Meet our Mentors | Sophia’s journey to Swarthmore

We interviewed one of our many incredible Mentors, Sophia, who graduated from Swarthmore in 2020! Read on to learn how Sophia navigated early applications, applied to universities outside the United States, and made the most of Swarthmore’s liberal arts education.

Sophia, thanks for sitting down with us. Let’s start with the basics. Can you share where you went to college, when you graduated, and what you studied?

I went to Swarthmore College and graduated in 2020. I studied Peace and Conflict Studies with a Minor in Psychology.

But since Swarthmore is a liberal arts college, I was able to have my hands in many pots as the expression goes. It took me a while to get to that major and minor.

So when you say liberal arts college, what do you mean? People hear a lot about this. Can you help demysitfy?

These are a group of schools that are highly interdisciplenary, have a lot of requirements in a lot of different fields, and try to give you a broad base of knowledge at the start. You don’t apply out of high school for a specific track of study. You take courses across fields, then you decide what to study. There’s a unique emphasis on teaching students how to think.

Thanks for that. That sounds wonderful.

I want to flash back to junior and senior year of high school and your application process. Did you apply anywhere early, whether that’s Early Action (EA), Restrictive Early Action (REA), Early Decision (ED), or something else?

I applied to Swarthmore ED II. So Early Decision is a binding application to a college. That is, if you get in, you will go. The “II” comes from the timeline. ED “I” application deadlines are usually end of October/early November and you hear back in mid-December. With ED II, you apply around Jan. 1, but they get back to you earlier than with Regular Decision. So I heard back from Swarthmore in February, vs. with a Regular Decision application I would’ve heard back at the beginning of April.

I also had applied ED I to Columbia and early to the University of Michigan.

With Columbia, I frankly was not ready to apply. My application was not together fully. I was feeling a lot of pressure from my parents. They heard it was “easier” to get in, so were pushing me to submit an application. I remember being up until 3am reading Reddit threads and Niche reviews of Columbia and Swarthmore when I was deciding where to apply ED I. I spent so much time thinking about where to apply when I could’ve been working on how to apply. It’s funny how some good advice from a recent grad from those schools could’ve saved me so much stress.

You might say a Cohort Mentor named Sophia from Swarthmore would’ve saved you a ton of trouble? So sounds like Cohort is great and perfect and awesome?

Yes, absolutely, I’m saying I wish I’d had me as a Mentor. I would like the readers to note that I am making a joke and I audibly laughed here.

But also yes, seriously, I would’ve benefited a lot from Cohort. Talking to a couple recent grads would’ve put me in a totally different head space.

Back to University of Michigan. What about that application?

I was deferred.

Hey, me too!

And look where we ended up…doing this interview that will be published on the world wide web. Take that, Michigan!

Interviewer’s note: I chuckled here

So what I did is I emailed whoever it was, some admissions officer, at the University of Michigan. I was basically like “this is what I’m doing this semester at school. I just want to reiterate my interest. I really want to attend the University of Michigan.” The response I got back was incredibly positive. I remember the guy’s name to this day: Nick. Shoutout to Nick.

What then happened is I got in. And I got almost a full scholarship. If I hadn’t sent those follow-up emails, that would’ve never happened. But what I now know is you can’t do that everywhere! Some schools don’t like that. It’s a Letter of Continued Interest (LOCI), which I know we talk about in Cohort. That’s a whole challenge. I got lucky.

But then you didn’t go to the University of Michigan! Poor Nick!

I did feel so bad. But I got into Swarthmore Early Decision II, so I actually had to attend Swarthmore at that point! Remember that Early Decision is a binding commitment. So I was locked in at that point. It’s interesting looking back because if I’d gotten into UMich early I might not have even applied ED II to Swarthmore. I definitely would’ve applied still, just not with a binding commitment. Such a weird back and forth how applications work.

Wow. There are so many moving pieces here and just a treasure trove of good experiences for applicants to learn from. I’m requesting you as my Mentor when I do Cohort Junior Spring this year! Just kidding, you can’t request Mentors and also I am not in high school. But still.

I also want to pause on another thing you said. This is a really interesting thread and something applicants ask with Cohort a lot. You are saying maybe it’s not always the right idea to apply early. Is that right?

Yes, that’s exactly right. You want to submit the strongest application that you can. If that means waiting until the Regular Decision deadline, that is OK.

That said, if you are a junior in high school kicking off your Junior Spring, you have a lot of time ahead of you. Having a good early application strategy is always a good idea. That might not mean applying somewhere early! But you absolutely want to be in a position where, if applying early is right for you, you can do that.

Great point. Let’s get back to the more “normal” interview I do. So over the course of the whole application process, early and regular, where else did you wind up applying?

I applied to Columbia, Swarthmore, and University of Michigan as I’ve mentioned. Then I also applied to Wesleyan, UC Berkeley, and a few other schools in the US.

I’m going to again ruin your “normal” interview here. I also applied to five schools in the UK.

Wow, another twist! You’re kidding!

Not only am I not kidding, I am serious.

I won’t dive into UK applications here. I will just say a few quick things. First, this is a different process than applying in the US. Second, it can be a lot cheaper to go to UK or other European universities. Third, you should bring me back for an in-depth interview on applying to schools in Europe and applying as someone who does not live in the US or is like me. That is, grew up outside of the US but went to high school in the US.

