Does Princeton consider freshman year grades?

Applying to College
1

I’ve heard conflicting reports on this. I was considering applying, but bc of my freshman year my GPA is a tad low. If they don’t consider 9th grade, I’d be all over it.

2

If there are no C’s, they won’t care. If there is 1 or two, as long as their is significant improvement they won’t care.

Grades are just one check in the box for Princeton and to have any chance of getting in, being unique while having strong academics is a must.

3

I had a B- freshman year with a bunch of B+‘s and C+‘s mixed in. From then on I got straight A’s.

I read this on CollegeVine as well:

“Less selective schools may just take your GPA/Grades at face value, but, assuming you’re planning on applying to top schools like Princeton and Stanford, you shouldn’t have to worry about freshman year grades , as these schools will go through a more rigorous process of figuring out the story behind your grades”

4

Here’s the thing - if you want to apply, then apply. You have 20 Common App slots. If you’re willing to put in the work, then apply. You could be a 4.0, have 15 APs, find the cure for a disease and still get rejected. You’ll never know why. In fact, there’s a 95% chance you’ll get rejected.

Just make sure you have your targets and safeties as well - and get objective opinions on your overall situation (GPA, rank, rigor, test score, ECs, etc.) because you want a true read. Many students are biased and end up with no acceptances because they only applied to top 15 schools.

Good luck.

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5

I’ve got many targets and safeties lined up. I’m also a sibling legacy at a T50, so I’m not particularly worried. Just looking to see if Princeton would actually look my my grade 9 stats.

6

Join a webinar and ask them.

7

Since (a) I’ve seen/heard other folks claim that Princeton doesn’t consider freshman year grades, and (b) I do alumni interviews for Princeton and wanted to know the truth, I emailed a Princeton admissions officer. He indicated that the university does in fact consider all four years of a student’s high school record.

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8

There would have to be a reason for them to look though, they’re not going to do a rigorous process for every student that has issues with freshman year grades and courses. It could be a hook (athlete, urm legacy etc) or medical/family circumstances.