Back in the summer I scored a 31 on my ACT. My high school is in Ohio, so this year the whole state is making all juniors take the ACT during the school day in the spring. Hopefully I improve a little bit, but if not would these credentials be enough to get into Princeton University?
I live near Cincinnati and want to go somewhere more local, i.e. UC or Miami Oxford or Case Western at furthest away. My father on the other hand has approached me multiple times about attending other more prestigious colleges, particularly Princeton University. He says that they have a highly accredited engineering program, but I haven’t looked into that at all. I want to be a chemical engineer so that would be a pretty good selling point for me.
More or less, I just want to know if I would be wasting my time applying or if it would be wiser to apply to a more local school and try and get more money for my ACT and GPA? Does going to a more prestigious school actually affect your carer later on?
I feel like I have a lot going for me even despite my academics though as well, e.g. community service hours, DECA business competition national qualifier, XC and Track Varsity athlete and team captain, student government, NHS and DECA NHS, Academic Team, etc. etc. If my score and GPA is on the low side for a prestigious college, such as Princeton, will these other factors be significant enough to upswing my chances of acceptance?
Princeton admits around 6% of its applicants these days. That means for every 100 who apply, 94 don’t get in. To earn one of these scant 6 acceptances, you need to really stand out from the crowd. There are so many students who are well-qualified, that many are turned down by default out of not distinguishing themselves enough. Right now, you’re in that trap.
For starters, I hope that 3.9 GPA is unweighted. If that’s weighted, then your unweighted will probably be too low for Princeton. Your ACT is also low as it currently is. When you retake it, you need to study. A lot. You’ll need at least a 34 to be competitive.
And that’s assuming your essays are good and your involvement in DECA is deep enough to impress whoever reads your file.
You’re not totally out of the running for Princeton, and there’s certainly no harm in trying. But you’ve got a long road ahead of you – good luck!
Study hard for the ACT. Even if you don’t get into Princeton, you could get some nice merit at Miami if you can pull that ACT up. Also, UC has a great co-op program for engineering students.
A 31 ACT is at the bottom 25%ile for Princeton. Engineering students at all schools usually need substantially higher test scores than the general student population, so yes…it’s almost certainly too low. On the other hand, if that was your first time taking the test you can absolutely bring it up with a good study and practice program. It’s a good “starter” score.
Engineering prestige is different than what impresses your grandmother’s next door neighbor prestige so don’t worry about needing anything Ivyish.
It sounds like your father is overreaching and you may be under reaching. There are worse problems. In a sense you have the beginnings of your college list: you’ve identified some safeties and low matches (assuming the ACT comes up) and your Dad is happily dreaming of your high reaches. At some point the two of you should come together and identify some solid matches and some great low reaches. You should be able to find plenty of both in the Midwest.
Study hard and do well…but do it for yourself, not your dad! The schools that you like in Ohio are perfectly fine, as long as they are good fits for you, and you like them! Have you had a chance to visit any yet? Don’t pick a school just for its name, even if you can get in. Princeton might make you happy, but then again, it might not. Think about what qualities YOU are looking for in a school, and pursue those. CC is a great place to ask questions.
OP, good job coming here and asking, and not just assuming you can get into Princeton because your dad thinks you should apply. You are a junior? You have time to raise your ACT score, so if you do a lot of practice and study, you might be able to get up to 33 or 34, which will make you more competitive for all schools. At this point, there is almost zero chance of you getting into Princeton. And even if you manage to get a 34 or above, there is still a tiny chance. In your shoes, I would not even think about Princeton and keep your focus on the excellent schools you are already considering.
Your ECs show you are an involved student, but getting into the tippy top colleges is about more than being involved and well-rounded. You need to be exceptional in some way. Your dad thinks you are exceptional, as he should, but in the eyes of a college like P’ton, it is likely you will not be seen as your dad sees you. If you can get your ACT score up by at least two more points, ideally up to 34, then by all means, apply. Assume it won’t happen though. If it does, you are fortunate.
Don’t lose hope. Everyone telling you that a 31 is too low is partially correct. You can definitely get your score up if you study.
Remember that Princeton has holistic admissions. My friend got in with a 29 and a 2000 (on 2400 SAT). Her unweighted GPA was a 4.0, and she had overcome a lot of adversity but her extracurricular were not impressive. The point is…be yourself. Don’t try to fit any profile. Don’t try to be a test score. Just be you.
Don’t trust the 29 ACT ^^^ myth; The ACT average for Princeton accepted students at my school is a 35.You NEED to raise your ACT score if you don’t have a hook. Sure there can be students who get into Princeton with 31 ACTs, but you need to consider that many of them are URMs, Questbridge, International from developing countries, refugees…Raise the ACT score to a 33+ if you want to be competitive for Princeton. Don’t forget to apply to MATCH schools that you would love to go to.
@DryMango Assuming OP has no hook everyone telling OP that a 31 is too low for Princeton is correct. I’d guarantee almost all of the bottom 25 percentile test-takers had a hook.
@bubblepop12444@IN4655 I didn’t say his score was high enough. I said otherwise. (“you can get your score up” “everyone is partially correct”); however, the story I shared is not a"myth", and as I implied it does not apply to everyone.
Thanks goes out to everyone. This discussion board is way more active than a lot of other ones I’ve previously used, and I appreciate that a ton. And btw the starwars quote just made my whole life better, but I do understand the factors at play in the situation and that if I would like to be accepted I most likely will have to raise my scores.
