Swarthmore ED Applicants For Class of 2018!

coase
Thu, 19 Dec 2013 08:38:51 +0000

@kotbala: Here are some data on athletic recruits. The numbers are a few years old, but they give a sense of the magnitudes involved.



The question of how many athletic recruits are accepted is a “tricky one” because there are many more recruits in the pool than are actually recorded as being in the pool. While the numbers from last year say that 100 recruits were accepted out of a pool of 250, the initial pool was much larger, because there are many decisions made by coaches and the admissions department that winnow down the number of recruits who Swarthmore will actually focus on.



[Bock: Early Decision admissions ?works in the context of Swarthmore? | Daily Gazette](daily.swarthmore.edu domain has changed)

As I mentioned above, there is a first screening that occurs when the athlete provides the coach with information on GPA and test scores. This step removes many from contention. So, the 40% acceptance rate does not necessarily mean that athletes get a large advantage. (I happen to think that there is an advantage, but the question is how large it is.)

Many coaches strongly encourage recruits to apply ED, so athletes comprise a much larger share of the ED pool than the RD pool. That means they have a greater (positive) impact on the ED acceptance rate than on the RD acceptance rate.

As for the question of whether a student is hurt by being in the RD pool, we have one answer from the Swarthmore admissions blog:



Applying Regular Decision by January 1 does not in any way hurt your chances of being admitted to the college.



[To Apply ED, or Not to Apply ED? | Parrish Beach Patrol](To Apply ED, or Not to Apply ED? | Parrish Beach Patrol)

Of course, this does not speak directly to those who were deferred, but here is a thread that provides both advice and hope: