<p>Have any questions about the admissions process, why Princeton, general advice? Ask them here!</p>
<p>Also - current student taking questions.</p>
<p>Hi, I’m a student definitely considering applying to Princeton in November. I want to major in molecular biology and be able to get certificates in both musical performance as well as global health. Do art supplements, if you guys know, really help the application to Princeton stand out, if they are exceptional? And this might be an offensive question, but would you mind posting some stats of yours–gpa, test scores, etc.? Sorry if that’s a horrible question. I would like to know what kind of ballpark–despite the fact that universities focus on your individuality–Princeton students are in. </p>
<p>How do you like it there? And why’d you pick it? What major?</p>
<p>Ooh. I really want to know about the art supplement too. I’m submitting one for dance and it’s taking a lot longer than I thought it would. I would like to pursue a certificate in dance if I’m admitted.</p>
<p>Haha I also want to know about arts supplements. I actually just finished practicing piano downstairs a few minutes ago…very tiring…</p>
<p>What I want to know is if all of these supplements actually get passed on to the arts faculty to review. Are we doing all of this work for something that won’t even be listened to/seen? I hope not because I think the arts supplement will be great for my application. According to Dartmouth, about 6% of students submit an arts supplement. If Princeton is similar and about 3000 students apply SCEA, then there should only be about 200 supplements.</p>
<p>@KeDix1414 </p>
<p>I know the feeling. I’ve been rehearsing my solos with my dance teachers and there’s this one part (ONE PART), that’s supposed to be simple, that I keep messing up. It’s frustrating.</p>
<p>I really hope they look at our supplements! They take a lot of effort. I think students should be commended for taking the time to put one together. 200 supplements isn’t very many, especially if that’s across all disciplines.</p>
<p>I might submit a creative writing one too. I haven’t decided yet. I have some pretty interesting pieces I could work with, but time may be an issue. I’ll think about it more after I get this first dance solo filmed.</p>
<p>Hey, incoming Princeton Freshman here too. I wanted to say that I submitted an artist supplement (for painting in particular, but with other media too) in addition to attending the Princeton Arts and Humanities Symposium in September 2012 (I can answer more questions about this if you have them, but the short story is that your school has to be tapped by Princeton to send someone and then you have to be nominated by your school). I am 100% sure that my art supplement was looked at and pretty certain that it played a large part in my acceptance. I think it also helped that I’d gone to the symposium and gotten to meet some of the admissions officers and professors, and that I applied EA–it seems like both of those factors would have helped to “flag” my application and my art supplement. I also had very good grades and recommendations, though, so it’s not like any of this “made up for” deficiencies in the rest of my app; I think it just made me stand out more. As for whether you should send in an art supplement: if you have an incredible and impressive talent and maybe a few awards to go with it that might otherwise have gone unmentioned, then by all means, submit a supplement. Just be self-critical about whether you are objectively “amazing” in whatever medium you’re thinking about submitting, because the last thing you want to do is waste an admissions officer’s time!</p>
<p>@LinaNick</p>
<p>That’s good to hear!! :)</p>
<p>I saw something on this forum about the Princeton Arts and Humanities Symposium and I was googling and googling to try to find out how to apply to it but I found nothing! My school is not the kind that would ever get tapped by Princeton. :(</p>
<p>And my dance teachers would NEVER let me submit something that wasn’t of the highest quality. ;)</p>
<p>I was wondering whether I should apply through the SCEA or through the Questbridge match? Which one would give me a higher chance?</p>
<p>Let’s see. More questions…</p>
<p>1) Anyone have experience with the dance or creative writing programs at Princeton? What are they like?</p>
<p>2) Is there an academic help center/writing center for students?</p>
<p>3) How much free time do you have?</p>
<p>4) How did you decide what to major in/how has your major path changed?</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>You can find that statistical info here:</p>
<p>[Undergraduate</a> Admission<em>-</em>A Princeton Profile](<a href=“http://www.princeton.edu/pub/profile/admission/undergraduate/]Undergraduate”>http://www.princeton.edu/pub/profile/admission/undergraduate/)</p>
<p>and here:</p>
<p>[Admission</a> Statistics<em>|</em>Princeton University](<a href=“http://www.princeton.edu/admission/applyingforadmission/admission_statistics/]Admission”>http://www.princeton.edu/admission/applyingforadmission/admission_statistics/)</p>
<p>I totally second LinaNick in regards to the art supplement. If you excel in a creative medium, you should definitely work on putting together a portfolio of your best work. It helps the admissions see a new side of you and helps you stand out.</p>
<p>I second 1sparkle’s extra questions!</p>
<p>@ vanammo13 "in regards to the art supplement " </p>
<p>Since you are all in the essay writing season, just wanted to let you know that it is “in regard to” or “with regard to”. Check the grammar and punctuation in your essays carefully (especially for the mistakes we all commonly make)!</p>
<p>1)I haven’t been a part of either, but there are certainly a lot of dance groups that are popular. </p>
<p>2). Yes, there’s a writing center. And a darn good one at that. You can go at any point in the writing process, from outlining to fleshing out to revising. Very good to help you organize your thoughts and plan what to do next. Probably underutilized by a student body used to doing things for themselves. More info at [Writing</a> Center - Princeton Writing Program](<a href=“http://www.princeton.edu/writing/center/]Writing”>The Writing Center | Princeton Writing Program)</p>
<p>3) Depends a lot on the courses you choose to take (and how many), what extracurricular you’re doing etc and thus tends to change from semester to semester in my experience. From a whole lot to very little, and it’s basically up to you. I will say that almost regardless if you are very efficient with your time you will have enough free time. Of course being efficient is another thing :)</p>
