Is Princeton's application too difficult? (discussion)

Colleges and Universities A-Z Princeton University
1

<p>I really think the couple thousand fewer applications that Princeton receives than peer institutions is due to the much more work-intensive Princeton application. This especially affects early applicants, many of whom procrastinated like I did and didn't crack down on those apps til mid-September, when school started. Harvard and Yale each only had one long essay, one short, and one optional. Princeton required one long and three shorts, 250 words on the past summer, and an additional short for those considering engineering, and one optional. It's twice as much work, and filling out CommonApp doesn't help reduce any of it.</p>

<p>But should Princeton make its application easier? Even though I was not initially thrilled with the idea of writing six essays for Princeton in a span of six weeks, I really appreciated having seven opportunities to show different facets of myself, though I only used six of them. I also believe that an acceptance after admissions had seen those six essays from me affirms that Princeton is a good match for me.</p>

<p>However, seeing how often we hear of applicants who gave up on their Princeton apps because they had to write twice the number of essays that they wrote for other CommonApp schools, I wonder whether Princeton misses out on a fraction of very qualified students who were simply discouraged by the amount of work involved. Sure, completing the application now shows a great deal of interest in the school, but when it comes to HYP, how much does interest really matter?</p>

<p>On the other hand, the application process weeds out the less driven and motivated (especially when you consider how tough this year's essay questions were), leaving more time for admissions to give attention to those who do apply. Like UChicago's, the applicant pool becomes more self-selecting. Making the application easier may simply boost application numbers, which are actually rather meaningless in evaluating the quality of a university or its students.</p>

<p>So, should other schools make applying more difficult? I think the combination of self-selection and more essays would provide more indication of a good match for a school, and admissions would be able to do an even better job in selection.</p>

<p>What do you all think?</p>

<p>(inspired by <a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=165199%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=165199&lt;/a&gt;)&lt;/p>

2

<p>No, I think Princeton's app, specifically the supplement, is awesome. Harvard's and Yale's application was limiting</p>

3

<p>I haven't read the other thread, but I feel the same way. I think that the Princeton app attracts just the kinds of students Princeton is famous for: students who enjoy and are capable of expressing themselves through writing (lots of essays and short answers), students who are creative (the essay prompts aren't just "Evaluate a significant experience," etc), and bright students who are, after all, real people (hodge podge). Looking at Princeton's app for the first time convinced me of Princeton's heart and quality as a liberal arts institution... it really distinguished Princeton as more than just a school with a big name. Also, I knew that my essays would probably be the tipping factor in my case, so I wanted to be able to send in as many as possible.</p>

4

<p>This is all somewhat "academic" with all these schools moving to the common app.</p>

5

<p>not really. because even after adopting the common app, princeton (like other universities) continues to require the completion of a unique "supplement" that brings the common app in line with its own, unique app. so the work required by an application still varies widely from school to school.</p>

6

<p>Frozen tears - If you think writing the Pton application is tough, you really shouldn't apply at all. The mandatory Freshman writing seminar will have you write more than that every week while taking 3 other tough courses. Perhaps there is a method to the madness.</p>

7

<p>The Princeton application asked very reasonable short answer and essay questions which allowed a great diversity of answers from the applicants in my opinion. The questions on Princeton's app do not "bottle" you in like questions of applications of other colleges (Pomona), and are not overly vague or artsy (Brown). In addition, the application does not ask for miles and miles of personal information. As for the application's difficulty, it is all relative. If any of you have ever applied to the University of Chicago, that app leads you to believe it was written by Brainiac and the Riddler. Its probably the most difficult application I've seen. Princeton's is on the easy side in my opinion.</p>