<p>I think Buddy75 is completely right. When I visited Swarthmore for Discover Swarthmore (a minority fly in program), I was stunned by just how varied and diverse (not just racially) Swarthmore was. Given that they are a small, elite LAC and have such an emphasis on sculpting an ideal class, it’s hard to say what got you in or what didn’t. Obviously, good scores and grades and EC’s help you out, but in the end you might not be the (insert a couple of adjectives here) student that they are looking for.</p>
<p>I know from my friend that goes to Thomas Jefferson (#1 public school in the nation) that Swarthmore is the HARDEST school to get into for them, even though they send huge numbers of kids to the Ivies/MIT/CalTech/Stanford. Maybe they aren’t the kind of students Swarthmore is looking for, but they sure as hell are qualified.</p>