<p>I have spent a lot of time at Swarthmore over the years and have fallen in love with the campus and people (my uncle is a professor there and I am very close to him and his family). I have good memories of having picnics on the grounds, official and unofficial touring, and the protests and concerts, etc. </p>
<p>I’ve decided I’m going to apply (it’ll be a pretty high reach)…right now I’m looking at the why Swarthmore essay…the main reason I want to attend/even know it exists is because of my family connection. </p>
<p>Is this an unfair advantage/will it seem like I’m milking it for all its worth because I don’t have anything else to say? Or should I go out of my way to include my uncle by name? </p>
<p>Does this help or hurt?</p>
<p>Most(95%+++) Stanford professors’ kids did not go to Stanford, from an employee work for Stanford.</p>
<p>IMO, absolutely have it in your essay. IMO, absolutely do not make it the focal point of your essay. E.g. “I was introduced to Swarthmore at a younger age than to most colleges because my uncle, X, is a professor there. That extra experience with Swarthmore has truly shown me all the qualities I love about it, such as…”
^This is a v. bad start to the why Swarthmore essay, writing-wise, but it has the approach I would take.</p>
<p>Ask your uncle, if he can do something for you he’ll tell you. Many profs can’t get their own kids into their top schools.</p>
<p>Use your uncle as a catalyst for your Swarthmore fascination?</p>
<p>Isn’t there a place on the application where you indicate that you have a relative that works there? If you are going to write the essay on how much you like Swarthmore and why, maybe mention him in passing or mention that you have an uncle that is a professor there and say what he is a professor of; maybe don’t say his name directly though. Don’t go into detail too much or they might think you are trying to use familial influence to get into Swarthmore.</p>
<p>If you can, get your uncle to do as much as possible to help get you into the school. He should basically go to admissions and praise your gloriousness. No, really-- your uncle is an invaluable source to admissions because he can give them a much better picture of who you are as a person, and why, despite you lower-than-average scores, they should give you a chance. You needn’t mention it on the app, just ask for a little push from him. If need be, sit down to lunch with him and have a good heart-to-heart about what your goals are for college, and how you see yourself at Swarthmore. But don’t put it on the application unless they ask for it, and don’t waste the words in your essay. </p>
<p>Best of luck.</p>