I hate to rain on the parade, but do not do REA at Princeton. My daughter has similar stats and just got denied. Your EC’s are better but she got a 1570 on the SAT. Anyway, I wish my daughter had not used her REA on Princeton. I hope you will research more targets so you don’t get disappointed. I knew very little about the college application process and fear I didn’t advise my daughter well. I wish you the best of luck!
I know that Princeton and Williams are your two favorites that you are considering for REA/ED - and going the “early” route will improve odds.
You also have gotten great advice about your areas of interest and suitable programs.
When you get closer to application time and in the case you have questions specifically about Barnard, feel free to reach out. My daughter graduated from there.
1 Like
Thank you!
I think you’re a bit hard on yourself in terms of your qualifications – you are qualified to apply to the reaches on your list. Keep in mind, though, that they aren’t called “reaches” for nothing – lots of qualified kids apply, and it’s a bit of a crapshoot (from our perspective, anyway) with respect to admittance.
I think an REA app at Princeton is fine, as long as you can answer these two questions in the affirmative:
- Is it going to be affordable?
- Would I rather attend Princeton than any other school?
If the answer to both is “yes”, then go ahead and apply REA. While REA is not binding, it would use your one shot at an “ED” app. So make sure it’s your #1.
RD admit rates at the most selective “Ivies” – HYP, Stanford, Chicago, and the like – are pitifully low, approximately 2-4%. So if you are going to be putting in an ED/REA/SCEA app, I think it’s best to make sure it’s your #1.
3 Likes
Princeton and Williams would both cost roughly the same from the NPCs we ran, and we could definitely afford them. I’ve visited the Princeton campus probably 5 or 6 times now with my dad and I love the school and the people there. Everyone seems genuinely interested and passionate about what they learn, and the small class sizes and engaging professors make learning exciting and challenging as well. I also have two friends going there, one of whom is studying at SPIA, and from what she’s said, it sounds like an incredible program, plus the Middle Eastern Studies department is top-notch as well.
Williams is an amazing school as well, and I love the outdoors so the location wouldn’t be an issue, but Princeton fits my interests/passions better and has a slightly larger student body while still remaining small and undergrad-focused at the same time. That, and the fact that I’ve already spent time there and talked a lot with students in programs that interest me, make Princeton my absolute #1.
3 Likes
You will write a senior thesis at Princeton, which will really help you drill deeply into whatever you wish to study and report. I think that’s a neat thing about Princeton.
Williams is also special, of course – access to tutorials, Oxbridge-style!
1 Like
Given this and your qualifications, REA to Princeton is the way to go. I also think that you will have a pick of UC’s. RD a good mix of other Ivies and LAC’s. I don’t think you need to reach too far down in “safeties” with the safest UC as your bottom for a point of reference.
4 Likes
Yes, the Senior Thesis sounds so cool!
Of course, Williams also has a full year abroad studying at Oxford, so I would be thrilled to do that as well.
2 Likes
Thank you!
1 Like
I think Occidental is well worth a good amount of your time as a match. We visited this summer and my child prefers large schools so took it off her list, but I loved it. A beautiful campus, and an impressive amount of support for students. It’s in an area that’s very diverse and funky with good access to both downtown LA and the valley (our guide has a season pass to Universal Studios). The UN internships sound like fantastic opportunities.
I agree with the assessment of others that your credentials qualify you for admission to your reaches, but also agree that you should not lose sight of the fact that the vast majority of qualified applicants are rejected by the T25 schools, sometimes for no reason other than their profile doesn’t fit with how the school is building the class. Finding reaches is easy, find at least two likelies and some matches that you love.
I also would see if there is a way for you to take AP math at your home school next year (perhaps talking to school about your experience and seeking accommodations) as many schools look at DE classes as inferior to AP.
3 Likes
many schools look at DE classes as inferior to AP.
Really? I was told that they were basically interchangeable by my high school counselor, and in DE I’m learning the same concepts as my peers in AP classes but in a semester, not in a year. Maybe my counselor could mention on her LOR that I was made to feel isolated and unwelcome in my previous math class and explain that my DE courses were more accelerated and a better fit?
2 Likes
OP already has college calculus 2, so AP calculus would be redundant. That leaves only AP statistics or college introductory statistics for a math course at AP level.
OP is in California, where the community colleges are generally seen as good quality by in-state public and private universities, although that may not be as true for colleges in other states.
1 Like
Yes, I think if they could say you took a more difficult math class, that would help. Generally, AOs view the peer group (and therefore the class) to be less competitive in a community college than a high performing high school AP class.
I see, that makes sense. I’ll make sure to ask my counselor to include a note about class acceleration in her LOR. Thanks!
As an exception to this, I believe the OP would, in the event of a denial or deferral from Princeton, retain the option of an ED II application to a college that offers this.
1 Like
I see, thank you for sharing. I’m not sure how important the SAT is post-test optional, so this might be good for me to keep in mind.
Would a 1550 or 1560 be viewed as significantly worse than a 1570? I know that 1570 is the 75th percentile for Princeton, but would being 10 or 20 points below do a lot of damage, especially since the average is a 1510?
Also, even though Princeton didn’t work out, I’m sure your daughter will get in somewhere awesome with that score! Best of luck to her!
1 Like
I think this is unfair. A school like Princeton will reject the far far majority of students. Your daughter took her best shot.
Should she have ED’d somewhere that’s not her top choice ?
That makes zero sense. If she’s academically there then it was right to do what she did.
If everyone who was turned down anywhere ED said it was a mistake to apply, then many would give up their dream.
If 96% are getting rejected, the odds are long for everyone. So putting your best foot forward, is in fact, the right thing to do if you are qualified by the #s and other areas, it’s your top choice, and you can afford it.
OP clearly desires Princeton more than any other school. So it would make zero sense to ED to Williams or anywhere else because heaven forbid she got in, she’d have zero chance at Princeton. 4% or maybe a tad higher based on her outstanding profile and any early app bump - is far better than 0%.
So I think it’s unfair to ‘rain on the parade.’ REA is not a guarantee. So you can’t expect it to be.
5 Likes
It’s important. Princeton still lists is as such, but they can put it in context. No one is getting in simply because of a high score, but that doesn’t mean it has no value. IMO someone coming out of an elite prep school is absolutely expected to submit a score.
The majority of the accepted students submit a score, and a large percentage of those not submitting are recruited athletes. The highest average scores belong to legacy admits. (Look up Princeton Freshman Survey).
A 1550 will not be any different than a 1570. Based on your PSATs and practice tests you will be fine. You might not have to but plan on taking the test twice.
1 Like
Thanks, good to know! I was planning on submitting scores anyways. If I get a 1550+ I’ll submit as is, but given what you said about legacy applicants, I’ll probably retake if it’s lower (also because I’ve been consistently at 1550 or above in practice and want it to pay off haha)
Almost all colleges will super score so unless you are above a 1550, it makes sense to take a second time (this does not mean a 3rd, 4th, 5th… time). Chances are at least one of the sections will be higher.
1 Like