Hi, I’m a senior (Class of 2016) and I was wondering about my chances to get into Princeton SCEA. I know it’s extremely competitive and a crap shoot and whatnot, but I just felt like posting this would somehow calm me down. I’ll try to keep this short and sweet.
I’m an Asian female from Alabama.
Stats:
SAT I: 2270 (730CR 770M 770W - 10Essay) retaking in October
ACT: 35.25 or 35 (36E 35 everything else - 9Essay)
SAT II: 770 Math 2 (ew) and 760 Chem (double ew)
GPA: 3.96UW/5.05W
Class Rank: 2/369
AP: 5’s on APUSH, Calc BC, and Eng Lang and Comp, and 4’s on APES, Chem, Bio, and Physics C: Mechanics
Awards:
Siemens Competition Semifinalist (10th)
NMSF (PSAT 237), probably NMF if all goes well
AP Scholar with Distinction… nothing else really
ECs:
School Newspaper Club (Founder and Editor-in-Chief, 11th-12th)
Environmental Club (Co-Founder and President, 11th-12th)
First Priority Christian Club (Student Leader, 9th-12th)
Member of a School Board/Committee that meets to discuss things we can do to improve the school. I was nominated for this and there are only 15-20 students from our whole school on it. (11th-12th)
Internship at Boeing (summer after 11th)
Quiz Bowl (Member (9-12th)
Won a few writing competitions, nothing notable…
Volunteering:
Started a community service hygiene drive (Founder and Executive President, summer after 11th, 250ish hours?)
Volunteer at local hospital (50 hours - Summer after 10th)
Worked as a barista at church (20-30 hours)
Volunteered at local rescue mission (not a lot of hours, maybe 10; it’s probably not worth mentioning but oh well)
So that’s me in a nutshell. Well, my resume at least. I’d appreciate all your opinions and advice. Thanks in advance!
I don’t think you need to retake the SAT I if you submit your ACT. Colleges look at your higher score so they’ll just take your ACT. Your awards and extracurriculars look really good, so I think you have a really good chance at Princeton. Good luck!
Please don’t retake your SAT. With your ACT, there is absolutely no reason too and I honestly think you’d look silly for doing that. And your SAT II scores are fine. Overall I think you’re quite a strong candidate, but as I’ve said to others your late beginning of many of your major ECs may make it look like you only did them to impress colleges, so make sure you show a true interest. Good luck!
Yeah, don’t retake any tests. You’re a qualified applicant. Make sure to really put yourself into your essays and supplement, and you should have a good chance! Good luck
I think you have a very good chance of being admitted to Princeton. What demographic box do you fall into? Unless you are arrested or something 237 PSAT is for sure NMF.
Princeton admitted 19.9% of SCEA applicants last year and rejected only 1.3%. You are clearly qualified academically, and coming from Alabama you have a mild geographic advantage. Your grades and scores are fine (you don’t need to re-take the SAT). I presume your curricular rigor is ok, too. Your ECs are a bit thin, but Siemens semi-finalist will help.
You need to present a coherent picture about who you are and what you want to do, and what you can bring to Princeton. You stand a decent chance of getting in SCEA, or of getting deferred and getting in later on. A bit more oomph in your ECs would have really helped, but I think you’ve still got a decent chance.
Princeton admitted 19.9% of SCEA applicants last year and rejected only 1.3%. You are clearly qualified academically, and coming from Alabama you have a mild geographic advantage. Your grades and scores are fine (you don’t need to re-take the SAT). I presume your curricular rigor is ok, too. Your ECs are a bit thin, but Siemens semi-finalist will help.
You need to present a coherent picture about who you are and what you want to do, and what you can bring to Princeton. You stand a decent chance of getting in SCEA, or of getting deferred and getting in later on. A bit more oomph in your ECs would have really helped, but I think you’ve still got a decent chance.
I also think you are competitive for Princeton. The only question I would have is what are you passionate about? The Siemens semifinalist is a very good award to have but it would have been with a team project so the extent of your actual involvement and contribution is hard to discern.
Thanks everyone for the replies!!! I’m probably going to apply in engineering, since that’s what I’m most interested in so far. But of course, it might change. But I will write the engineering essay and apple for a BSE.
Where did you come up with that data? I doubt Princeton even tracks such a thing. I guess even if you are correct what is the significance of this? At the every least we would have to know how many apply and what their stats are versus the accepted ones. Lastly, we would have to buy into the concept that Princeton is selecting kids in buckets according to their race, gender and geographic region for what you are saying to have any relevance.
OP thanks for clarifying where you are applying. I was actually wondering what you were passionate about because it is not evident from what you have posted. Please make sure when you write your engineering essay that you are able demonstrate why you would be a good fit for their engineering school rather than just telling them that is where you would like to be.
I would disregard @clarinetdad’s data because I don’t know what you’re supposed to do with it even it were accurate. Best of luck to you!
Princeton publishes SCEA statistics - you can see how many were accepted, % were US Diverse, % female, % public school, % international, % legacy, etc.
That gets you pretty close - and 45 states were represented, and historically the overall Asian % is readily available.
@meaa7130, what is it about Princeton that appeals to you? You have another thread (I hate multiple “chance me” threads, it just creates confusion) about HYPS. Again, what is there specific about HYPS other than name and reputation? Harvard and Yale are not great for engineering. Stanford obviously is. But I second @Falcon1’s concern about not having a good sense of you as a person, or of what your passions are. And why no MIT, Duke, Penn, Cornell or CMU on your list given you engineering focus?
@renaissancedad I am not saying that OP falls in this category but there are many kids (especially females) who see applying to HYPS for engineering as a back door way of getting into an elite school without having to actually commit to engineering. I’m sure I’m not telling you anything that you don’t already know.
Adcoms tend to see through this and the strategy often backfires on kids who might have gotten in otherwise. That’s why I asked about OP’s passion because I am hoping she has activities that show her love of science and math/ engineering. Obviously, the Siemens semifinalist award helps but is there more beyond that because again it is a team award.
@Falcon1 and @renaissancedad I wasn’t sure about engineering at first, but I interned at Boeing this summer and I got to see hands-on what engineers do and I got interested that way. Does it really look like I’m not passionate about it? That’s a problem… Also, I’m interested in engineering for undergrad, and then moving on to business (MBA) to get more of a management-type position in an engineering company.
I’m sorry, I missed your internship at Boeing line on your post. I can see how that certainly would spark an interest. Im sure you’ll be mentioning this in your essays.
You’re in the running at Princeton but beyond that I have no idea what your actual “chances” are. No one does. This year, I’ve saw kids with much better credentials than yours get denied (an Intel Finalist or @ambitous 19 ) and conversely, I’ve saw kids with weaker profiles than your be accepted. It’s hard to know what goes into their secret sauce.
That’s a problem… Also, I’m interested in engineering for undergrad, and then moving on to business (MBA) to get more of a management-type position in an engineering company.