<p>This is my first post here. It's great finding this forum and getting the chance to meet all you guys! :) I'm very much a newbie as you can see... I've been going to high school overseas, but I'll be moving to Princeton, New Jersey very soon to start Junior year of high school. I just got my results back from the June SAT, and I was hoping for some advice. My dream college is Princeton, and I know colleges consider many other things besides the SAT, but as I don't have a GPA and have never taken any AP courses as of yet (they aren't offered in the country I'm in at the moment), I was wondering whether I should retake the SAT in October. My scores are: Critical Reading 800, Math 800, Writing 730 (for a total of 2330). </p>
<p>I'd appreciate any feedback - what do you guys think my chances are, based solely on my SAT scores? Should I retake? I'm a Chinese female, if that makes any difference :)</p>
<p>Your SAT scores are excellente! About 50th percentile for current Princeton students in Verbal, while above 75th percentile for the other two sections. So no, you should not retake the SAT -- if they end up rejecting you, it probably will be for some other reason.</p>
<p>What extracuriculaar (sp?) activities do you do? Do you have a class rank? Also, what country are you in? Many of the top schools love to take in international students, as it attracts diversity to their school. But, the country always makes a difference.</p>
<p>You say they don't do GPA...what do they use instead? Some sort of grading system? If so, how are your grades?</p>
<p>Do you do anything outside of school? Have you received any special academic awards or recognition?</p>
<p>Answer these questions, and we'll all have a much better idea about your chances...though right now, simply being international with such high SAT scores makes you somewhat competitive.</p>
<p>Thanks for your very prompt and informative reply! In answer to your questions:</p>
<p>I'm in New Zealand. Unfortunately, we don't have class ranks, and instead of a GPA, New Zealand uses a grade system based on Not Achieved, Achieved, Merit, Excellence (those are the only 4 grades you can get, and there are no marks out of 100 awarded). During the national exams at the end of last year, I got 43 Excellences and 7 Merits across all my subjects. </p>
<p>Outside of school, I'm a pianist. I've passed my Royal School DipABRSM with Distinction and recieved the Irene Lassen Award for my high mark. In 2004 I was a finalist in the National Young Performer of the Year and a semi-finalist in the National Concerto Competition. I've won the regional Junior Concerto Competition and gotten a scholarship for the Most Promising Girl Under 18 Years. I've also been awarded two scholarships, one for solo performance and one for chamber music, to the Christchurch School of Music.</p>
<p>In terms of other academic achievements, I've won 3 academic scholarships, including a five-year one and a full five-year academic and music scholarship (to my current school). In the Australasian Schools Science, English, Math and Chemistry competitions, I've been in the top 1% in Australia and New Zealand on 8 occasions. I've also been among the top 30 scorers in a national Math competition twice.</p>
<p>I hope the above gives you a better idea about me, and again, thanks for your very helpful reply!</p>