<p>What is preferable? The Common Application or Princeton's application?</p>
<p>Neither. Princeton is trying to enroll the best freshman class it can, not punish people for using an application form which it in fact endorses. Schools which use the Common App are required to give it and the school's own application equal preference. For the record, I got in using the Common App.</p>
<p>Weasel8488: Thanks a lot. And Congratulations on attending Princeton.</p>
<p>I used the common app, and it was fine.</p>
<p>Agreed, it probably doesn't matter which app you used. I used common app and got in. </p>
<p>Though, the common app gives you MUCH more freedom as the kind of essays you can write. I believe that if you used the Princeton app, you had to write 2 essays on 2 quotes, one of which can be you choosing, but the other had to one of the listed ones. And I dunno, I really didn't like the ones Princeton listed. </p>
<p>If you used common app, the common app essay (which had a topic of anything you want) could be one essay, and then you'd only have to write an essay on one quote that you would get to choose, again another blank check.</p>
<p>Disagree with others here. If there is no difference, why they bother to offer P app. Another reason not to use common app, when school app is available, is that if you screw common app up, you don't iwant it screws up every school you apply.</p>
<p>if we assume that colleges do things purely out of self-interest, then obviously Princeton initially signed on with CommonApp so that it wouldn't miss out on the huge pool of CA applicants who wouldn't have applied otherwise if not for the supreme ease of sending their apps in to "try their luck". A larger applicant pool keeps the acceptance rate low - something they could boast about. </p>
<p>but they're obviously not gonna deny a qualified and compatible candidate when they come across one, whether CA or PA.</p>
<p>for those of the opinion that using PA is a way of "expressing interest": expressed interest doesn't matter much to schools like Princeton.</p>
<p>screwitlah is dead on about demonstrated interest. I agree that it is strange to have to equally acceptable applications, but the incentives just aren't there to favor one over the other. </p>
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<p>Are you suggesting that students should use school applications whenever they are available? Assuming you have an equally high probability of messing up the Common Application as a school's application, your choice of application would not matter for any particular school. Since this is true for each school, there is no aggregate advantage to using school applications (unless you believe that school's favor their own applications).</p>
<p>I am suggesting that students should use school applications whenever they are available. There were many who thought they could write better an essay after they submitted common app early for EA/ED or forgot to put something in. Expressed interest does matter, even at Princeton/Harvard/Yale. Admission officers are not GODS and they do have feeling towards their school. Try to tell them that Princeton is not your top choice to see how far you can get. Even if it only matters a little, there is no reason not to use PA. Of course, P will accept come CAs just to show they do accept CA to keep applicant pool large. Many highly qualified applicants get rejected and lack of interest is one of the reason among many other reasons.</p>
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There were many who thought they could write better an essay after they submitted common app early for EA/ED or forgot to put something in.
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<p>You don't have to submit the exact same essay on each of the Common Apps you submit, if I recall. Please correct me if I'm wrong.</p>
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Try to tell them that Princeton is not your top choice to see how far you can get. Even if it only matters a little, there is no reason not to use PA. Of course, P will accept come CAs just to show they do accept CA to keep applicant pool large. Many highly qualified applicants get rejected and lack of interest is one of the reason among many other reasons.
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<p>I don't think that using the Princeton application is a reliable signal of interest. Many students for whom Princeton was their first choice applied using the Common Application, myself included. Do you have any evidence that the acceptance rate is lower for those who apply using the Common application, as you seem to suggest? As others have already noted, demonstrated interest is much less important at HYP than at colleges with low yields.</p>
<p>You can't change anything on the common apps after submitted. Same of everything for every school (I think that is stupid). I agree with your statements that about AP is not reliable signal of interest, but it is a signal. Demonstrated interest is much less important, but it will become important if everthing else equals. It is impossible to get hard evidence for things like this. But from what I knew, saw and heard, demonstrated interest does make a difference at Princeton/Harvard/Stanford (no data from Yale). Think about, Princeton had ED, not EA and that shows you how important demonstrated interest to them . Same people are still running the show. Again, they will accept CA and many of them to show they do accept CA to keep the pool large. They also accept some ppl with lower grades (don't send hate mails. I am not suggesting these two are equal) to keep everybody guessing to increase the pool, but it does not mean you should get lower grades.</p>
<p>So does this debate you guys are having apply to other top schools (Stanford, Duke, Harvard, Yale, etc)?</p>
<p>Hi, cc2, what's your basis of knowledge for saying any of these things? </p>
<p>@ivyleaguewannabe: several other colleges, notably Harvard, don't have a college-specific application, but use the Common Application (and, in Harvard's case, the Universal College Application) with a college supplement. It's clear which kind of application to submit to Harvard: either the Common Application or the Universal College Application, with the Harvard supplement attached.</p>
<p>I used Princeton's application because I cannot stand the Common App (had to use it for Cornell). But I only applied to four schools total so it wasn't a big deal for me, at least one of which didn't accept the Common App anyway.</p>
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<blockquote> <blockquote> <p>what's your basis of knowledge for saying any of these things?<<< tolenadult: I have heard, seen and known too many cases. Then again, this is not exact science and one can't not prove it 100%.</p> </blockquote> </blockquote>
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<p>@ivyleaguewannabe: Just apply your common sense when come to pick which app to use. College admissions is not as innocent as they are presented. There is money, power, politics, special interest and corruption involves. There are a lot of things you can't do anything about it. But filling out app is one of the few things under your control and there is really no execuse not to do the best you can do if you really care.</p>
<p>i always thought you used both...</p>
<p>i'm such an admissions noob.</p>
<p>D used Princeton, only because it was slightly different and she felt she would have better responses. So you may want to look at both to decide.</p>
<p>good advice hikids... I've been looking at Pton's application and I think I like it better than Common App. But then again, the CA has changed this year.... Maybe I should take a look at both again!!</p>
<p>Anyway, thanks for the advice.</p>