Alright, that makes sense. Thanks!
You may have fully recent information. However, it might be worth noting, since your result may place you near a margin, that Princeton’s current CDS shows a 75th percentile SAT score of 1560 for the class that entered in the fall of 2021.
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Yep. She should probably research schools that offer ED2, just in case.
But at this point, it sounds like Wiliams is her #2, and they don’t do ED2.
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I know that Hamilton, Johns Hopkins, Tufts, Middlebury, and Colby all have it, so I’ll look into those (especially JHU because while it’s not on my current list, someone mentioned that it has a very strong IR program, so that’s definitely something to research)
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I would urge you not to ED2 to anyplace that you have not visited. And frankly, I probably wouldn’t ED2 anywhere that is not your top choice, unless you are denied at Princeton REA and the ED2 is your #2. After all, how would you feel if you get admitted at Princeton RD but are accepted ED2 elsewhere?
I do know of a legacy student who applied REA to Princeton, was deferred, and then accepted in RD. So it definitely does happen.
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JHU is very strong in IR – it is said, by many, to be one of the top programs in the country.
I’ll echo @AustenNut – don’t ED2 to a place unless it is your #1 (at that point in the process, meaning P’ton has rejected you) and you have visited it. Online photos can’t tell the whole story of a place – you can’t smell a photo, or feel the weather through one, or feel the vibe of a place… etc.
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Yeah, that does make sense. I will likely look into JHU – maybe I’ll switch it out with Brown, since I don’t want my list to be too reach-heavy.
I’m wondering if anyone thinks it would be worthwhile for me to apply to the Senate Page program. I noticed that Senator Feinstein is accepting applications for the summer session, and it’s due on the 31st. If I was accepted for the June-July session, I would miss Girls State but I could still do research in July and August (just for a shorter amount of time). However, I know it’s incredibly competitive, and I’m sure hundreds or even thousands of other students are also applying. Given my intended major and current interests, is it even worth a shot?
If you decide it’s worth it, then you should apply. Only you can answer.
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It probably would be, but the application process will be very time-consuming. Oh well… good practice for summer and fall I guess!
RE: REA at Princeton…You won’t be able to guess in advance, even as a legacy. My S23 just applied ED as a Legacy at Dartmouth and was deferred. His stats are higher than yours and his ECs are not as impressive. Just one data point. I feel like he wasted his ED though.
As others have mentioned ED is not really an advantage for unhooked applicants anymore. And the UCs are a total crapshoot with test blind. (We’re in East Bay too). I would find a school you like with EA— preferably one with an EA decision date in December though fewer are doing December nowadays.) Having a nice acceptance in hand is essential once all the rejections and WL start to come out. Not trying to be a downer, just practical. My three kids EA “safety schools” were/are: Lewis & Clark (nice merit), UMass-Amherst (honors college + merit), and still waiting on Univ. Colorado (Jan decision).
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CA public schools are pushing kids into DE b/c they are having a hard time offering AP courses. At our east bay public, DE isn’t weighted and AP is.
OP, just reviewing your courses again: 3 AP limit for next year: what are the options? I realize you take math DE and you will be past foreign language AP. Just make sure you are taking the most rigorous 3 APs available /offered. Princeton will notice and it will matter. Keep all As this year and do well on the APs so you can report the scores on the common app. Also, if you haven’t already, ask your GC for your class rank (or decile if they do not give rank).
Of course, that doesn’t matter to those who apply to UCs and CSUs, which recalculate GPA weighting both, and do not use high school calculated class rank.
High school weighting systems matter only if applying to colleges that take the high school calculated GPA or rank at face value. But there may be a lot of those colleges.
I think most of the LACs do not recalculate BUT they don’t just measure stats either. I think they tend to embrace the “holistic” review more than large Universities, because they can.
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Next year I can take up to 5 AP/DE classes, because in order to be EIC of our newspaper I have to take Advanced Journalism, and all seniors must take a combined Gov/Econ class. In DE, I’m either taking Calculus 3 for a semester and then one semester of Statistics, or I’ll take Stats for two semesters (I think Calc 3 will look better but I know Stars will be helpful for Political Science). My other DE classes will be Arabic 2 and Arabic 3.
For APs, I’m definitely taking AP Art History, AP English Literature, and AP Physics.
But I really regret not taking AP Bio this year since I’m worried that AP ES won’t look as good on my transcripts. However, if I take Bio next year, I’ll be taking 8 classes right when college apps are happening and I feel like I might get overwhelmed. If AP ES this year would make my rigor worse though I’d take AP Bio next year and just try and power through all that homework.
My other AP options are: AP Chem (but the teacher actively tries to give Cs so I don’t want that on my midyear report), AP Stats (40 person class so I’ll take the online DE), AP CS Principles, or AP CS A
You are way over analyzing.
Taking 8 or 7 + APES does not change the level of rigor and I can’t imagine will change an admission decision one iota.
You have college apps to do - don’t overwhelm yourself. You’re still a kid and you need to remember that too.
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That’s definitely good to keep in mind. I don’t think Princeton defers the same amount of people as Harvard – I would be happy with a deferral because that still means I could be accepted (and so could your son! best of luck to him!)
REA means that I couldn’t EA to any private schools, but I don’t know about OOS publics.
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Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind. I guess my regret is because I took AP ES after having an awful time in regular Bio my freshman year only to learn that the teacher had been replaced and now made AP Bio a great experience… but my AP ES teacher is completely disorganized and I’m basically self-studying at this point.
Well, is this something you can ask upur counselor about, which schedule is best considering what the top kids at your school do? If AP chem and APBio are the most rigorous sciences at your school and you have taken neither, it is not ideal for schools like Princeton. Princeton expects you to challenge yourself across areas, even if teachers are known for being tough graders. However, I understand your desire not to overload. Is your AP physics 1 or C? C is much more rigorous if that is an option at your school. However, it is often taken after the first year of HS physics so it may not be an option for you.