<p>I just read something about if my family is not very wealthy and that my school/region doesn't offer many oppurtunities, i should let the admissions ppl know... </p>
<p>for instance my family income is around 35000 per year so i wasn't able to do things that are available to some of my richer friends... what's the best way for me to let them know about this?</p>
<p>pwannabe-</p>
<p>absolutely no clue about this but thought I would bump for you...</p>
<p>where did you read about this, pw?</p>
<p>i don't know.. maybe im over reacting.. i just heard that if my family is not well off... then i should let them know about this somehow so they wont evaluate me as harsh as some of the other wealthier kids...</p>
<p>i read it on the harvard board.. then in A is for Admissions</p>
<p>That may be something you could get across indirectly in your essays. (That's how I'd do it, I think.) But if there really is a system set up, then I'd look into it.</p>
<p>Yeah, essays (esp. the "tell about yourself one" and the optional one) are the key to communicating that aspect of your life to the adcoms. Maybe you could try submitting an extra essay?</p>
<p>get your conselor or teacher writing your recs to say that about you</p>
<p>Who is disadvantaged here: your entire school/community or just your own family? If it is the former, your GC should mention it either in the School Profile or in the special section Princeton reserves for such cases (see Princeton application). If it is the latter, you should carefully write a heartfelt essay about it. You should be as sincere and positive as possible in your essay, it would be easy to fall into the "please-pity-me" trap with such an essay topic.</p>
<p>Yes...but also don't be afraid to tackle the issue in your essay topic. When my interviewer learned I hadn't addressed in my application circumstances from my childhood that would have given context to me of the things in the rest of my app. She said it's very important to discuss those things. I was lucky enough to have an interviewer who was more than willing to discuss it in her report. whew.</p>
<p>u put everything in ur essays =D just jam-pack them with fun loving information!</p>
<p>same dilemma here. My total family income is <10,000. I'm the sole income earner in my family right now. But I don't know if I should put that in my application...would the adcoms take it negatively if you try to be too direct about it? I've applied for a fee waiver as well...is that enough?</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>They might figure it out from the level of education of your parents.</p>
<p>I think as long as you don't make it sound like you're asking for pity, there's nothing wrong with talking about it as an accomplishment or positive learning experience or whatever...</p>
<p>Also, if you don't want to write an entire essay on it, that seems like a good thing to put on the optional "What else would you like us to know about you?" form. I was not sure about using that one for a while because I assumed that it was meant only for dire things on the order of "I had mono all of 10th grade and was only in school for two months", but I've heard from a Princeton admissions officer that they appreciate applicants' using it to soak up any extra information, or information that the student doesn't want to adapt to an essay. So that may be a good way to tell them.</p>
<p>thanks for the response everyone...really appreciate it. :)</p>
<p>I think i will probably put it in the optional part. Though one of my essays mention that.</p>
<p>It will be nice if you can write your story in an interesting and positive manner. How the difficulties shaped you, and how you overcame them to acheive what you have acheived etc. etc. I read a biographical essay of a person in a similar situation that got into one of the ivies. It was lengthy, but very simple, from the heart and interesting. Go for it, PW. Think hard, zero in on the aspects of your life you want to highlight, instances you want to mention, and then write it. </p>
<p>And please do not use the story to directly or indirctly justify lack of anything in your resume. Eg, 'I had to work after school, so could not join club activities' or 'I did not have money, so could not take private violin lessons'. Just an inspiring story. Inpiring stories do not have to end at the top of Everest or in a Noble prize. Even the beginning of a dream to apply to Princeton is an important mile-stone and an acheivement in some peoples' lives.</p>
<p>Hmm, that's good advice Sugee. Thanks for sharing with us.</p>
<p>davidrune "They might figure it out from the level of education of your parents. "</p>
<p>lol. my dad's got a PHD and mom a masters in business.. but they got them in china.. their eng sucks so they are both factory workers right now.. :S</p>