Swarthmore College
Swarthmore, PA, USA

Admissions

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Key Admission Stats

Institution Type
Private
  • Coed

Need Blind

This school does not consider an applicant’s financial situation when deciding admission

Level of Institution
4 Year
Campus Setting
Suburb or town
0
100
8%
Acceptance Rate
13,012
Students Applied
19%
Transfer Acceptance Rate
1747
Transfer Students Admitted

Admissions Requirements

SAT
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No
ACT
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No
SAT Subject Tests
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Yes
AP Course Credit
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Yes
Dual Enrollment
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No
Transcript
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Yes

Important Deadlines

Application TypeApplication DeadlineReply Deadline
Early Decision Acceptance is binding so student must attend college if accepted.November 15
Fall Regular DecisionJanuary 4
Other
Winter Early Decision Deadline
January 1
Test Optional
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Yes
Application Fee
$60
Fee waivers available
Rolling Admissions
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No

Admitted Student Stats

In-State Students
8%
Out-Of-State Students
88%
US States Represented
49
Countries Represented
53
21%
Submitting ACT
39%
Submitting SAT
Average ACT Composite: 34
0
36
Average SAT Composite: 1469
0
1600
SAT Percentiles

Math
25th
720
75th
790
Reading
25th
710
75th
770
4.00
Average GPA
Students Enrolled By Class Rank

Top 10%
89
Top 25%
99
Top 50%
100

Admissions Resources

Admissions: visit page
Admissions Email: [email protected]
Admissions Telephone: 800-667-3110
For International Student Services: visit page
For Students with Disabilities: visit page
For Veteran Services: visit page

What Students Are Saying

Take advantage of everything the school offers! Create a project.
Some Swattie
Ask for help! Seek academic tutoring and personal advice from peers, upperclassmen, profs, and deans. Everyone is willing to help but only if they know you need it.
NY
Make sure you love to learn for the sake of learning. If you're more interested in college as a means to an end, you will probably be pretty unhappy at Swarthmore.
Sarah from Wynnewood, PA
Come to Swarthmore with an open mind. Do your research and visit the campus before you commit to attending the school. It is a wonderful experience for many people but is definitely not the place for everyone. I would recommend participating in overnight visits such as Ride The Tide (perspective students weekend) to talk to current students.
Emily from Ellicott City, MD
Try to provide an accurate representation of yourself on your application. Call the admissions office if you have any questions at all; they are so nice and helpful!
Kelly from Los Angeles, CA
Be open to new things. SEPTA will be your frienemy, take the train into Philadelphia and explore the whole city (I recommend getting a day pass and a map and just seeing all the sights). Go to the Amphitheater when it's full, and alone or with just a few friends. Take advantage of all the free opportunities around town. Get a ridiculous amount of candy from the Head Nut when you're having a bad day, or fries from Renato's. Be friendly to everyone, because everyone is friendly (given, some of them might actually be evil, watch out for that). Also, visit!!! The people I've talked to said that their visit was what made them choose Swarthmore.
High School Senior from Swarthmore
Swarthmore likes well-rounded people. I have friends who are fluent in 12 languages and worked for corporations in NY, or are ultimate frisbee playing, theater performers majoring in engineering, etc.
Just do what you like and don't feel the need to limit yourself to one thing.
Cally from North Potomac, MD
The college acceptance is rigorous but Swarthmore does a really good job about holistically looking at each student. Make sure you get an interview with an alum or on campus if you can!
N from Louisville, KY
You definitely need to visit if given the chance, because the environment is not for everyone. Some absolutely love how green the campus is and some wish that there was more of a city feel. Look up Swarthmore's fly-in programs (and other school's fly-in programs)! Fly-ins are (usually) completely free weekend visits to a school and can dramatically assist in making a decision.
Jacob from Wayne, MI