As I said, it’s just my opinion. I personally can’t see how a school could be “a top choice” without having been there.
I do agree that ED does favor those who can afford trips. And, as I’m sure you know, there are fly in programs for FGLI at many schools. I’m hoping OP looked into these if eligible.
Your test scores are a little low for both schools. So you would likely be test optional.
Note that 72% of admitted Rice students submitted ACT or SAT scores vs 54% at Swarthmore.
So Swarthmore seems to be a little more friendly in admissions to the test optional crowd.
Good luck!!
Swarthmore has the “Discover Swat” program, a free, fly-in weekend hosted in September and October each year. It’s too late for this fall… but it’s there.
I think that if Vandy is your first choice, Rice is probably closer in feel to that than Swat although both are quite different.
That was my initial impression too. If Vandy is #1, Rice makes more sense than Swat. If you lined up all three and played the “which of these is not like the others?” game, it’s pretty obvious who is the odd man out.
I myself would choose Swat over Rice (or Vandy) on location alone. But I’m not the one asking.
I’m a high school teacher in Texas. My guess for Rice adding ED2 is that the admission office can start reviewing applications earlier, allowing them more time to understand the applicants (and to evaluate them) better. I believe they want to attract those who know why they would fit in Rice but don’t want to give up the chance of Ivy via ED. With or without accepting ED2 applications, the overall class size and the class profile would be the same.
It’s not hard to tell if an applicant truly believes 1) they fit in Rice and 2) how the school and student would benefit each other. I can remember a dozen students (in my classes, in the clubs I sponsor, and my own kids) accepted to Rice in the past 6 years and twice that many rejected. All of the accepted ones communicated with multiple Rice students and alumni, followed (or rather stalked) some clubs on social media, could randomly blurt out “fun facts” about Rice, and could identify several current Rice students who were similar to themselves.
That’s very fair. I did come to these two from relatively different thought processes. I was initially looking at primarily liberal arts schools because I really wanted a large focus on interdisciplinary study, and Swarthmore was one of the few that had a well-reputed computer science program and an engineering program that looked interesting. I do also plan on going to grad school, so that stuck out a lot. Soon after finding Swarthmore though, I realized very few LA schools had that specific criteria so I began looking at more of the medium-sized research institutions. Rice stuck out t because it seemed one of the few schools that offers a truly s-tier education while still a very happy student body. Plus, it fits the undergrad focus that I really liked in liberal arts schools. I’m not sure if that perfectly answers your question, but it’s the best I’ve got right now. If you have any suggestions, I’d be more than happy to hear them. And the train thing is good to know! I cannot afford a car, so that’s a very good thing to keep in mind.
That was also my thought process, though if that is wrong please call me out for it. I’m the oldest kid, and my parents despite going to college know very little about the application process so I’m just doing my best to make it through. I do think I’ll be closer to the 25th percentile, though I obviously don’t know yet for sure. I’m studying very consistently, and my English score was basically perfect so I’ll just not do the English section to keep up stamina and only study for math. I’m feeling optimistic right now, but we’ll see.
I wonder if Rice isn’t too STEM-heavy for your perfect English score to make a difference. How do you feel about your chances at Vanderbilt ED1? Only asking because my daughter has similar credentials, also perfect English, lower math/sci and will be trying ED1 at Vandy. The rural angle may work in your favor, we don’t have that. She is cookie cutter suburban “privileged”, lol.
"I will note in my circles, Rice has a reputation for REALLY wanting you to have very specific, well-documented reasons for wanting to attend Rice. ED obviously is a good way to demonstrate commitment to attending, but they appear to want even more than that, to know that you know you have good reasons for making that commitment.
It will be kinda interesting to see how ED2 ends up working for Rice (it is new as of this year). I definitely would not hesitate to use it if it makes sense for all the normal reasons, but I do suspect you should still only consider it if you actually do have really good, thoughtful, specific reasons for loving Rice (which is totally possible because Rice is great in some very specific ways that some kids find very appealing)."
I find Rice appealing because it seems to me like it’s a college that offers a really great education without the arms race that a lot of other colleges seem to have. The student body is very happy according to stats at least, there seem to be close ties between professors and students, and overall it seems like way more of a community than many other colleges I’ve looked at. I’m really wanting a place that of course will teach me a whole ton, but also is a community and a home for me if that makes sense.
I don’t know what that means. If you had specifics, it would certainly help, but if you don’t feel comfortable going into specifics on this forum I can respect that.
I mostly just care that there’s civil and actually productive discussion on campus instead of just an echo chamber. If it has that, I’m happy.
Not sure if it matters to you but Swarthmore is one of the last 18 colleges in the US that still require the Covid shot.
Doesn’t matter to me. I’m up to date on all vaccines
TBH, I think your stated reasons for attending Swarthmore are pretty generic. IMO, Macalester would be both a better fit and an easier admit. To my ear (or eye), it sounds like you chose Swarthmore because it is better known. As for Rice, I wouldn’t want to be caught there during a heat wave.
I had never heard of Swarthmore prior, so it’s not name recognition. I’ll look into Macalester. Thanks for the rec!
I echo previous comments that these two schools are really, really different. I’m curious as to why you chose these two specific schools out of all the schools out there.
A part of the puzzle that you did not mention – do you plan to attend grad school?
As a LAC grad myself, my advice is that you should really think about if LAC fits your expectations for your undergrad education. If you’re intellectually curious and passionate about learning across disciplines, LACs can be a wonderful place. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be the best fit.
You mention that you want to double major in a social justice related major. I will be honest in saying that these departments are highly left-leaning departments no matter what school you attend.
I do plan on attending grad school. I tried explaining above, but the main reason I chose them was both are excellent educations, Swarthmore is a LAC with engineering and great grad acceptance rates, and Rice seems like a very happy college with a community that is more than just a bunch of people living together but actually something more tight-knit. I definitely really love interdisciplinary learning, which is the main reason I started my search with LAC’s. I did kinda figure social justice would be left-leaning, but I don’t mind that as long as it’s left-leaning with some level of tolerance and discussion. Again, I just want it to be more than an echo chamber.
I happen to agree with @31fan on this. I’ve seen my fair share of kids who have applied ED without visiting and then have had major changes of heart after arriving on campus in the fall. Since the OP is undecided between 2 very different schools, making that decision without visiting either but rather crowdsourcing opinions is not making an informed decision. Just my two cents.
That’s fair. I just don’t really know what to do about it; if I’m constrained to what’s here in NC/within visiting range, in terms of reach I pretty much just have Duke whose environment I very much dislike and Vandy, which is my ED1 school.
I would never have let my S24 accept an offer without physically visiting first, but I also knew we could afford to visit.
If you have a limited ability to visit, you could wait until actual offers and then visit a short list. Obviously this rules out ED.
But if practically you can’t visit at all, anywhere, at any time, before accepting–to me this kinda moots the issue.
I’m just worried I’ll guarantee a rejection letter by not applying ED to at least 1. I’m not competitive enough currently to stand out a whole ton in RD to my understanding.
without having been there.
I do agree that ED does favor those who can afford trips. And, as I’m sure you know, there are fly in programs for FGLI at many schools. I’m hoping OP looked into these if eligible.
I did, but unfortunately most of them had closed before I realized it was a thing. Alas.
Your test scores are a little low for both schools. So you would likely be test optional.
Note that 72% of admitted Rice students submitted ACT or SAT scores vs 54% at Swarthmore.
So Swarthmore seems to be a little more friendly in admissions to the test optional crowd.
Good luck!!
Very good to know. I’m really hoping for the 700+ math score that will put me in that range, but we’ll see. Thanks for the advice!
I think that if Vandy is your first choice, Rice is probably closer in feel to that than Swat although both are quite different.
That’s also what I’m leaning towards at the moment. I appreciate the advice!
That was my initial impression too. If Vandy is #1, Rice makes more sense than Swat. If you lined up all three and played the “which of these is not like the others?” game, it’s pretty obvious who is the odd man out.
I myself would choose Swat over Rice (or Vandy) on location alone. But I’m not the one asking.
Why if you don’t mind me asking? I’d love to hear your thought process.
