How to Write the Swarthmore College Admissions Essay

By Sarah ONeill Supreme Editing

Swarthmore College Excerpt

According to Swarthmore College (via their website): They strive to provide learners of diverse backgrounds a transformative liberal arts education grounded in rigorous intellectual inquiry and empower all who share in their community to flourish and contribute to a better world.  They commit to this vision by:

  • Offering a robust, liberal arts curriculum connecting the arts, humanities, natural sciences and engineering, social sciences, and interdisciplinary programs
  • Fostering innovative research and creative production and encouraging collaboration among faculty, students, and staff
  • Building a diverse, equitable, and inclusive residential community that enriches our experiences and expands our worldviews
  • Stewarding our resources through intentional daily and long-term sustainability practices, honoring our location on the ancestral land of the Lenni Lenape people.   Learn more about the College's Land Acknowledgement
  • Creating opportunities for education and growth among faculty, students, staff, and alumni by sharing in the multitude of talents of the College community, exploring the beauty of our natural environment, and actively engaging in the rich cultural diversity of our region and our world
  • Committing to peace, equity, and social responsibility, rooted in our founding as a co-educational Quaker institution

Supplemental Essay Questions Via Their Website 23-24

The types of students admitted consisted of:  Students who were admitted, cut to the chase!  They went beyond typical reasons and dug deep into why they wanted to go to Swarthmore, and what they’d get out of the experience they couldn’t get anywhere else. They demonstrated their commitment to the school while also showcasing a unique perspective. 

Supplemental Essay Example: 

“Arboretum” is a cool-sounding word, and in the case of Swarthmore’s campus, it doesn’t disappoint. A place that’s conducive to thought and in tune with its environment, it is the ideal place to develop my thoughts and discover my niche. However, it’s the ideas and values that draw me in; that fill the hallways and bring the campus to life. It’s the people who unite around these values, and wield them not as weapons of war, but as instruments of change and constituent parts of a warm community. These are the people whom I want by my side for four years; across a chessboard, center stage in Lang, chasing winged prehistoric lizards, or wandering across Parrish beach.

The apparent self-contradictions that make up Swarthmore: uniqueness as a norm, a sphere of discourse without dissonance, only amplifies its qualities. Its academics are unparalleled particularly in the humanities. The Humanities and Arts Career Showcase demonstrated how students mold their passions into careers. It told me that Swarthmore cares about how to transfer skills like writing and analytics to any vocation, proving humanities is worth taking.

I want a place to what mark I will make on this world; to pinpoint where my passion, proficiency, mission, and vocation intersect. I want to expand my horizons in every direction, be it through the active and eclectic student body, the liberal arts tradition, or the campus hiking trails; there is no place better to do it than the open-minded and open-hearted community that is Swarthmore.

By Sarah ONeill Supreme Editing Coatesville



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