<p>4). As for my personal “story”, I wanted to major in math before I went there, but hadn’t taken “real” (proof based) math so wasn’t sure I’d be able to handle it or if it would be for me. Took the first few classes and really enjoyed them so I went ahead with it. The best advice I can think to give is to be flexible, take a variety of courses early (since you’ll be fulfilling distribution requirements as you do!) and don’t decide any earlier than you need to. By then it should be easier.</p>
<p>Thanks for answering our questions! I personally can’t wait until I am done applying to schools and know where I am going. This process is going to add so much stress to my fall.</p>
<p>When art supplements are submitted, admissions forwards them to “experts in the field” for evaluation. So, if they are exceptional, the supplement will help, but is no means a great determining factor otherwise. Like the other posters said, it will help you stand out. </p>
<p>@waddupwaddup Hey! I’m also considering mol bio as well. </p>
<p>“How do I like it there?”: Well I will soon find out, but after finding out housing assignments, class reviews, choosing freshman seminars, I’m super excited to get started. I picked Princeton because it was the right fit for me in the end. There is a balance in the liberal arts curriculum allowing me to delve into many different areas of studies as well as the unprecedented focus on the undergrads. Princeton also has high percentage of students who get accepted into professional schools. The variety of classes combined with the amazing faculty teaching them is amazing. And the setting was perfect for me, not in a huge city (although NYC and Philly are an hour away), clean, and safe. </p>
<p>@1sparkle2 </p>
<p>1) Anyone have experience with the dance or creative writing programs at Princeton? What are they like?</p>
<p>I do not have experience the dance program, but there are many amazing dance groups to join as an extracurricular. As for creative writing, I have heard that its great, but again no personal experience :(</p>
<p>2) Is there an academic help center/writing center for students?</p>
<p>Yes! There is the McGraw Center ([Princeton</a> University’s McGraw Center - YouTube](<a href=“- YouTube”>- YouTube))</p>
<p>Thank you everyone for your answers! 
I’m really excited about my arts supplement. It’s going to be pretty awesome once it’s finished.</p>
<p>I thought of more questions.</p>
<p>1) What are the students at Princeton like? Are they always studying? A student on the Harvard thread was worried because the students on campus seemed disengaged and more preoccupied with earning top grades than enjoying learning. Is Princeton like that?</p>
<p>2) This is kind of random but when I went to visit Princeton in February the campus was really quiet. There were hardly any students around. It was a weekend and it was rainy outside but the place seemed really empty. It was kind of nice actually. Is it usually like that?</p>
<p>3) How often do students go into Philly and New York?</p>
<p>4) Do the certificates you earn have to tie into your senior thesis? I believe the student tour guide I had said something like that. If someone were say, concentrating in molecular biology and earning certificates in neuroscience and music, would their senior thesis have to be about the effects of music on the brain or something like that (tying the three together)? Or do students write multiple theses? (For example, a molecular biology thesis for their mol bio concentration and a creative thesis for their creative writing certificate)</p>
<p>Don’t worry. I’ll think of more. ;)</p>
<p>A few thoughts based on conversations with my son who is a student at Princeton:</p>
<p>1) There is a really broad range of students - intentionally (by admissions) I believe. You’ll find some who are always in the books, some who seem to study much less and socialize more, and pretty much everything in between. The quality that my son has commented on the most is the collaborative environment. In high school he ALWAYS studied alone. At Princeton, he most often works together with a friend. The environment is competitive but in a friendly way. I find that remarkable given that grade deflation means to earn top marks you need to perform better than your peers. </p>
<p>2) Most of the places people visit on campus are not the places where students generally hang out. You’ll find more students in dining halls, at eating clubs, and pockets of study areas as well as at other organized events. Overall the campus is fairly quiet (consider around 7 000 students all with different class schedules on 500+ acres) but never lacking for things to do and places to go. There are also MANY places to find a quiet spot to study or read. My son loves the environment and can’t wait to get back this fall. </p>
<p>3) This depends on the student and their schedule/commitments. There are frequent trips (I believe weekly) offered to NY for Broadway shows etc at very low cost (ie - $25-30 including transportation and ticket) through the residential colleges. My son went to a concert in Philadelphia one weekend but as a varsity athlete he travels a lot so isn’t as interested in getting away from campus as some others might be. It will also depend on your course workload and extra curricular involvement as to how often you can afford an entire day to be away. As a BSE student (combined with a sport) my son can’t do this as often as perhaps some others could. </p>
<p>4) I believe there does need to be some connection between the senior thesis and certificate work but I am not certain how it is integrated. This question would probably be best answered by an academic advisor in the department you are considering. I do know that when my son and I discussed the possibility of a certificate in a second language, he seemed to think that part of the engineering thesis would need to be done in the second language to complete the certificate. Initially this sounded daunting to him but he met an engineering professor from Princeton this summer who actually teaches in his area of interest and is fluent in that second language as well. So I think now he is actually reconsidering if it is doable. You never know what opportunities may arise! So it sounds as though there are multiple ways certificate work can be integrated into the thesis. However having just completed freshman year, I am sure we will find out more as we go along!</p>