<p>I'm a female, applying to Princeton SCEA for the class of 2017.</p>
<p>SAT I: 2400 (one test date)
SAT II: Chem 750, Bio M 760, Math II 770, US Hist 780
PSAT: 232 (National Merit SemiFinalist)
GPA: 4.2 weighted
APs: Chem (5), US (5), BC Calc (5)</p>
<p>Senior Year classes: AP Bio, AP Physics C, AP Statistics, AP English Literature, Honors Multivariable Calculus, Law & Gov</p>
<p>I go to a highly competitive public high school in a wealthy area of CT.
My mom and my grandfather both went to Princeton.</p>
<p>My essays are decent. Not amazing, but not horrible either. I've taken pretty much all of the available Honors/AP courses in my school.</p>
<p>ECs:
Gymnastics: YMCA club team (age 2-present) and Varsity High School Team (Captain) (9-12)
Debate (Captain) (9-12)
National Honor Society (11-12)
Garden Club (Secretary) (10-12)
Math Team (10-12)
Volunteer with an organization that builds houses for impoverished Americans (9-12)</p>
<p>Intended major: Biomedical or Chemical Engineering, maybe a minor in Women's Studies.</p>
<p>I feel like my chances are decent, but obviously it is a crap shoot no matter what. Also, Princeton has a history of taking very very few students from my high school, although the other top schools often take several in one year. I know of at least two recruited athletes in my class who might be getting likely letters from Princeton soon, and there is another girl with comparable academics who was born in Mexico and is bilingual, etc. that I know for sure will also be applying SCEA.</p>
<p>Hey! I think you say it yourself that it’s a crap shoot no matter what. </p>
<p>But as a girl and legacy, I get where you’re coming from. Test scores are great! Your ECs are okay. It’s not the crazy number of Olympiad and international contest winners, but if you’re passionate and committed, I’m sure it’ll come through in your app. And I mean, really, there’s no helping anything now that it’s a few days before the deadline, so I would focus on polishing your essays until you are happy with them. (I guess I see on CC a lot that people will say that their essays are amazing and extremely unique and 10/10 - whatever that means; it’s refreshing to see that you don’t brag about them and see room for improvement)</p>
<p>I wouldn’t worry about the other people in your school - there isn’t a quota per school. As I’m sure you know, your double legacy helps.</p>
<p>I’m applying SCEA too, so goodluck to us both!</p>
<p>You certainly will have a better chance in the SCEA round. I agree with previous poster that your essays will matter. Even with legacy and 2400, you still need to convince them that you are someone they want to have on campus. I’d say the odds are good for you, but as you wisely recognize, there’s no guarantee.</p>
<p>Here’s a question – is there a place on the Princeton supplement to indicate legacy status? Or does Princeton get that information through what you’re filling out on the common app (where mom and dad went to college)?</p>
<p>Princeton seems to be very very (dare I say, picky)…and I feel they are very selective from public high schools. Where we are, only 1 out of 3 years get into princeton (But other ivy take 1-2 each year). But 10 miles away, from Private school, Princeton takes 4-5 EACH year. </p>
<p>Are the public school kids less deserving? No, in some cases, they have taken 10-15 more APs and won more awards. I just feel Princeton looks at feeder private schools. Anyway, just my opinion.</p>
<p>I hope your legacy status helps a bit. Good luck. Play up your gymnastics EC…that appears to be a stand out factor.</p>
<p>Just wanted to add - you are applying for engineering. Doesn’t princeton have a supplement for engineers. If you haven’t done any EC related to that, that may hurt…?</p>
<p>I would like to place in perspective comments concerning high school vs. private school acceptances. Less than 30% of the students at Princeton attended a private school. Approximately 70% attended a public high school or a religious high school. About 1% were home schooled or attended a military school. I believe the school with the most acceptances is the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Fairfax County Virginia. TJHSST is a magnet public high school whose student are accepted through a review of their grades, test scores, teacher recommendations and essays. Students from magnet public high schools are over represented at Princeton.</p>
<p>I have looked at the curriculum at a private high school in my region. Students have the opportunity at that private school to take college freshman and sophomore level math and science courses. The best predictor of a student’s ability to succeed in the rigorous Princeton curriculum is demonstrated achievement in difficult courses in high school.</p>
<p>I can’t find the exact statistic but around 35% of the admitted students are from a high school that has not had a student admitted to Princeton in the last four years. (If you know this number please post the correct number.)</p>
<p>P.S amethyst4: Your chances are better than most applicants. Your mother and grandfather probably have already told you that. However, I have seen too many outstanding applicants not offered admission to attempt to predict admission for any student. Good Luck!! :>)))</p>
<p>As I understand Thomas Jefferson is not a traditional public school. It only offers very selective admission. So in some ways it is ‘almost’ like a private school. </p>
<p>I think the fact remains - if you are from a high achieving, big public school area from an affluent community, you better have done something extraordinary …to show as compared to a public school from an under-represented area.</p>
<p>There was an article (and I can’t find it now) where it also lays the blame on high school counselor relationships. Private school counselors are much more pro-active in calling the admissions office and a large public school counselor has no time for that…</p>
<p>“Less than 30% of the students at Princeton attended a private school. Approximately 70% attended a public high school or a religious high school.”</p>
<p>Care to elaborate? I was under the impression that religious schools are NOT public, and thus should be added to the private school section.</p>
<p>Thomas Jefferson is a public magnet school. All magnet schools have some selective admission requirements. TJ is among the most selective magnet schools in the country. Boston Latin and the Bronx High School of Science are other older public magnet schools that have placed many students at Princeton.</p>
<p>I agree that high school counselors are assigned too many students and do not have the time to provide personalized counseling to high school students. One reason that I occasionally post on CC is to help students who lack a knowledgeable counselor gain more insight into the admission process. Students at some private schools do receive more time from a counselor and their counselor may have more time to write a good recommendation. However, I do not believe that the Princeton admissions office has time for personal phone calls from private school counselors. </p>
<p>The admissions office attempts to make admission to the university a level playing field. While that is not possible that is their attempt. For example, Princeton stopped campus interviews with admissions officers because the possible advantage provided to students who could afford to travel to the campus for an interview. The university attempts to provide all students, including international students, the same opportunity to interview with a Princeton alumnus.</p>
<p>My roommate attended a Catholic high school. His school was similar in student teacher ratios, number of counselors, coaches, etc to the public high school which I attended. I have non Catholic relatives who choose to attend a Catholic high school for academic reasons. I believe that Catholic high schools have some characteristics of both a public school (generally open enrollment) and a private school (tuition). For the class of 2016 57.3% of the students attended a public high school and 12.2% attended a religious affiliated high school. Holocene, place the religious affiliated students into any bucket that seems appropriate to you. Here is a link to the statistics of the applicants and enrolled students for the class of 2016. [Princeton</a> University | Admission Statistics](<a href=“http://www.princeton.edu/admission/applyingforadmission/admission_statistics/]Princeton”>http://www.princeton.edu/admission/applyingforadmission/admission_statistics/)</p>
<p>Religious school does not fall into the category of public school. So I would put them in the private bucket. About magnet public school, they are also held at a different standards. So out of the 57.3% public schools, a good chunk of them are from the exclusive magnet schools. </p>
<p>So how much does that leave for the rest? Maybe 30% traditional public schools out of which many get in due to legacy or due to special cases (sports, urm, overcoming obstacles, talent). </p>
<p>But anyway,I understand that is why it is hard to get in…IT is just too many people applying for a small number of seats. And that is the reality. It is just I have noticed that Princeton is harder (at least in our region) than Harvard or other ivies.</p>