<p>GR Elton, I see what you're saying, but in todays admissions pools, how many people get in based solely on academic merit, I think that number is pretty low. I still don't think they look at four scores. I bet they take the highest three. It just isn't standard if some people submit four and others three or whatever number.</p>
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GR Elton, I see what you're saying, but in todays admissions pools, how many people get in based solely on academic merit, I think that number is pretty low.
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<p>It's not substantial, but it's not insubstantial either. Perhaps more pertinently here, though, Princeton is currently seeking to attract more "superstar" academic candidates in order to compete more directly with Harvard, Yale, and Stanford. As it stands, such candidates are far more likely to apply early to and matriculate to Princeton's peer competitors. When the school has an opportunity to snap a very strong academic candidate up early, it probably will--at the very least to raise its intellectual profile and make it a more welcoming place. However, the school is also beginning to accept more academically-oriented applicants in the regular round and competing more heavily to attract them. This process will accelerate as total enrollment is expanded. In the meantime, building a stronger foundation of enrolled academic stars would help to erode Princeton's elitist and somewhat anti-intellectual image.</p>
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I still don't think they look at four scores. I bet they take the highest three. It just isn't standard if some people submit four and others three or whatever number.
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<p>They use all of your scores in determining your academic rating. It's a holistic process.</p>
<p>Why don't they say at least three scores then.</p>
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Why don't they say at least three scores then.
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<p>Because in most cases having more than three won't make a difference, and for the vast majority of applicants getting more than three extremely high scores would take a significant amount of work. Only if you happen to be on the border between, say, a weak 1 and a strong 2 or whatnot could it make a difference for which rating you get. In that case, it makes you stand out and favors placement in the 1 category.</p>
<p>Again, taking an additional SAT II isn't some fantastic boost. It can aid you in certain specific circumstances. Whether that aid is worth it is totally up to the applicant. If taking the extra test will require only a small commitment of time that the applicant can indeed make, there's no reason why he shouldn't take it. I'm not suggesting anyone necessarily ought to, just that there is a valid strategic rationale behind taking more than three.</p>
<p>All right, I don't like it, but I'll accept it. I just can't get over how inconsistant that is.</p>
<p>folks, calm down.</p>
<p>GR Elton, the academic rating you have been talking about is an interesting concept that I would like to know more about. Could you tell us where you found the information?</p>
<p>Perhaps the best overall description is provided by Chuck</a> Hughes, though it's slightly specific to Harvard. More information about Princeton's rating system can be found in The</a> Chosen, The</a> Early Admissions Game, A</a> is for Admission, and (especially, though datedly) Getting</a> In. For more detail on Princeton specifically, you might want to look through the archives of Princeton</a> Alumni Weekly.</p>