Swarthmore College: A Parent's Guide to Admissions, Cost & Outcomes
Haverford, Pennsylvania · Private nonprofit · Highly selective · CDS 2025-2026
Swarthmore College is a private institution located in Haverford, Pennsylvania and one of the highly selective schools in the country. For the most recent reporting cycle, Swarthmore College admits roughly one in four applicants, with an overall admission rate of 13%. Admitted students typically post an average SAT of 1498 and an ACT composite around 34. The average net price after grants and scholarships is $25,210 per year, which is the figure most families actually pay rather than the published sticker price. For parents weighing whether Swarthmore College is realistic for their teenager, the most useful planning step is comparing your child's current GPA and most recent SAT or ACT against these admitted-student ranges — not the headline acceptance rate alone.
What GPA does my child need for Swarthmore College?
Most admitted students at Swarthmore College present unweighted GPAs in the 3.85–4.0 range with five or more AP or honors courses across high school. Parents tracking their child's GPA toward this tier of school can use Solyo's free calculator to see weighted, unweighted, and college-recalculated numbers side by side.
What does Swarthmore College weight in admissions?
Swarthmore College reports the following factor importance in its Common Data Set (2025-2026). These are the criteria the admissions committee weighs when reviewing applications.
- • Rigor of secondary school record
- • Academic GPA
- • Application essay
- • Recommendations
- • Extracurricular activities
- • Character/personal qualities
- • Class rank
- • Talent/ability
- • Volunteer work
- • Work experience
- • Standardized test scores
- • Interview
- • First generation status
- • Alumni/ae relation
- • Geographical residence
- • Level of applicant's interest
- • State residency
- • Religious affiliation/commitment
SAT and ACT scores Swarthmore College typically admits
The middle-50 SAT Math range is 720–780, with an EBRW midpoint near 735. The middle-50 ACT composite range is 33–35. Scores below the 25th-percentile mark are accepted occasionally, but the realistic submission target for most families is the school's middle-50 floor or higher.
| 25th percentile | 1460 |
| 50th percentile | 1490 |
| 75th percentile | 1530 |
| % submitting SAT | 40% |
| 25th percentile | 33 |
| 50th percentile | 34 |
| 75th percentile | 35 |
| % submitting ACT | 14% |
- • Test-optional: Standardized test scores are not required, but may be submitted and considered.
- • Policy detail: Considered if submitted
Where admitted students ranked in their high school class
Class rank distribution gives parents a clear sense of how academically dominant a typical admitted student was within their own high school cohort — often a more meaningful signal than absolute GPA.
| Top 10% of class | 93% |
| Top 25% of class | 100% |
| Top 50% of class | 100% |
| % submitting class rank | 19% |
How much does Swarthmore College actually cost?
Published tuition is $68,300 for in-state students and $68,300 for out-of-state, before grants and scholarships. Room and board adds roughly $18,880 annually. After need-based and merit aid, the average family pays a net price of $25,210 per year — the number that actually matters for budgeting. Roughly 14% of students receive Pell Grants, a useful indicator of how much need-based aid the school distributes.
| In-state tuition | $74,930 |
| Room and board | $20,554 |
| Average net price (after aid) | $25,210 |
| Application fee | $65 (waivers available) |
Application deadlines and early decision data for Swarthmore College
| Regular deadline | 1/10 |
| Notification date | 4/1 |
| Reply deadline | 5/1 |
| Offers Early Decision | Yes |
| ED deadline | 11/15 |
| ED acceptance rate | 33% |
Will my child graduate from Swarthmore College?
Retention and graduation rates are the most overlooked numbers in college planning, but they predict actual outcomes far better than acceptance rate. They tell you whether admitted students stay and finish on time.
Other colleges in Pennsylvania parents ask about
- University of Pennsylvania6% acceptance
- Carnegie Mellon University54% acceptance
- Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus50% acceptance
- Lehigh University78% acceptance
- Drexel University11% acceptance
- University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus32% acceptance
- Temple University79% acceptance
- Villanova University83% acceptance
How parents track GPA toward selective schools like Swarthmore College
Solyo helps parents track grades pulled directly from school emails, calculate GPA the same way colleges like Swarthmore College recalculate it, and ask an AI college counselor specific questions about their teen's odds. The platform is built for parents — not students — and turns what's usually a fragmented planning process into a single dashboard.
Common questions parents ask about Swarthmore College
What GPA do I need for Swarthmore College?
Most admitted students at Swarthmore College present unweighted GPAs in the 3.85–4.0 range with five or more AP or honors courses across high school.
What SAT or ACT score does Swarthmore College typically admit?
The middle-50 SAT Math range is 720–780, with an EBRW midpoint near 735. The middle-50 ACT composite range is 33–35.
How much does Swarthmore College actually cost after financial aid?
The average net price at Swarthmore College after grants and scholarships is $25,210 per year. That figure is more useful for budgeting than the published sticker price, because it reflects what families actually pay after aid is applied.
Is Swarthmore College realistic for my child?
Compare your teen's current unweighted GPA and most recent SAT or ACT against the ranges above. If both numbers fall inside the school's middle-50, Swarthmore College is a target school. If both fall below the 25th-percentile mark, treat it as a reach and balance the application list accordingly.
Data sourced from the 2025-2026 Common Data Set submitted by Swarthmore College, and the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard. Solyo extracts admissions data from official Common Data Set publications and refreshes it annually.