Swarthmore / Interview
The Swarthmore interview
Optional interview, and it carries minor weight in the decision. Here is how it works and how to prepare.
Optional interview
Optional alumni interview, ~30-45 min, conducted by local alumni volunteers in your area or virtually
How to prepare for Swarthmore
- Swarthmore's alumni interviewers are volunteers who cannot advocate for you internally , treat the conversation as a chance to reflect genuinely on your intellectual curiosity and fit with a small, collaborative liberal arts environment, not as a high-stakes evaluation.
- Prepare to speak concretely about intellectual interests and ideas that excite you outside the classroom , Swarthmore values students who pursue learning for its own sake, so generic answers about 'making an impact' land poorly.
- Not all applicants receive an interview offer; availability depends on alumni in your region. If you do not get one, it is not a disadvantage , focus your energy on the essays and demonstrated interest through other channels.
- Ask the interviewer a genuine question about their own Swarthmore experience , this signals intellectual engagement and turns the conversation into a two-way exchange, which aligns well with the school's Quaker discussion-based culture.
Practice before the real thing
Rehearse real admissions-interview questions and get an honest read on your answers, what an interviewer hears, where you sound generic, and what to sharpen. We coach you; we never script you.
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