How far of a reach is Princeton for me?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Princeton University
1

Hey, I was just wondering if princeton is out of reach for me and if anyone could give me some input on my chances next year(I’m a Junior). I know that there are a lot of subjective parts of the college admission process, but I just want to have an idea if I would even have a chance at princeton based solely on stats.

SAT I: 2230/2400 and 1540/1600 (800 math, 740 reading, and 690 writing 10 essay). I also got a 221 on my PSAT so I’ll probably be at least a semifinalist (Pennsylvania)

I’m going to take the math 2 and physics sat subject tests in June or September.

Unweighted GPA: Based on my school its a 3.96 but I got 3 B+'s so I think that’s wrong. I tried to convert it to a normal scale and I got something like 3.833

Weighted GPA: My school has a weird system so its like 4.97. On a system based out of 5( add .5 for honors and 1 for AP), I think I have a 4.35.

Class Rank: I wasn’t looking into competitive colleges as a freshman and sophomore so my class rank was 39/558 at the beginning of the this school year. It is now 19/558 after one semester and it will likely go up.

AP Classes: Due to scheduling errors, I was not able to take AP Chemistry this year but I was able to take AP Statistics. Next year I hope to take AP Chem AB, AP Calc AB, AP Calc BC, AP Micro, AP physics AB, and AP physics BC. My school has 4 classes one semester and 4 new ones the next semester.

EC’s: I know these are subjective so I will just list them.
-Robotics Club (FTC) since 10th grade. Co-Captain this year and most likely Captain next year
-Anchor Club (Community Service) no position

  • Peer Tutoring in Math since 10th grade
  • Rec soccer for 11 years
  • Habitat for Humanity (started this year)
  • Summer Job at local children’s amusement park (around 35 hrs/ week)
    I’m more involved in tutoring and robotics more than anything else and I really love to participate in them so I’ll probably talk about that in my essays.

Awards: no major awards except for maybe national merit scholar semi finalist.

I’m definitely more math, science, and engineering oriented as compared to English and the humanities, but I still want to take English classes. I think I would want to major in physics or mechanical engineering. What do you think my chances would be for early decision and regular decision?

Could you also chance me for CMU, Cornell, MIT, Williams College, Penn State, Lehigh, and Bucknell. I may be aiming too high for some of the schools but I might as well try.

2

Anyone?

3

Your SAT is fine. Study for your SAT II, these tests are very important to the Ivy league. So you would take AB first semester and BC the second? Princeton is appropriate for you. It is a Reach but it is for everyone

4

There’s no chem or physics ab.
Just AP Chemistry, and AP Physics 1 and 2.
Aside from that, I think you have a chance.
You need to find something that will make you unique though, something that will make Princeton choose you over all of the other 3.8 2200+ robotics people.

5

Cornell MIT and Princeton, even Williams, are super reaches, don’t bet on anything.
Everything else is a match or a safety.

6

Thanks for replying. At my school AB physics is mechanics and BC physics is electricity and magnetism. They are equivalent to the AP Physics C courses. We take the AB courses in the fall semester and the BC courses in the spring semester. I hope that helps with the confusion. Finally, does anybody have any suggestions as to how I make myself stand out from the other applicants?

7

Bump

8

Choose something you love and build your application around it. Do you love robotics, are you applying to something math/science-y, and can you make it show through your application? If so, try to become involved I’m robotics stuff even more, try to get a related leadership position, do something that changes your club/team. Get more people to join, compete in more competitions, maybe hold some local interschool competitions of some kind. Do something that shows you take initiative and want to do things, instead of just going with the flow. And make sure your essays are well written and show how much you love your thing. It doesn’t have to be robotics, but make it something you legitimately love. The more unique you can paint yourself, the better your chances too, I’m inclined to believe.

9

You could be a contender for Princeton and other Ivy’s. How strong depends on other factors. It you are a member of an underrepresented minority (Black, Hispanic, Native American) that will help a lot. Also, women interested in Math, Engineering, Computers have a better chance than men - as women are underrepresented in these fields. Another plus would be if you are from a geographic area that is underrepresented - a rural area, Hawaii, Alaska, really any state that is not on the West Coast or the Northeast would help. Good Luck, and remember there are lots of good schools!