I’m applying to Princeton as a legacy RD, as is my brother. We have 2 quite different profiles (although mine is far from perfect) and I’m afraid the twin rule (does Princeton exercise this?) will hurt my chances.
We are middle class white males, and our stats are as following:
Me (English major):
National merit semi-finalist and a few writing awards
4.0 uw, 4.6 w
1590 SAT
not amazing ECs, but decent commitment. Did one sport for 4 years, did quiz bowl for 4 years, started a club, have volunteered with a few community service orgs for 4 years, had the same summer job for 4 years
Him:
No national awards
3.8 uw, 4.3 w
similar ECs, but all much shorter term. Did 2 clubs for a year each, 2 sports for a year each, 1 summer jobs for 2 years, another for 1 year, has volunteered with a community service org for a year
Both pretty strong LoRs and essays, his essays were a little less rushed though
You don’t ask an actual question (except parenthetically).
Guessing you are just stewing waiting for April, so here is the single best advice you will get on how to deal with the wait:
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make sure that you have a genuine safety (both in admissions and financially) that you will not cry if it is your only option.
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make sure you have a couple of applications in to colleges that are affordable and are somewhere between Princeton and your safety in terms of likelihood of admission.
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STOP talking to anybody outside your immediate family about what colleges you are applying to / hoping for. If they ask just keep saying ‘just a matter of waiting now’ on repeat.
Once you have done 1-3:
4). Get OFF CC, and put your back into staying busy with anything other than colleges. In particular do physical things, and/or things for people whose challenges are bigger than yours.
ps, NOBODY on this site will be able to tell you more than you already know about your chances, or your brother’s chances.
Well done on having a strong HS career. Good luck on your college outcomes- come back & tell us how it went!
There is no “twin rule;” applicants are reviewed individually, and they can admit one or both or neither based on each application.
Legacy status may be a non-factor in the RD round.
I’ve heard anecdotally that college admissions staff generally like to keep twins together: either reject both, or accept both. For acceptances they generally use the higher rated twin as the baseline factor.
They do this to maintain the appearance of fairness. Who knows if this is really true or not. There were a set of twins from my son’s boarding school class who both were admitted to Princeton. They were both legacies. I don’t know their stats though. I know that Princeton values legacies however.
Two things to keep in mind:
- The plural of anecdote is not data
- Correlation does not imply causation
Is it or isn’t it? The Plural of Anecdote is Data – Quote Investigator®. Perhaps it’s more accurate to say “The plural of anecdote is not always data”?
I also hope it’s not inappropriate to ask a bit of New Year’s day trivia that has nothing to do with New Year’s Day but everything to do with Tiger Twins: what movie has one of the most famous (and perhaps only) cinematic set of Princetonian twins appearing in it?
Regarding both points, I am aware that I have way too much time on my hands!
I would say both are getting in or worst case you are getting in
Curious on the outcome if you are willing to share.