Chance me for Swarthmore College ED2

Chance Me / Match Me
,
1

United States, Pennsylvania, Citizen, Public High School, No legacy, Male

Intended major: Econ + Stats. Minor: Classical clarinet performance.

GPA + SAT: 3.85 UW (4.12 weighted); 1530 (730 english 800 math)

Classes (AP scores in parentheses):

Freshmen year: Bio(H), Band, English(H) A, gen ed for freshmen, Business, History(H), Phys Ed, Precalc (H), Spanish 2, and Health

Sophomore year: Accounting, AP Calc AB (4), AP Euro(3), AP Micro(4), Chem(H), English(H), PE, Spanish 3(H), Wind Ensemble (H).

Junior year: AP Lang(5), AP Macro(4), AP Stats(5), AP US History(4), gen ed for juniors, Spanish 4(H), Wind Ensemble (H)

Senior year courses: AP Literature and Composition, AP Government and Politics, AP Computer Science Principles, AP Human Geography, Anatomy and Physiology(H), Physics(H), Business Finance, Wind Ensemble (H)

Awards:

  1. John Locke Essay Competition Finalist with High Commendation (Finalist top 18% out of 63k internationally; High Commendation top 3% out of 63k); International
  2. President’s Volunteer Service Award (Gold 2x, 250+ volunteer hours); National
  3. NAKS junior leadership award (3x); National
  4. All State Band (2x); Region Band (2x); District Band (2x); State
  5. Future Business Leaders of America State Qualifier; State

Extracurriculars:

CO founder for Non Profit Organization(raised fundraisers, donated used instruments to kids, hosted free online lessons, performances teaching 500+ people, organized 30+ volunteers to raise 1k+); 12

Music teaching internship at Language School #2 (Led 30+ students in Korean drumming; performed at museums and universities to bridge Korean heritage & cultures with younger generations.); 12

Teachers’ Assistant for Language School #1 (Awarded President’s Service Award for 250+ hrs over 2 years; led Saturday Korean tutoring, proudly guiding 10+ adults and children to fluency); 9-10

FBLA regional winner + state qualifier (Led a team to win Top 2 in Regionals, earning qualification to the PA State Conference: enhanced presentation skills and public speaking.); 9-12

Youth Orchestra Member + Section leader (Selected through competitive auditions; performed for 10,000+ audiences, organized and coached the clarinet section, dedicated to harmonious music.); 10-12

School track (Committed 2 years to a 100+ athlete track program. Trained 10+ hours weekly and competed in 8+ meets within the competitive league); 9-10

Worked as a server for a senior home (Orchestrated dining for a 5-table section, promptly resolving guest issues and treating senior residents with warmth and care like family.); 11

Marching Band Member (Logged 12+ weekly hours (200+ seasonally) in rigorous rehearsals & performances. Competed in 2+ state-level field shows and 5+ major festivals.); 9, 12

Model UN (Awarded Honorable Mention Delegate; mentored new members and strengthened team collaboration. ); 9-10

Club swim (Participated in Swim Practice for over 10+ years. Passionate about improving my health through exercise.); 9-11

Essay:

  1. Personal statement p good in my opinion
  2. Letter of rec: had a great relationship with my two teachers, so im guessing pretty good but theres a confidentiality policy where i cant see them
  3. Additional letter of rec: from my internship vice principal, very good solid 9/10 9.5/10
2

Why did you stop math after calc? Not counting stats which isn’t rigorous - and none Senior Year.

Was your personal statement good in anyone else’s opinion , or just yours ? Did others review is what I’m asking.

I’m not an AO and you have a fantastic portfolio but if you demanded an answer, I’d say unlikely.

I assume you have other LACs in RD that are affordable ? Initially you wanted finance but you’ve now changed to econ ? Why the change ? Just curious

Where did you ED1, if you did?

Good luck - hope you do get in. If it’s your true favorite and the cost works, it’s certainly worth a shot.

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i stopped cause i really struggled in calc ab and i was going through some bad mental health issues. i talked to my consular and he strongly advised against bc in order to preserve my gpa.

i got multiple opinions for my essay including a family friend who helps with college admissions.

i changed from finance to econ cause midway through college apps i realized i dislike big schools and would prefer a small environment where i can just study, play my instrument, conduct research and do pitches, read, etc. i just wanted a more academic environment and i feel like lacs can do that. i also have no clue what i wanna do like at all so i thought i could go to a lac and maybe find something i could do for a career.

i did ed1 to uva and got deferred to regular.

