Chances for Princeton REA and other top 20 schools?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

I’m from California in a rural area outside LA, my school is reputable for its area. I have family members at Princeton, my sister is an RCA at Princeton, so I’m unsure if she technically works for Princeton, but if someone could clear that up that would be appreciated. I’m applying as Computer Science, Biomedical engineering, or chemical engineering based on what the schools offer.

Ethnicity: Pakistani(Asian)
Religion(Muslim)

GPA: 4.6/4.0 weighted
class rank: unknown but top 10%
sat: 2070
act: 31
subject tests: 720 math 2, 650 bio m, 610 us history

class schedules(ap score, if ap):
9th: H Bio, H Chem, H Eng lang, H algebra 2, Drama, Spanish 1
10th: H World lit, AP Euro (4), AP Bio(4), AP Computer Science A (2), H Pre Calc, H Spanish 2
11th: AP Eng lang (4), AP Calc AB(5), AP Physics B(3), AP Us History (4), Advanced Webpage Design, H Spanish 3
12th: AP English Lit, AP Calc BC, Advanced Webpage Design, AP Physics C, AP Psychology, AP Gov/ AP Econ

Extra Curriculars:
Mock Trial 20 hr/wk 20wk/yr, 9-12th grade, County and State Awards, Pres

Varsity Tennis 9-12th grade, all league 10 and 11th grade, undefeated in season 20hr/wk 20wk/yr

JV/ Varsity football, 9-11th grade, Played JV 3 years, captain for 2 years, played varsity 10th but got hurt and couldn’t continue playing varsity, even playing jv 11th was too difficult and painful, Played as Corner/ WR, went through 30 days of summer training under 110 degree heat without water each year for religious purposes(Ramadan) 30hr/wk 30wk/yr

Unicef Club: Founder, Pres 10hr/wk 32wk/yr

Computer Repair/ IT club: Founder, Pres 10hr/wk 32wk/yr

NHS: Treasurer, VP 10hr/wk 32wk/yr

Science NHS: Pres 10hr/wk 32wk/yr

Spanish NHS: VP, Pres 10hr/wk 32wk/yr

Key Club: Sec, Treasurer 10hr/wk 32wk/yr

JSA: VP, Pres 10hr/wk 32wk/yr

CAIR Volunteer: 20hrs/wk summers

Hospital Volunteer: 30hr/wk 52wk/yr

*all but NHS were from grades 9-12
 NHS was 10-12

Academic Honors:

Boys’ Nation Delegate Nominee

California SkillsUSA Webpage Design National Representative Nominee

California SkillsUSA Quizbowl National Representative

Intel National Science fair Semifinalist

Broadcom National Science fair Finalist Runner-Up

Strengths: Essays, letters of recs, grades, ECS
Weaknesses: poor test taker

Thanks :slight_smile:

2

Yeah, you basically summed it up yourself. Everything else looks good (especially the Intel semifinalist), but your test scores are really holding you back.
I would recommend that you study super hard and retake the SAT or ACT and the SAT 2.

Your EC’s do seem a tad suspicious, as you do so much. Even if most of them weren’t overlapping, you have barely enough time to do homework, eat, sleep etc. Just a quick question, how many hours of sleep do you get every night?

Keep in mind Princeton is a reach for anybody, and even with solid test scores (aim for 2200 on the SAT and 750+ on subject tests) your chances are not very high. It’s just that Princeton is so competitive and impossible to predict.

3

@rdeng2614 I get at least 4 hours a night, but the EC’s are all legit. Because I’m in leadership positions in all those clubs, I usually combine events with each other, or I can work it around my schedule. Occasionally I won’t get home until 11… its pretty rough, but I really love, and am dedicated to those clubs lol

4

I calculated your EC time you claimed and you are doing average 100 hrs/wk for whole year, which is impossible. I think it will make adcom suspicious about your claim and you won’t have enough space in common app to list all your activities.

5

@NYDad513 Sorry, I just got lazy while typing that… Those aren’t the hours I’m putting on college apps, these were just ctrl + c, but I have a log book With all my hours on it grimacing face

6

Whatever you claim, my guess is, adcom will have curiosity whether your claim is legit or your school is really easy to get a good grade. Anyway, I am not sure we went through common app and you will notice that there is only ten sections for activity which you have to choose based on importance to you. I also heard that adcom discourages to add resume.

7

Your grades appear to be fine but your test scores suggest there is grade inflation at your school. For CS, bioengineering and engineering in general your math scores are low, and your AP scores in physics(3) and CS(2) as well as your Bio SAT score (650) are all problems. Even though you have family at Princeton (are you a legacy or the child of a faculty member?), I would suggest that you be prepared for a deferral and eventual rejection. The competition to get into Princeton is brutally tough. I wish you the best with everything!