Chance me please

Colleges and Universities A-Z Princeton University
1

Demographics: Asian Male, Low income

GPA: 4.0 Rank: 4/420

AP/IB Courses

IB: HL Math, HL Chem, HL History, HL Comp Sci, HL English, TOK, SL Spanish(7)

AP: AP Euro (4), AP Calc BC (5), AP Lit (5) - Self-studied

SAT: 1550, won’t submit if not needed
Chem: 800
Math 2: 800
Lit: 800
ACT: 36

Extracurriculars:

Founded SAT/ACT test prep newsletter
Founded a chemistry club
Officer on new Non-Profit (STEM Based)
Scioly (6th - 12th) Captain
Model UN (9th - 12th) Officer
Club Swim (5th - 12th) Junior Coach
National Technical Honor Society Co-founder
Programming Club Lead Game Designer
Help out my parents at the family restaurant
350ish hours of volunteer
Completed 11 week Coursera ML course
Some stupid programming things here and there
Quiz bowl style club (9th - 12th), 3rd in county last year

Honors: Just the usual

National Merit Semifinalist
State level writing contest
Club swim award
Varsity letter (HS Swim)
Some SCIOLY stuff

Common App Essay (7/10), good idea, not sure if my execution will allow it to stand out

Recs (8/10), probably pretty good, idk, asked my Spanish teacher who I had for 3 years and seemed pretty impressed with me, + my comp sci teacher

Main Strengths: Decent leadership w/ commitment, Scores/GPA

Weaknesses: No internships, no research, no national competitions (didn’t even know that high school kids actually did stuff like this), essays weren’t as good as I would have liked, no “spike”, extracurriculars are kinda all over the place, also full blown asian

Lots of regrets, too late to do anything about them now. Thanks.

And please suggest some safety/target schools for me. Would like to do programming/biology/chem? Thinking about Machine Learning applications in Bio or Chem research, that would be pretty cool.

2

@throwawayok great rigor, stats, gpa. Good ECs, but cliche for Asian male at this level. You need your LoRs and essays to make the difference, and you sound uncertain on their quality.

You working at the family restaurant and low income ses will help you. The ML thing will be interesting too, you took responsibility for your own education and Princeton likes that.

What were your essay topics?

You have a chance, but yeah you need matches and safeties. What state do you reside in?

3

Thanks for the reply. Do you mind if I PM you?

4

@throwawayok sure, but I think you need 10+ posts before you can PM…

5

I completely agree with @psywar’s comments. I’m intrigued by the combination of 1) Qualified, 2) Asian, and 3)Low income.

@throwawayok, I believe you have a legitimate shot. Good luck!

6

@sherpa Thanks for that! Does Princeton look at your financial need? I didn’t mention it in my essays or anything.

7

That’s an interesting question. Many colleges are “need aware” and prefer higher income applicants because they don’t need financial aid. Princeton is sort of the opposite of that. They’re rich enough that they don’t mind giving generous financial aid, and their “holistic” admissions approach allows them to give special attention to applications from people who have excelled in spite of modest or limited opportunities.

It’s probably best that you left financial need out of your essays as long as the rest of the application conveys your general financial situation. “Working in the family restaurant” pretty much tells the story.

Science at Princeton would be right up your alley. I hope you’re accepted!

8

Wow, I’ve never met someone so nice on an online forum. Thanks!

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Your stats are amazing and your ECs are good. You have a stronger profile than most applicants to Princeton but it is still a reach, as it is for basically everyone. If you have good recommendations and essays I could see you getting accepted