Swarthmore College
Swarthmore College is a small, highly selective private liberal arts college just outside Philadelphia, known for its intellectual intensity, Quaker-rooted ethos, and a rare engineering program housed within a liberal arts setting. With only about 1,631 undergraduates and an 8-to-1 student-faculty ratio, admission is extraordinarily competitive — roughly 7.5% of nearly 13,000 applicants were offered admission, and enrolled students who submitted scores posted middle-50% SAT results of 1480–1550. The social sciences, computer science, mathematics, and the biological sciences are the most-conferred fields. Swarthmore is test-optional and meets 100% of demonstrated financial need entirely with grants — all of its aid awards are loan-free.
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Swarthmore admissions statistics
Acceptance rate
Total applicants, admitted students, and enrolled students for the most recent admission cycle.
Early decision
Swarthmore offers binding Early Decision. Applying early can meaningfully change your odds — but ED commits you to enroll if admitted.
Admit rate by application plan
% admitted~2.8× higher admit rate applying early.
Standardized tests
Swarthmore is currently test-optional — you may apply without submitting scores.
SAT Accepted?
ACT Accepted?
Test Optional?
SAT Scores
ACT Scores
Swarthmore supplemental essays — 2026-2027 cycle
Topic 1: Swarthmore College maintains an ongoing commitment of building a diverse, equitable, and inclusive residential community dedicated to rigorous intellectual inquiry.
All who engage in our community are empowered through the open exchange of ideas guided by equity and social responsibility to thrive and contribute as bridge builders within global communities.
Our identities and perspectives are supported and developed by our immediate contexts and lived experiences – in our neighborhoods, families, classrooms, communities of faith, and more.
What aspects of your self-identity or personal background are most significant to you? Reflecting on the elements of your home, school, or other communities that have shaped your life, explain how you have grown in your ability to navigate differences when engaging with others, or demonstrated your ability to collaborate in communities other than your own.
Topic 2: Swarthmore's community of learners inspire one another through their collaborative and flexible approach to learning. Swarthmore students are comfortable with intellectual experimentation and connection of ideas across the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, and interdisciplinary studies through a liberal arts education.
Tell us about a topic that has fascinated you recently – either inside or outside of the classroom. What made you curious about this? Has this topic connected across other areas of your interests? How has this experience shaped you and what encourages you to keep exploring?
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Class rank
Where Swarthmore's enrolled first-years placed in their high school graduating class.
Based on the 30.05% of enrolled students who reported a class rank. Swarthmore does not publish an average GPA.
Admissions factors
How Swarthmore weighs each part of your application.
Rigor of High School Record
Academic GPA
Standardized Test Scores
Application Essay
Recommendations
Extracurricular Activities
Character / Personal Qualities
Talent / Ability
First Generation
Level of Applicant's Interest
Class Rank
Volunteer Work
Work Experience
Geographical Residence
State Residency
Alumni Relation
Racial / Ethnic Status
Religious Affiliation
Cost of attendance
Estimated full-time annual cost from Swarthmore's Common Data Set.
Private universities charge the same tuition regardless of state residency.
Financial aid
Need-based aid statistics for full-time first-year students.
Frequently asked questions about Swarthmore admissions
Yes. Swarthmore is extraordinarily selective, admitting about 7.5% of applicants in the most recent cycle — roughly 977 offers out of nearly 13,000 applications, with about 426 first-years enrolling. With only around 1,631 undergraduates total and an 8-to-1 student-faculty ratio, the class is small, so even very strong applicants face long odds.
Swarthmore admitted about 7.5% of applicants in the most recent cycle, offering admission to roughly 977 of nearly 13,000 applicants. The binding Early Decision rounds run higher: Swarthmore's ED I and II plans together received 1,281 applications and admitted 228, an early-round rate near 18%.
No. Swarthmore is test-optional, so you may apply without submitting scores, and standardized test scores are only 'considered' rather than required in the review. Among enrolled students who did submit, the middle 50% scored between 1480 and 1550 on the SAT and 33–35 on the ACT.
A 1500 is competitive — it sits within Swarthmore's middle-50% SAT range of 1480–1550 for enrolled students who submitted scores, just above the median of 1520. Because Swarthmore is test-optional and standardized scores are only 'considered,' a 1500 helps but won't carry an application on its own; the rigor of your coursework, GPA, essays, and recommendations all weigh as very important factors.
Swarthmore does not publish an average GPA, but admitted students cluster at the very top of their high school classes. Among the roughly 30% of enrolled first-years who reported a class rank, about 87% were in the top tenth and nearly 98% in the top quarter. There is no fixed cutoff — the rigor of your course load and your overall academic record are weighed as very important factors.
Swarthmore offers two binding Early Decision rounds, ED I and ED II, and no Early Action. In the most recent cycle the ED rounds received 1,281 applications and admitted 228 students — an early-round admit rate near 18%, notably higher than the roughly 7.5% overall rate. Early Decision is binding, so apply this way only if Swarthmore is your clear first choice.
Tuition and required fees run about $69,226 per year, with housing and food adding roughly $21,466 before books and personal expenses. Swarthmore meets 100% of demonstrated financial need with grants rather than loans; about 56% of first-years receive need-based aid, with an average package near $75,926.
Yes — Swarthmore is unusual among liberal arts colleges in offering an engineering program, though it accounts for about 5% of degrees. The largest fields are the social sciences at roughly 22%, followed by computer and information sciences (13%), mathematics and statistics (11%), and the biological sciences (11%).
Popular majors
Bachelor's degrees awarded in the past year by academic major.
Student-faculty ratio
The number of students for every one faculty member, indicating the average level of access students have to instructional staff.
Campus life
On-campus housing and Greek life participation rates.
Enrollment by gender
Student diversity
Racial and ethnic breakdown of enrolled undergraduate students.
Source: Swarthmore College Common Data Set 2025-2026. Figures transcribed 2026-06-07. Esslo aggregates publicly reported data and is not affiliated with Swarthmore. Banner photo by Ugen64, via Wikimedia Commons (Public domain). Cite this page as: Esslo College Explorer, “Swarthmore College admissions statistics, transcribed from the 2025-2026 Common Data Set,” https://www.esslo.org/colleges/swarthmore (retrieved 2026-06-07).