse these stories, your life, into your application, sharing where you’ve been, who you are, and what you’d like to become. Doing so will help us, the application readers, be your voice around committee tables, continuing to share your message and story with others as we work to build the next new class for our community. Nothing energizes us more than feeling like we’re speaking with you as we read your applications, learning about the moments in your life that have had great meaning, the passions you’ve discovered, and what you’re looking forward to next.

So throughout your final year of high school, remember to stop and take time to appreciate what you’ve done and where you’ve been, but most importantly, don’t forget to have fun and savor every moment!

Best wishes for a wonderful year to the future Class of 2017!

Dear Juniors

Congratulations! You’re finishing up what is arguably the toughest year of high school – junior year. You’ve worked hard in class, performed in plays and on the field, organized events and spent time with your friends. Somewhere, during all of that, you’ve started to act on the college ideas you’ve been planning – perhaps you visited a few schools over Spring Break or received some new information from schools after taking the SAT. You’re beginning to narrow your list and, before you know it, you’ll be clicking “SUBMIT.” Here are some things to keep in mind as you’re figuring out where you could spend your college years.

First, let me say this: There is good news. YOU ARE GOING TO COLLEGE. There. The pressure is off. Now the question is: where? Think about your values, your needs and your goals for the future. Then look for a college. Try your hardest not to fall in love with a reputation. Fall in love with a place that shares your vision of your best self. Spend some time getting to know the student population of the schools you’re most interested in – how do they spend their time, what did they do in high school? Google them. Email them. Talk with them in person. You don’t need to compare yourself to them or follow the exact path they’ve created, but knowing the people who make up an institution will give you an idea of how the school’s values play out in an everyday setting.

Now, a few tangible things you can do this summer to prepare yourself for the application process.

- Visit some area schools, perhaps even ones you don’t think you’ll want to attend. There is something to be said for knowing what you DON’T want and why. Take notes and actively listen. Always write down some initial thoughts after a visit; they can be specific facts or experiences, they may also just be feelings. What was unique? What was attractive? Was there anything that surprised you? Before your visit, prepare some questions. Always ask questions! Even if it’s the standard, “What’s your favorite thing about this school?” or better yet, “What have you learned since you’ve been here?”, and I don’t mean in the classroom. Give the people representing a school the chance to reflect on meaningful experiences they’ve had. Stay away from “What would you change?” or anything that brings to mind something negative. Let the tour guide or admissions counselor share with you the things that make them happy – you’ll all be in a better mood because of it and they may remember you fondly.

- Spend time doing something you enjoy this summer. Whether it is taking pictures with friends, volunteering, or an internship, make sure you’re reserving time to just be yourself. You may find that you learn more doing these things than anything else. If you need to, you can find ways to relay the importance of any event in a college essay. We read great essays about traveling to visit family in another place, what you learned from the people you work with, or the influence of a favorite book. Remember, the best essays are the ones that say something about you – who you are, what you believe, and where you’re headed. You may not be able to identify these things if you’re filling your time with what other people think you should do.

- Get a head start on your applications! Figure out who you want to write your recommendation letters, and be prepared to talk with them about it when school begins, or maybe even before the first day. Prepare an abbreviated resume so they’re aware of everything you do. Swarthmore requires two letters of recommendation from core academic teachers – there may be a third person you’d like to write on your behalf, perhaps a band teacher or debate coach. Talk with them too. Pick three topics for your personal statement and write the first paragraph for each. Share them with you family and friends. Get feedback. Work on it! In the end, it should be something you’re proud of.

I am going on the record and saying to students, “Take back the process.” Make it about you again. Stop trying to fit into a mold. With some work and reflection, you can create your own standards and ideas about what you want and why. Good luck! We’re rooting for you.

College Interviews: How to Prepare for a Good Conversation

As we move towards the summer months, it’s time for high school juniors across the nation to start thinking about interviews. Just another item on the to-do list for some, but a daunting thought for others. Whether you fall into the first category or the second, or somewhere in between, don’t worry — we’re here to help!

We’ve written about college interviews multiple times before, but it helps to repeat some of the basics: the best interviews tend to be pure conversations, a back and forth where we want to hear about more than just what you do, but also why you do it. Remember that interviews are not just an opportunity for us to learn about you, but for you to learn about us! This is true whether you’re on campus, at a local cafe, or on Skype, being interviewed by admissions officers, current students, or alumni.

As we’ve written before, take some time before your interview to think about what’s important. Think about your life, focusing in particular on your high school years. What have you spent your time doing, either inside or outside the classroom? What did you enjoy doing the most? When you update family or friends on your life, what do you tell them about?  Cast a wide net: think about your favorite teachers, classes and subjects, favorite after-school activities, and so forth. Now, try to think about why those things are important to you, why you have enjoyed them, why you talk to other people about them. How did you get involved in them and why did you stay involved?

You don’t have to provide exact or final answers to these questions, but it’s a good idea to start thinking about them. Try making a list, write out short answers, or say your thoughts and answers out loud to yourself or a friend. The idea is to become comfortable clearly communicating your interests, passions and motivations to someone you just met. This can actually be more difficult than it sounds! Your interviewer knows virtually nothing about you, whereas you know all about your interests, activities, and motivations. Practice bridging that gap!

Keep in mind that it’s absolutely fine (and often encouraged!) to pause at length during an interview to think about the answer to a question. You also don’t want to go into an interview ready to regurgitate prepared answers, or simply give a spoken resume. Sometimes it’s better to focus on two or three things that really motivate you and are really important to you, than briefly mentioning a dozen activities you’ve been involved in without really thinking about why they’re important to you. That’s why it can be useful to think before you go into the interview: that way, you already have a good grasp on those two or three most important things.

Remember that a conversation includes two people! Pay attention and listen to what the interviewer is asking you. Again, it’s important to not just list off all the thoughts you had when you were preparing for interviews, and listen to the interviewer’s question. Don’t be surprised if the interviewer asks you a question that requires you to stop and think, or if they start sharing their own thoughts. Be prepared to listen to their thoughts and respond with your own. Don’t worry — no one will test you or grill you, but your interviewer may share your interests and passions and want to explore the issue with you. That’s part of what can make an interview so exciting!

On the flip side, don’t feel like you can’t ask questions either! Whether you want to hear more about your interviewer’s thoughts or opinions, or just want them to talk about Swarthmore and how we fit into your interests, a good conversation has questions on both ends. Feel free to engage the interviewer with questions or other doubts.

Finally, also keep in mind that the interview will likely be the most person-to-person aspect of the admissions process. If there is anything that you feel is best conveyed or explained in person that would otherwise not come across as clearly on paper (or on a computer screen nowadays!) feel free to use the interview as an opportunity to fill in any gaps. We welcome anything you may want to share with us.

To summarize, it helps to prepare ahead of time by thinking about what matters to you, what passions

you may have, and most importantly why. At the same time, avoid repeating prepared answers or presenting a spoken resume, and remember to listen very carefully to the question and your interviewer. Also practice makes perfect! It may feel silly at first, but practice with friends, friends of friends, extended family, teachers, or other staff at your school. Find ways of practicing interviews with classmates or other members in your community or neighborhood. Lastly, keep in mind that your interviewer is just interested in getting to know you — relax, try to learn something about Swarthmore from them, and try to have some fun!