<p>Hello! I'm a sophomore living in the Princeton area. I'm one of the best students at my very good public high school, which usually sends 5-7 out of 400 seniors to Princeton University each year. I play two instruments and two sports, all of which I'm good at but not to the point where I could win a state or national award, mostly because I started them later than my classmates did. I also am artistic, but I don't have enough money to consistently take art lessons, so I draw and paint on my own time. I have one elective and related club at school that I'm heavily involved with, but I don't do more clubs because the sports would conflict...and I love writing, so I plan to enter writing competitions this year, but that's it. I feel like people are always saying that you have to stand out with your extracurriculars, but I'm against resume building just to get into college. I don't want to join a bunch of stupid clubs to fight to be the president of something that doesn't even matter in the real world. I do what I love, and I'm talented, but I'm just worried that it won't be enough for me to only be the leader of that one elective/club, though I'm committed to all of my activities.</p>
<p>However, I think I'll have some other advantages. I'm one of the top writers in my grade, so I'm sure my essays will be awesome. I can definitely get great recommendations because teachers like me a lot. I always make a phenomenal first impression on others for some reason, and I'm a people person, so a Princeton interview would give me a big boost.</p>
<p>Are there a significant number of current/accepted Princeton University students who didn't have a bunch of awards, presidencies, and captaincies?
Do you think I'll be okay?</p>
<p>First, if you live in Princeton, you really really really ought to go someplace else for college. Same for the kid who lives in New Haven or Ann Arbor or Gainesville. Get out of town. But that isn’t what you asked.</p>
<p>To answer your question, yes, all Princeton students have great credentials, but don’t be down on yourself. There is no cookie cutter of great. This applies to all the top schools.</p>
<p>There are two things in particular they are looking for. First, academically, can you perform at a top, rigorous level. This means good grades and scores. But there are literally tens of thousands of high school seniors that meet this threshold and it sounds like you do also. Second what do you add to the community. On issue that you may have is how to certify that you perform at least one chosen extra-curricular at a stellar level. Some people ‘prove’ theirs by getting state or national awards in something like science fair, or athletics or music. So you can see, if you were captain of the debate team then you were probably pretty involved and had influence on those around you. But there are other ways. If you are really talented in art you can submit that and the art dept will take a look at it, but before that, enter some in the high school competitions. If you are really good at writing, you can list stories or articles that you have gotten published, even in the local paper or school paper. Here’s a concern–if you are great at something, but have nothing to show for it, then arguably, even if you are fabulous at it, if you have never brought it out into the community then Princeton may fear that you will hide your greatness even at college. So they might think that having you occupying a dorm room and quietly writing and doing your art may not help the overall community.</p>
<p>But don’t give up. Identify what you love, then then let your light shine and make your proof points so you can make your case when the time comes.</p>
<p>Since you’re still a sophomore, I’d offer you the following advice:</p>
<p>If you’re concerned about # of ECs, but don’t want to join clubs that don’t mean anything to you, why don’t you start your own club? That way you can be interested in doing it (ie Writing Club or something along those lines), and your interest will show when you’re finally doing college applications.</p>