Chance an IPhO Medallist for Princeton?

Country: Canada
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Male

STATS:
GPA: School doesn’t do GPA or rankings, but my grades have been mainly A’s with the exception of a few B’s in 9th grade. (Upward trend)

APs:
AP Calc BC: 5
AP Calc AB sub-score: 5
AP Physics E&M + Mechanics: both 5
AP Eng Literature: 5
AP Chemistry: 5
AP Economics: 4

SATs:
a) SAT IIs:
SAT Math 2: 800
SAT Physics: 800

b) SAT I: 2300 Math: 800, Writing: 770, Reading: 730
Rank: My school doesn’t do rankings

Senior year courses: A bunch of humanities courses as I’ve finished with all the math and sciences. Non AP though, as my school doesn’t offer. However I have self studied the APs above myself.

Major Awards:
Represented Canada at both the IPhO (International Physics Olympiad) and the IOAA (International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics)
Bronze Medallist at IPHO (International Physics Olympiad)
Bronze Medallist at IOAA (International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics)
AAPT PhysicsBowl Division 2 - Rank 1 in Canada
National AP Scholar
A few Canadian Math contest awards
A bunch of Canadian Physics contest awards (consistently top 10 in Canada)
A few regional debating awards

Extra curriculars:

  1. Biology research at University of Toronto (11th-12th): “How the ‘Adseverin’ protein affects the process of osteoclastogenesis, a key processes needed to regulate and control osteoperosis”
  2. Astrophysics research at York University: Variable Star Detection in XX Cygnus
  3. York University Observatory Staff: Host ‘Public Viewings’ in observatory where people can come in and check out our telescopes and look at deep-space objects
  4. President of School’s debate team (11th-12th); Trainer (9th-10th)
  5. Captain of School’s Physics team (10th-12th) (I train members and plan/demonstrate weekly experiments)
  6. Lead the Organization of a charity talent show event in support of the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, with nearly $1,000 dollars raised
  7. Tutor students in Physics/Math year-round (10th-12th)
  8. JV Basketball (9th-10th): Regional Tier 2 Champions

Volunteering: Used to volunteer at the local science center as a Recreational Programs Volunteer. We basically host science programs in and around the science center, and I help out by explaining the exhibits to younger kids.

Teacher Recommendation: I know both my physics and english teachers really well through my extra-curriculars and I’m sure they’ll write stellar recommendations.

Counselor: Likely to be very good, I know him quite well and he’s familiar with all my activities/achievements throughout HS.

-No financial aid
-Intended Major: Physics/Astrophysics & Astronomy

Princeton is a reach for anybody.

^^^obligatory CC stuff

I’m going to go ahead and say that you should be in a much better standing than a lot of Princeton applicants. And holy cow, that’s a ton of impressive stuff.

Assuming you put together a good application and present yourself coherently, you should be an extremely strong applicant. No one has a crystal ball, but I would expect you to do well overall.

Thank you @awesomepolyglot and @renaissancedad for the comments! Out of curiosity, would not taking a foreign language course throughout all 4 years of high school hurt my application? (I dropped french after 9th grade)

^ I don’t know the answer. Princeton generally likes applicants to have 4 years of a second language, however, it is not a hard and fast requirement:

https://admission.princeton.edu/applyingforadmission/academic-preparation

In your case, it seems pretty obvious that you have replaced French with courses of similar or higher rigor. But I don’t know for sure how it would be received. This may be something to address in your application; a phone call to the admissions office might also be useful. My personal guess is that the lack of foreign language would be a significant impediment to most applicants, but less so in your case given the high rigor of your science studies.

Other schools may be more rigid in their requirements.

Out of curiosity, since French is a second language in much of Canada, how advanced is your French? Is there any chance of taking the SAT II to show competency?

Right, I am likely going to explain my reasons for not taking it in the ‘additional information section.’ Since I don’t have an opportunity to speak/write French, my French is quite limited, and probably not advanced enough to do well on the SAT II.

nice nickname

as far as I know Princeton likes physics a lot, so you prob have a better shot than most others.
Since you probably know that Olympiad records can’t stand alone for princeton, make sure to emphasize other cool things you did. Besides that, good luck

Agreed, Princeton is always a reach, but I think you have a better chance of getting into Princeton than most others, but make sure you focus your application on the aspects they can’t see on your application and see you as more three-dimensional than just physics/science-based!

Your odds are better than most. And you’re smart enough to now that Princeton is never a sure-thing.
So, what are the other colleges on your list?

Looks like you’ve got a phenomenal application with a real strong focus on math and science. Interesting, too, that you’re doing all humanities this year. If you can/did spin/spun that in a way that shows a complete picture of you, you’re in with a great shot. Chance me too? http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1826272-chances-for-ivies-as-an-international-student-who-went-to-high-school-in-america.html?new=1