Chances for a student interested in pure mathematics, physics, and music theory

Colleges and Universities A-Z Princeton University
1

<p>I would really appreciate it if someone would evaluate my chances of getting into Princeton. Other schools of interest are MIT, Yale, University of Chicago, Harvard, Harvey-Mudd, Carleton, and Brandeis.</p>

<p>First, some things to know: I am a white male going into my senior year at a competitive Prep school in Santa Fe, New Mexico. My father and grand-father both went to MIT, and I'm considering applying early action. My school doesn't do class rank, but I would guess that I'm third or fourth in a class of fifty-seven. If we weighted grades, I would undoutedly be first.</p>

<p>SAT I: 800M, 760W, 630CR
SAT II: 740 Math IIC, 760 Biology M</p>

<p>I will retake the SAT I in the fall to bring up my critical reading score. I will also take the Spanish SAT II and probably score above 700.</p>

<p>English 9 A-/A
Geometry Honors A+/A
Spanish II A-/A
World History I A+/A-
Physical Science A/A-
Jazz Band A (fall semester)
Digital Imaging A (spring semester)
Introduction to Computers (required) A+ (spring semester)
PE Contract (Ice Hockey) P
Lacrosse P
Community Service P/P</p>

<p>English 10 A-/A
Algebra II Honors A-/B+
World History II A-/A-
Spanish III B+/A-
Biology I A-/A-
Life Drawing A+ (fall semester)
Intro to Computational Science and Modeling A (spring semester)
Health (required) A+ (spring semester)
PE Contract (Hockey) P
Lacrosse P
Community Service P/P</p>

<p>Intermediate College Spanish
(Centro lingüístico conversa, Costa Rica) A</p>

<p>English 11 A/A-
Precalculus Honors A+/A
US History A/A
Spanish IV AP A/A
Biology AP A-/A-
Chemistry Honors A/A-
Chamber Music A (spring semester)
PE Contract P
Community Service P/P
Music Theory I (SF Community College) Non-credit (spring semester)</p>

<p>English 12
Calculus AB
Statistics
Twentieth Century America
Spanish V Honors
Physics Honors
The Art of Problem Solving
Life Drawing
PE Contract
Community Service</p>

<p>Extracurriculars:</p>

<p>Summer of 2002:
- "Modeling Complex Systems in StarLogo"---a two-week-long summer workshop at the Santa Fe Institute with funding from MIT.</p>

<p>Summer of 2003:
- "Cyber Defenders Institute"---two-week summer workshop/internship under the direction of Los Alamos Ntnl. Labs, and held in conjunction with the 2003 Summer Teacher Institute at San Juan College.</p>

<p>2003-2004 Academic Year:
- Played guitar for the 3rd Jazz Band in the NM Jazz All-State Festival.
- Recieved 3rd place in the Senior Physics Division of the Northeastern NM Regional Science Fair and 2nd place in the American Junior Academy of Science Paper Competition for a project in cosmology; recognized by the American Vacuum Society for good mathematics.
- Participated in the NM Adventures in Supercomputing Challenge, achieving first-round finalist position, and winning 1st place runner-up and the Sandia Ntnl. Labs prize for creativity and innovation.
- Performed post-modern music with the Santa Fe New Music Youth Ensemble for their annual "YouthFest".
- Contributed articles and poetry to school publications.</p>

<p>Summer of 2004:
- ¡Pura Vida! Prep in Costa Rica 2004---a one-month summer Spanish program at the Conversa Language Institute + work/cultural immersion activities.
- Voluntered as an online computer programmer/teaching assistant for the NM Summer Teacher Institute.</p>

<p>2003-2004 Academic Year:
- Played the guitar at local venues and at the year-end Youth Fest with the Santa Fe New Music Youth Ensemble.
- Attended workshops on the performance of contemporary and avant-garde music.
- Performed with the 2nd Jazz Band in the 2005 Jazz All-State Festival.
- Participated in the UNM-PNM Statewide Mathematics Contest and organized biweekly Math club meetings to study recreational mathematics problems.
- Recieved first place in the Senior Team Division of the Northeastern NM Regional Science Fair for a project in game theory.
- University of New Mexico Star Student.
- Recieved a special award for excellence in advanced-level Spanish classes.
- Contributed articles and poetry to school publications.</p>

<p>Summer of 2005:
- Santa Fe Institute Summer Internship Mentorship Program---six-week summer internship doing research with SFI scientists.
- Volunteered as a personal teaching assistant at the NM Summer Teacher Institute, teaching computer programming, modeling, and science to NM teachers.
- Attended contemporary music camps at the college of Santa Fe.</p>

<p>All Years:
- Took weekly lessons in classical, contemporary, and Jazz guitar.
- Participated in a guitar/fiddle trio, performing music at the Santa Fe Farmers' Market and other local venues.
- Honor Roll</p>

<p>Thank you all for your time!</p>

2

<p>You look pretty good to me overall, but your Math IIC score sticks out (in my opinion) for somebody who is interested in pure math. Don't something like 10% of all test takers make an 800 on the IIC? I could be wrong, but I think you should give that one another shot when you take the spanish.</p>

3

<p>I'm liking those stats (just touch up the critical reading).</p>

<p>Apply early to MIT!!! As far as I know not much consideration is given for legacy (I guess as compared to Ivies) but with the third generation of Engineer I'm sure you will be attractive to the Admissions Counselors.....</p>

4

<p>I hate to say this to someone so qualified but your CR score will hurt you badly at Princeton. Princeton accepts ~1500 applicants each fall. 25% (or 375 kids) will have a critical reading of 680 or lower. After you throw out legacies, athletes, etc, there are very very few spots left for someone w/ a 630. The CR will pose a much bigger problem than the IIC score. MIT's 25% range is exactly the same as Princeton's, so once again, get that reading up!</p>

<p>However, you certainly have a chance -- you have done exceptionally well in many areas.</p>

<p>Princeton: reach
MIT: reach (not sure how much the legacy will help you...but it will certainly help you more if you apply EA)
Yale: reach
Chicago: match
Harvard: reach
Harvey Mudd: match
Carleton: ?
Brandeis: match</p>

5

<p>I got my AP scores in the mail today, and I was wondering how they would affect my chances. </p>

<p>Biology: 5
Spanish: 3</p>

<p>I'm not too happy about the 3 in Spanish, but I'm guessing that my other accomplishments in Spanish will cancel out this mediocre score. I also have a score of 3 on the English Language and Composition test. This was self-studied, so if it's too low for my colleges, I won't show it. Could someone please explain the strategy for self-studies?</p>

<p>I guess I've got the AP Scholar award?</p>

6

<p>as you may or may not know, the top schools generally value high verbal SAT scores more than they do high math SAT scores. i believe the former is rarer, and is possibly better predictive of academic success at the college level.</p>

7

<p>Funny, I've always thought that SAT Verbal was very rigid while SAT Math offers more creativity and thought.</p>