I’m a high school teacher in Texas. My guess for Rice adding ED2 is that the admission office can start reviewing applications earlier, allowing them more time to understand the applicants (and to evaluate them) better. I believe they want to attract those who know why they would fit in Rice but don’t want to give up the chance of Ivy via ED. With or without accepting ED2 applications, the overall class size and the class profile would be the same.
It’s not hard to tell if an applicant truly believes 1) they fit in Rice and 2) how the school and student would benefit each other. I can remember a dozen students (in my classes, in the clubs I sponsor, and my own kids) accepted to Rice in the past 6 years and twice that many rejected. All of the accepted ones communicated with multiple Rice students and alumni, followed (or rather stalked) some clubs on social media, could randomly blurt out “fun facts” about Rice, and could identify several current Rice students who were similar to themselves.
Very good to know. It’s rather hard to form such a close connection with a school in that exact way while being about 16 hours away, but I have done quite a lot of research into facts and different clubs. Rice honestly feels like a better fit, but also harder to get into. It’s a weird balancing game
I wonder if Rice isn’t too STEM-heavy for your perfect English score to make a difference. How do you feel about your chances at Vanderbilt ED1? Only asking because my daughter has similar credentials, also perfect English, lower math/sci and will be trying ED1 at Vandy. The rural angle may work in your favor, we don’t have that. She is cookie cutter suburban “privileged”, lol.
That’s one of the things I’m most worried about to be honest. My current strat is just to get my math score up there, and see what happens from there. I don’t think my odds at Vandy are great, but they definitely could be worse too. We’ll see what happens
@Mwfan1921 @Momofthree24 @NiceUnparticularMan @Strannik @NemesisLead @happy1
Good strategy, to get your math score up, we are also pursuing that…Problem is time is running out. Good luck to you regardless. I wouldn’t worry about missing out on Swarthmore 
Good luck to you and your daughter! We’re all in this crazy admissions world together lol
Off hand it sounds to me like Rice has much more of the vibe you are looking for, and of course extremely strong academics.
One possible alternative would be WashU. VERY nice campus, in St Louis so a little more like Philly, very big interdisciplinary focus, generally gets decent reviews for being welcoming of diverse worldviews. It is often considered in that same competitive set with Vanderbilt and Rice.
If you are interested in other academicky LACs to consider with ED 2 and with maybe more of that vibe, you might check out Haverford, Carleton, and Vassar.
Wesleyan University, in Middletown CT (3,000 students) admits about 17% of its applicants and is replete with interdisciplinary programs of all sorts. One that might interest you is its Integrated Design, Engineering, Arts and Society major nested within its brand-new College of Design and Engineering Studies:
Drawing on Wesleyan’s liberal arts tradition, students complete courses across all three academic divisions before establishing an area of focus. The linked IDEAS major is secondary to a primary major (e.g., Art Studio, Biology, Computer Science, Theatre, Physics, etc.) and students must complete all the graduation requirements from their primary major in addition to those of the IDEAS major. Each student works closely with an IDEAS advisor to develop their individual course of study, including a major capstone project, and assemble a portfolio encompassing work developed within IDEAS courses.
About the IDEAS Linked Major, College of Design and Engineering Studies - Wesleyan University
Oh yeah, Wesleyan should have been on my list of academicky LACs with ED 2 and a vibe like the one you are describing. And not as an after thought, it is a very strong possibility.
I actually really like WashU, but I don’t think I can afford it. I should run it through a net price calculator to confirm, but it has a reputation of being stupidly expensive.
I will definitely add it to my list and do some more research. This looks very cool actually.
My son just started as a Freshman CS major at Rice. He is really liking it so far – both the academics and social life. Let me know if you have any specific questions.
My sophomore dsughter at Rice loved Swarthmore also - I thought she might ED there at one point -so I can totally see those two, these had everything my daughter wanted.
I just want to point out about the SAT score and Rice: I believe it’s SAT recommended starting this year and they really do want good scores!
I can’t remember but other schools she liked that was less competitive to get in was Bryn Mawr/Haverford and Smith (women’s college).
Edited to add: my daughter is a double major, applied math /stats and public health, and explored other social justice-y second major at Rice. Lot of great programs you can take advantage of. Very happy.
Awesome! Congrats to your son! What’s his favorite part of Rice so far, if you don’t mind me asking?