In addition to the Common Application’s personal statement (you can choose one of seven essay prompts), we ask you to submit no more than 250 words in response to Swarthmore’s following short-answer prompt: “Please write about why you are interested in applying to and attending Swarthmore.” Your “why Swarthmore” essay adds more context to your application (and might help us learn things like how you solve problems, what drives your curiosity, or where you see yourself in five years).