and here’s an article from philly.com http://www.philly.com/philly/education/20150128_Swarthmore_apps_soar_as_essays_shrink.html
So rumors of an early demise due to various controversies were greatly exaggerated. As, I might say, I suspected. My son (now a Swat freshman) had to write those two extra essays. They were not insignificant, especially since they were a bit redundant with one another.