4

This concerns me. You were way, way ahead of normal in mathematics, and you struggled. Calculus is very important for most math classes that you would take in the future, including quite a few classes that would be appropriate for someone with a statistics major. I was a math major in university and particularly liked probability and statistics and stochastic processes, but we were using calculus all over the place in these classes (some of which I did not take until graduate school). Calculus is also useful for some economics classes, as is linear algebra (which is a potential future math class for you – something that students typically usually would not take until university). Also, calculus is something that depends a great deal on its prerequisites (high school algebra, trigonometry, pre-calculus), all of which look to be things that you took a very long time ago.

I am wondering whether you should find some sort of summer classes next summer and retake or at least solidify your knowledge of all of the prerequisites for calculus, and then retake calculus starting your freshman year of university.

One daughter attended a small university, basically the Canadian equivalent of a Liberal Arts College (they do not use the “LAC” term, but have a few similar schools). She got a great education and I have become a big fan. She did successfully navigate a rather drastic change in her major at the end of her freshman year of university.

It sounds like UVA did the right thing in your case. By deferring you to RD they released you from the ED commitment and at least if you end up getting accepted they have given you the opportunity to rethink whether it is the right school for you.

I think that Swarthmore is a rather high reach ED2. To me it looks like acceptance might be possible, but is probably unlikely.

There are however a huge number of very good LACs. Hopefully you have applied to a few for which admissions is significantly more likely compared to Swarthmore College.

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5

You can study finance at small schools. Finance is not Econ and economics will be far more heavy math centric. You might want to re- think that. Finance is offered at many small schools - if you’d rather truly study that.

You dislike big schools but ED1 to UVA? Swat is known to be very demanding so are you sure that’s the right environment ? Did you apply to Pitt which is a fair sub in similar size or Miami of Ohio, Delaware, or Syracuse, three others of similar size ? Big is in the eye of the beholder but most consider UVA big

If you want finance, you might consider Bucknell, Susquehanna, Lehigh, Richmond, Babson, Bentley, Christopher Newport, Gettysburg, etc. - all excellent small schools that offer it, with Babson, Bentley, Bucknell and Richmond on most rankings that show best for job success and Babson (22), Bentley (25) and Richmond (28) on the College Transitions IB feeder list per capita - if that’s a concern.

I wish you luck but I don’t think Econ will be your right choice (I don’t know you but based on your math struggles) and I don’t see UVA as not big.

Best of luck in your apps. Hopefully you have a balanced list.

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I read back your old thread. You are trying to please parents.

I understand it’s cultural but they need to also understand that you are going to school.

Initially you discussed Michigan and Williams. Williams wasn’t happening.

Whether you go to Michigan or UVA or Pitt, Williams or Dickinson or Susquehanna, the common ingredient is you.

Study what you want, not what will get you into higher ranked.

Look in work places - tons of higher rank grads work for people who went to lower rank. Heck, I’ve got an MBA from a top 40 at the time and my boss has an undergrad - from a school I never heard of - W Georgia.

You’re not career safe at a school your parents perceive as strong nor are you doomed if you are at one they don’t.

When you look at any ranks on job success - you see those I mentioned, often ahead of the Ivies. I get that it’s hard but its your journey - not theirs.

The reality is - you are unlikely to be a top school candidate as you define it but no one has more data than LinkedIn on career success.

They rank Babson 7 - ahead of Stanford, Norhwestern and tons more

Bentley 15

Lehigh 17

Bucknell 21

Villanova 23

SMU 37

Trinity college 42

Richmond 44

Lafayette 48

I don’t think Trinity nor Laf have finance but these are more likely for you. And you don’t go in thinking transfer. You go into crush it and have a great life.

Large schools that fit you - 24 UIUC, 33 Purdue, 35 Miami Ohio, 40 Penn State, 47 Indiana.

The Wall Street Journal ranks Babson #2 behind Stanford and ahead of everyone else. Bentley #12, Loyola Maryland - bet you didn’t see that one coming is #19 and Swat is #24, Michigan 25, Lehigh 29, UVA 31 but easier to get into Delaware near equal at 38.

There’s so many great schools out there it’s unfortunate your parents have a narrow focus.

Truth is, once you stopped math, you likely no longer were a top school candidate. But you struggled so you took a rest it’s ok.

You’ll be great but it will be because of who you are - driven and dedicated.

Your parents will see that, in time
And no you didn’t make a mistake stopping…you went too fast and you were a bit out of your league and your mental health frayed best you got that under control.

And there are fantastic names that would love to have you. Forget the price tag on the privates - many have merit aid.

I hope you’ve balanced your list and that your parents will be proud of you no matter where you enroll

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