<p>I had my interview today, and my interview basically made it seem like I couldn't cut it. I don't think he had any test scores or anything besides my contact information, and he did ask for a resume which he read for the first time (it seemed). </p>
<p>Anyways, he came from a public school and went in pre-med. Upon his arrival, he realized the fierce intelligence around him and explained that the private school kids were a lot more prepared. So, he broke it down like this:</p>
<p>Princeton Class (in order of "rank/intelligence")
-------private school kids--------</p>
<p>----lower private school kids----
-------------midline-------------
---as far as a public student like you can get---</p>
<p>--where many public students end up--</p>
<p>I was...I don't know. It felt very negative to me. I assured him that I understand I would be surrounded by the nation's brightest and I would work hard....but, still, this interview is informational, isn't it? Why the negativity?</p>
<p>I don't know...I just thought I'd share that. The rest of the interview was my explaining what I liked about Princeton, elaborating about my activities, and talking about a few of the clubs there that I thought were really cool.</p>
<p>May be the interviewer just want to inform you the difficulty of getting into Princeton, and have nothing against you. I think it's actually better for the interviewer not to make the applicant feel too happy and confident at first. Not to scare you, but imagine if you get rejected in the end despite having a "superb" interview....</p>
<p>My s went to public school k-12 and is a freshman and got 3.56 gpa first semester. There is no question about how insanely competitive it is specially science classes plus it was an adjustment time for him with all the social life .My s interviewer told him last year none of the students she had interviewed made it to Princeton but wish him the best of luck. Good Luck what ever is meant for you will be yours.</p>
<p>Bull. My friend who is a freshman at Princeton went to my public high school and is excelling in her courses - all of which are science/math, with the exception of her required Writing Seminar course. She is not a genius; she simply has drive. Those who are the victims of poor public schooling may be at a slight disadvantage upon entering Princeton, but having the desire and willpower to succeed will conquer any of these obstacles.</p>
<p>Take heart, interviews are not that critical anymore. Some one posted the link to a Philadelphia Inquirer article regarding the issue and weights of different things. Try to track that down and relax.</p>
<p>Increased emphasis on, and increased awareness & availability of, AP & honors level courses has offered most students the opportunity to be well prepared for college. However, private schools still have smaller, discussion based classes with greater feedback from teachers. Private schools also typically require more & lengthier written assignments.</p>
<p>The interviewer should have been more informative and less subjective on answering your questions. My interviewer was a public student himself and he talked about the cohesiveness of the campus and the plethra of activities available. There will always be kids at any college who may be more uptight than others. It is simply a fact of life that you have to sometimes deal with and ignore. If you get accepted, I'm positive that you will find ways to have a wonderful undergraduate experience at Princeton. Best of luck!</p>
<p>I would agree that the average private school is better than the average public school, but elite public school kids are definitely the most academically prepared at colleges such as Princeton. If you guys want to talk math and science, just go look at the math and science public academies and so forth.</p>
<p>I think to get into Princeton from a not-so-great public school shows that they really feel you have potential. You may literally be 2 years behind in academic knowledge, but still have a great opportunity to do your best no matter what.</p>
<p>Maybe getting admitted from a crappy public school is even a greater feat than getting in from a great public or a private or prep school.</p>