Excellent sell. Deal. For all the readers, this interview has now become a series! Come back next week to find out what Sophia means when she says “OxBridge.”

I’m going to try this one more time. Back to my “normal” interview. Did you apply to any specific university scholarship programs?

Not that I can think of. I should’ve. But the deadlines for a lot of full-ride, sort of flagship scholarship programs are early November and early December. I just wasn’t ready at that point. So this is another thing where starting the process early can actually save you stress, but also maybe tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars. So start early! I also didn’t even know how to start with that research. There is so much info out there. Yes, there are databases, but it’s hard to parse even those results. The whole application process is information overload, to be honest.

Agreed. Join Cohort!

So why did you choose Swarthmore?

Because I got in ED II! I cannot emphasize enough that ED is a binding commitment.

Yes, I am sorry, I need to clarify for the readers at home that I know ED is a binding commitment and that I am just asking my standard questions. The right question here is why did you apply to Swarthmore ED II?

Haha I know, I know.

So I loved the concept of a liberal arts curriculum. I thought I knew what I wanted to do, but also I kind of knew I didn’t really know what I wanted to do. I knew at Swarthmore, because of that liberal arts college structure, I would be able to really explore.

I also had heard amazing things about the professors, the campus was beautiful, it was close to a big city, Philadelphia, but also definitely had its own campus culture. I also did an elective interview at Swarthmore, and I really liked the person who interviewed me. He was a current student. He made me comfortable from the start and the types of questions he asked felt like the right ones to me. It felt like a conversation that I wanted to be having, and so I could really imagine myself loving those conversations once I got to campus.

What was the best thing about Swarthmore?

The professors.

Wow, that’s actually the first time I’ve heard that so specifically in all the interviews I’ve done.

You’re kidding! Wow.

Yes, so Swarthmore’s professors are amazing. Swarthmore doesn’t have a grad program. So they are only teaching undergraduates. That is a highly unique thing about some liberal arts colleges like Swarthmore. I can say with absolute honesty that every single professor I had exhibited such care for me as a student. I could tell they genuinely wanted us to grow as thinkers and learners.

And how about your least favorite things about Swarthmore?

The size. Swarthmore was about 1,500 total students. My graduating class was under 400 people.

I will just say there were good things about the size and things I did not like as much. My main thing for high schoolers thinking about Swarthmore is they should just know it’s a small school. That can be so awesome in so many ways. For some people, it’s the perfect setting. But it’s important for applicants to know that. You don’t want to have the wrong expectations.

What have you heard since graduating that you’ve realized are unique things about Swarthmore?

I guess it’s that people like the professors!

I should be clear people didn’t say they disliked their professors!

I know, I know. Just saying!

What I’d add is the unique thing, what I have not heard about every school, is the relationships you develop with professors, whether through class or research opportunities you find, are really quite deep. At a lot of schools, the professors have a huge pool of graduate students doing research for them. That’s not the case at Swarthmore! So they very much want undergrads, college students, to be involved in their research. They feel accessible, which isn’t necessarily true at every school.

Moving on to more general college reflections, what do you think you’ve learned about college since you graduated?

I am incredibly grateful for the education I’ve received. There were moments in college where I wondered if I applied to the right place, or if I would’ve been happier somewhere else, or if I picked the right major. You name it. The grass is always greener, as they say. But now looking back, I can very simply and happily say I am grateful for the education I got and the experience I had in college. I think that is something I notice with so many of my peers. There was a lot of stress in college, but you ultimately look back fondly.

Any regrets about your college application process, decision-making process, or how you approached college? What’s that one thing you always tell high schoolers about college?

I’ll bring back my early application experience, since I think that’s something that can actually be informative for high schoolers. And to be clear, this isn’t actually a regret. It’s just something I would’ve done differently.

I wasn’t prepared enough, rushed my applications, and they wound up worse than my ultimate Regular Decision applications. I also made decisions based on Reddit threads. That info turned out to not be representative of my experiences. So the concept is definitely take early applications seriously and have a real strategy. Don’t rush it. One specific thing I remember but haven’t mentioned: I got an interview with Columbia and was talking to a highly accomplished alum. I was quite intimidated. I didn’t know how to prep. I remember feeling I was not ready for that interview. My high school had college counselors, but the interview prep was not enough for me. I wish someone had helped me prep better!

You won’t always be interviewed by a super successful, intimidating alum. I think I just had a bit of bad luck where this guy had worked in the Obama Administration at a high level. He was a professor at Georgetown. So that was a bit of bad luck. Another friend of mine got interviewed by someone just like me now: mid-20s, in their first job post-graduation, etc. You don’t get a say in who your interviewer will be. I wish I’d been prepped for either situation.

Finally, what made you decide to be a Cohort Mentor?

This will be my second cycle as a Cohort Mentor. I can say Cohort’s emphasis on not only essay writing and affordability and where to apply, but also talking about de-stressing the process is so great. It’s something I firmly believe in. I also love helping students convey their story to admissions officers in the best way possible.

Thank you, Sophia. It’s been great learning about your journey to Swarthmore. Thanks for your time