<p>I guess Princeton waits to do it snail mail to keep with tradition. So Princeton doesn't send decision packages overnight like other schools? Damn it! I live in New Mexico and would like to receive mine on Saturday the 1st (the end of my Spring Break), but It'll probably take till Monday the 3nd and I'll have to find out after school. My mailman better not screw it up this time! Luck has it that he'll actually go postal and blow up my mailbox. I hate USPS. Now it costs 39 cents to mail a letter; I remember when it was 29 cents. Half the people USPS employs are incompetent and lose/misplace mail all the time (There is a single mailbox for the entire street and he ALWAYS drops it in the wrong slots.) Princeton needs to send the letters via FedEx or DHL-- anything but the United States Postal Service.</p>
<p>Hmm. I know that the snail mail letter is supposed to be all traditional and more rewarding to receive, but I kinda think that an online decision would be just as fulfilling. I personally love the anticipation of watching the page load after typing in the password. I think my taste for online notification started back when I used to wake up at like 2:30 am to view my SAT results!</p>
<p>Moreover, I hate getting rejection letters in the mail. I rather just view it online.</p>
<p>Hmm. Now I hear talk that Princeton won't mail the decisions until early April (sometime next week..). Princeton had plenty of time to make decisions (as they said they finished like way last week or something). Why don't they just mail it out, like, now so that the letters arrive the same time other decisions are posted? Seriously.</p>
<p>Also, if you think about it, Princeton is sort of hurting itself by getting back to its applicants later than other schools. I know this is on a very small level, but I bet that subconsciously, the order in which one receives decisions affects one's decision where to attend (that is, if one hasn't already established a general preference for any one school). </p>
<p>As I think Bylery might have mentioned some time ago, perhaps at some point down the line, admissions will be so competitive (for top students selecting colleges) that the whole process will devolve into some sort of rolling admission procedure. That way, a school may strategically admit a really awesome applicant early in the game when trying to get that applicant to come to the school. It's the same idea with likely letters.</p>
<p>I'm not really sure about anything; my interviewer said they would mail letters in the second week of April, but Admissions could have lied to him. He also mentioned the common Ivy release date, so that doesn't make much sense.</p>
<p>Princeton hasn't been giving online decisions not because it's less traditional, but because admissions hasn't found a safe and reliable way to do it. Not even Caltech has online notification and MIT only started online notification this spring for that same reason.</p>
<p>So then I guess it wasn't just us who found the Princeton Admissions Office to be the least friendly of any school we visited? Maybe even a little rude? The admissions officer sounded like she was in pain having to talk about the school. The tour guide was bizarre too--kept comparing Princeton to Yale, and not completely favorably. If it weren't for the great reputation of Princeton, our visit would have definitely eliminated them.</p>
<p>I don't see how Princeton finds online decision notification to be a security issue. All they would have to do is e-mail all applicants a unique password which they would have to enter to find out their decision. This is what numerous other schools have done.</p>
<p>Yes--when I visited and wanted to drop by the admissions office they were horribly grumpy. Either they are under very heavy pressure or they are still practicing admissions manipulation and do not want people inquiring about how everything works exactly. Many other schools invite overnight stays etc. but Princeton doesn't. But if I get in, the admissions department can screw itself. Either that or I'll invade their building and force reform. The Admissions Office really does not fit in with the whole Princeton image of taking care of undergrads.</p>
<p>edit: the fact that the admission officers are so against talking to students... don't they have to deal with students all the time... as admission officers?</p>
<p>I can tell you that if you are accepted you will change your tune regarding the admissions office. There are some fantastic people in there, some recent grads.
They are all under unbelievable stress this week with all the phone calls and emails and pressure of getting all the letters out.</p>
<p>Agree with nopoisonivy. Please stop the adcom bashing. Our experience with them during the ED round was that they were the most caring, personable, and welcoming people in all the many colleges we have dealt with. One lady in particular was always so encouraging and would go out of her way to get answers for us when we couldn't find them ourselves. Another adcom officer even consulted a dean for me and called me right back. When they aren't under the pressure of reading over 15,000 applications (over 30,000+ letters of rec!) they are a fabulous group of people and when you get accepted, you'll see for yourselves.</p>
<p>We were at Princeton last fall and the Admission's office was one of the best on the East Coast! Extremely polite and bent over backwards to answer questions.
Remember this time of the year is tough time for Admissions. Try to imagine the number of calls each day! Give them a break!</p>
<p>I'm as compassionate as the next guy, but what I experienced can NOT be blamed on "this time of year," as it happened months earlier. While not a compliment, saying they were the least friendly hardly counts as "bashing", socalpatty. The admin officer may be the sweetest person on the planet, but (and now I'll bash) she was so unenthusiastic and uninspiring she was almost a corpse. Furthermore, when you try to register, which is a common enough practice elsewhere, they tell you it's not necessary because they don't track visits. To me that response was akin to saying "We aren't all that interested in you and brown-nosing won't help your case." But, since the admin. office will no longer impact any of us, of course it's not sufficient cause to turn down an Ivy League offier!</p>