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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]"Twenty-seven percent of the admitted students are among the first generation in their family to attend college. A total of 27% are affiliated with local, national, and international community-based organizations such as A Better Chance (ABC), College Match, EducationUSA, Gear Up, Lenfest Scholars Foundation, Matriculate, Heights Philadelphia, Open Dreams, Our Moon Education, TeenSharp, and QuestBridge."

One third of Swarthmore admits are FGLI.  I applaud the school for doing the right thing.

Purely from a strategy point of view, it's better for a regular unhook Asian applicant to apply to national universities rather than SLAC such as Swarthmore.  The lacs are already really small.  With 1/3 spots to FGLI, the chances for a regular unhook Asian applicant is much smaller.  [/quote]

I am more supportive of diversity efforts than more than half of America, based on the last election. But 27% is really going overboard. And the need to scream this from the rooftops is also going overboard. I have a hard time believing that all 27% are up to par with the rest of the applicant pool. I'm all for giving them the benefit of the doubt if it is close, but my guess is that there are plenty for whom it isn't even close. Which is unfortunate because it drags down those who actually meet standards.[/quote]

What about another 1/3 of Swarthmore who are athletes and legacies?  Are they "close"?

My takeaway is do not ED Swat if you are unhooked.  Same goes for Williams, Amherst, and Bowdoin.  It's better for the unhooked high score applicants to just play the RD lottery.[/quote]

I think these schools have also shifted too far in terms of bending their standards for athletes. Legacies pay the bills, and unless you are writing huge checks (I'm talking a few applicants a year, max), legacies don't have the admissions flexibility that minorities, FGLI and athletes do.[/quote]

Swat should uphold academic standards with respect to athletes.  Or at least test required while admitting them, so that we can be aware of their real score range.  [/quote]

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