Swarthmore Application

• Oh man…

  • It’s sad that I got rejected from the top school out of the 6 schools I applied to on March 19th.
    • Honestly, I didn’t put that much effort into the other schools besides UC/Swarthmore, so even if I got rejected, it’s not a big deal.
    • I put my heart and soul into the essay for Swarthmore, even though it was shorter, so I’m really disappointed.
  • Oh well, in the end, it’s probably just luck.

• I feel like it would be good to apply for EDII.

• Maximum of 250 words, choose one of the following three:

• The one that says:

  • We are inspired by students who are flexible in their approach to learning, who are comfortable with experimentation, and who are willing to take intellectual risks that move them out of their comfort zone. Reflect on a time that you were intellectually challenged, inspired, or took an intellectual risk—inside or outside of the classroom. How has that experience shaped you, and what questions still linger?

    • Essay History EE Proposal
      • It seems like it would be good for Swarthmore because I can talk about Understanding Multidisciplinary Thinking and cross-disciplinary topics.
    • There’s also Essay Unprecedented Case
      • It would be better to include a cross-disciplinary nuance here.
      • Show evidence of why I want to go to Swarthmore even though I’m strong in CS.

  • Swarthmore students’ worldviews are often forged by their prior experiences and exposure to ideas and values. Our students are often mentored, supported, and developed by their immediate context—in their neighborhoods, communities of faith, families, and classrooms. Reflect on what elements of your home, school, or community have shaped you or positively impacted you. How have you grown or changed because of the influence of your community?

    • Influence Received from Essay Community
    • This one is also good.
      • I’m not sure…
      • It’s kind of like an improvement on the MIT one.

• The one that I won’t choose:

• Why are you interested in applying to and attending Swarthmore?

  • Swarthmore is great, but it’s mostly in the countryside, whereas Swat is close to the city.
  • They have a good engineering program.
  • Cognitive science seems interesting.
  • It might end up being too cliché.
  • “Why Swarthmore?” and Beyond :: Feature Stories Archive 2009-2010 :: Swarthmore College
  • As a strategy, I could write this as an additional essay.

• Am I meeting the requirements of Design of the Overall Picture of Overseas University Application Materials?

  • If I can explain Personality that Prefers New Discoveries and Tendency to Think about High-level Things in the supplementary essay, then the rest can be covered in the Common App.
  • The EE proposal seems like a good choice after all.