Last week I received a letter from Princeton urging me to apply because they were impressed by my academic achievements. While that in itself is amazing considering I never even considered an Ivy League school, I can’t help but wonder if the school actually sees something in me or if they’re trying to keep their acceptance rate low. I’m a good student but by no means am I amazing; I have only a 3.7 gpa, I’m an A-B student, I achieved the bare minimum passing grade on the Ap Language and Comp exam, and my Math Sat scores were below the fiftieth percentile. Overall I am lackluster in the field of academics and have only really thrived in the arts but my family insists I apply and they are now heavily involved in my application process and were not previous to this letter and I am just wondering if Princeton really wants me to apply.
Boost to their acceptance rate unless you have a major hook: URM, recruited athlete etc.
They do want you to apply. But not because they’re impressed with you. They want to boost the number of applications. I agree with TomSrOfBoston above – unless you are a URM or are geographically desirable (are you from Alaska, Hawaii, New Mexico, Utah, Montana, N. Dakota, S. Dakota, or Wyoming?)
We get this same letter from different colleges. I don’t think they have any idea what anyone’s real stats are.
Many recruitment literature is subcontracted out to other firms. Some colleges’ criteria for whom to target is looser than others. eg. both MIT and Yale have scaled back their target mailings. Not the case with all selective schools. As a 3.7 student, it would be a hard stretch to imagine you’re being a viable Pton applicant, I’m sorry to say.
By the way - you crack me up how you describe yourself. Haha - you should speak more positively!
“I’m an A-B student, I achieved the bare minimum passing grade on the Ap Language and Comp exam, and my Math Sat scores were below the fiftieth percentile. Overall I am lackluster in the field of academics and have only really thrived in the arts”