<p>I am applying to Princeton this year and I had a few very important questions to ask. If anyone who is studying at Princeton could answer them, I would be very grateful. No, seriously.</p>
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<li><p>How tough is the academics at Princeton? How much of a day does a person spend time studying? I am asking this because I want to research a lot(if I get in) and I know it is kinda far-fetched but this is an important factor for me while considering whether I can really fit in there, and hence, whether I should apply. </p></li>
<li><p>Last year Princeton had a yield of around 54%. Can you guys answer why do you think that is? After all, it is a world famous ivy league and from my perspective many would die to go there. </p></li>
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<li><p>The academics here are quite demanding, but the rigor can vary immensely with your chosen course of study. With a typical four class schedule, I spend around six hours a day doing problem sets and studying for exams. The natural science courses are more time consuming, requiring a three hour lab each week and placing a greater emphasis on the midterm and final exams.</p></li>
<li><p>From my perspective, grade deflation played the largest role in our 57 percent yield rate. A lot of kids who got accepted to Harvard, Yale, or Stanford realized that Princeton’s 35% cap on A grades within each department would make it more difficult to get a decent GPA. A lot of students here feel that grade deflation hurts our prospects at top law/med schools as well as finance jobs, but the architect of the policy is leaving next year, so we might see some changes in grading.</p></li>
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<p>To the OP. You did not state your intended major. All science majors and A.B. candidates are REQUIRD to conduct original research their junior and senior year. You will have many opportunities to conduct research but you should expect to spend considerable time learning the basic material in order to be able to conduct original research. </p>
<p>You should not pay very much attention to the yield when considering which university to attend. For example, universities that have early decision will increase their yield. The University of Pennsylvania accepts about half of their freshman class through early decision. If Princeton’s freshman class had half of the class admitted through early decision then the yield would increase to 79 per cent (100% + 57%)/2. Dartmouth, Brown, UP, and Cornell, John Hopkins, and Duke use early decision. Yale, Stanford, and Georgetown use early action. Yield statistics are not not easily comparable between universities; you have to do a little research to understand the numbers.</p>
<p>Students accepted to Princeton generally have been admitted to many other great universities. Since Princeton does not offer merit or athletic scholarships some accepted students will receive more scholarship funds at other universities.</p>
<p>54% is very good: If you assume that each student getting into Princeton probably got into a couple of other places, including one or more of HYSM etc…</p>
<p>Our yield was poor compared to HYS, grade deflation is quite a bane.</p>
<p>The academics here are very, very demanding and rigorous. If you wish to study any science or engineering (I started out as an engineering major), prepare to spend most of your time doing work for a B/B+ average.</p>
<p>Coming from doing little work in high school and graduating #1, it’s been a huge shock for me. I felt like I was going to fail out my first semester; with some damage control, I’ve been able to get my grades up to a B average. </p>
<p>With the humanities / soft sciences, you can slide by with a B/B+ average without too much work (not that I condone it). If you wish to study any science, math, or engineering, you will need to work to pass, work hard to get in the B range, and work very hard (or be a science prodigy) to get A’s. </p>
<p>Doing well in humanities courses also requires much work if you wish to ace your classes. Princeton is probably one of the most academically rigorous schools–know what you’re getting yourself into. I didn’t…</p>
<p>If you do engineering, you can accommodate independent research as one of your classes; in fact, they are required to do independent work. This place is great for research, but be prepared to study your a$$ off.</p>
