<p>I'm a white male from Northern NJ thinking of applying to Princeton, and people tell me this is a strike against me (even though I'm top of my class, have strong SAT's, AP's and IB's, am involved in several substantial EC's, and am almost an Eagle Scout). Is this true?</p>
<p>To some degree, yes. An alternate way of looking at it: some people get an advantage from being from more <em>diverse</em> areas of the country (i.e. Wyoming, South Dakota). You simply don't get this advantage.</p>
<p>Wouldn't this only be true for private colleges? I can't imagine a school like Rutgers giving the same admissions and fin. aid offer to two identical applicants when one is from Wyoming and the other from northern NJ.</p>
<p>Yes, state schools will usually give preference to in-state students.</p>
<p>However... this thread is about Princeton. Princeton is most definitely not a state school.</p>
<p>Could it also be that more people from Jersey apply just because Princeton is nearby, meaning that, as a percentage, less Jersey residents get in (similar to the unfair way in which NMSF determines SF's on a population basis)?</p>
<p>No, I don't think that's true. Princeton accepted a few people from my school and it's in nj too. I don't think that the fact that your nearby is a disadvantage and if it is then that's really stupid wouldn't you agree? You should not be judged based on your location that's pretty dumb. And if people discourage you from applying then you should tell them to go **** themselves because that is the most annoying thing ever. If you have great scores and grades and all that, THEN APPLY seriously. Good luck.</p>
<p>Hey guys, I just found some stats on collegeboard that say that 16% of undergrads at Princeton are in-state. Maybe its not such a disadvantage after all...</p>