Take a challenging and rigorous high school curriculum. Your high school record comprises one of the biggest factors in regards to admission. Be sure to take courses in English, the sciences, mathematics, social studies and foreign languages. Honors, gifted and talented or advanced placement (AP) courses will also increase your chances of acceptance to this elite school.
Get good grades in your high school courses. Swarthmore looks at class rank and your overall grade point average (GPA) as well as your individual class grades.
Be involved in extracurricular activities at your high school and in your community. Swarthmore College admissions likes to see evidence of a strong commitment to the activities that you are involved in. A way to do this is to stay involved with an activity or group over several years during high school.
Score high on standardized tests. Swarthmore College requires all applicants to take standardized tests as part of the application process to the college. They allow you to take ACT with writing, SAT I with the ACT or SAT I with two SAT II subject tests. Score as high as possible as you can on these examinations. Since Swarthmore is a very competitive college, you will want your scores to be as high as you can get them.
Fill out the common application for admission to Swarthmore College. Access the common application online on the Swarthmore College website. Follow all instructions when filling out the common application. Contact the admissions office if you have any questions about the common application.
Write an outstanding essay. Swarthmore College requires all applicants to submit an essay as part of their application materials. You will want your essay to get the attention of the admissions committee. Spend time on the essay. Carefully think about your topic and have others read and review your writings for you.
Obtain good recommendations from two teachers and one school counselor. These letters of recommendations are required for admission to Swarthmore College. Make sure that you choose people who can give you glowing recommendations. Recommendations can make you "come alive" to the admissions committee, and this makes them very important.
Consider an interview. You can interview on campus with a member of the admissions staff or off campus with an alumni volunteer. The availability of off campus interviews depends on how far you live from the campus. Typically, you need to live at least a half day's drive away from the Swarthmore campus to have an off campus interview. While interviews are not required, they are strongly recommended if you do want to go to Swarthmore College.