I’m a rising junior planning on applying early to Princeton although I’ll also be applying to HY§, MIT, Stanford.
ACADEMICS:
- GPA: 4.0, 97.0 (unweighted)
- ACT: 36
- SAT Subjects: Literature (790), Math II (790), Physics (780)
- 10 AP classes, 12 AP tests (4s and 5s)
- Class Rank: no ranking although likely top 5 in a class of 300
EXTRACURRICULARS:
Clarinet–
- made NY Conference All-State Wind Ensemble
- two-time $100+ scholarship winner
- member of local youth orchestra
- treasurer of school’s Wind Ensemble
Tennis (school)–
- first singles for four years
- made city’s select team twice
- captain since freshman year
- two state medals for Science Olympiad
- volunteer at town's park system
- solo pointe dancer
SUMMER:
- (rising junior) office intern at local music school for 80+ hours
- (rising senior) research assistant at physics laboratory at local university
APPLICATION:
- Recommendations: one rec letter (physics teacher) is definitely good since I've read it already, I have no information on my second rec letter (english teacher) and I'm unsure of its quality
- Essays: pretty confident about how these will turn out
GENERAL INFO:
- Gender: female
- Ethnicity: Asian
- Intended Major: undecided although leaning towards research or economics
- Income Bracket: ~100k/year
- High School: average, New England
- sister is currently a rising sophomore at Harvard
Are there any suggestions? Should I emphasize one part of my application considering that my first choice is Princeton? The strengths and weaknesses of my application? Would my sister being at Harvard affect the Harvard decision? Any comments would be absolutely incredible. I really need to know whether or not my applying early to Princeton is reasonable!
Thank you so much!
The main weakness of your application is that aside from numbers, nothing really stands out about you no offense. I’m sure you have visited Harvard’s campus. So surely you know that it is very different than Yale and Princeton. Just make sure you know what you want in your corgi experience. Prestige only goes so far.
Would I be able to lesson my “blandness” (sorry) with the essays? I don’t have much concrete evidence to support my personal self, but if I’m able to produce an interesting image via the essays, will that be enough? And thank you!
Even with an interesting image in the essays, they will still look at your ECs as reflecting choices during hs. Maybe it’s just the way you laid it out here. What do you really think you offer them? How did you decide you’re a match?
As good a chance as most, still a reach. Make sure you have some good safeties. It will likely come down to essays for you. You have all the objective measures covered. You’re definitely in the game, but so are some many thousands of other students. You’ll need to wow 'em with your essay.
I think your chances are excellent! You’ve obviously worked really hard. The schools you are applying to are lottery win schools, but you look like a really strong candidate. Best of luck!
I guess I decided Princeton because of its higher focus on learning and the love of it. I do love learning and take many free, no-credit online courses and do self-studies. I don’t see how I can incorporate that into the ECs except through Science Olympiad. I guess I’m being a bit ambitious by choosing Princeton. In your opinion, what colleges would you recommend me applying to based on my credentials? (I can narrow down the list later on based on my own interests)
@orturn I think for the Ivies I would do the tennis recruiting questionnaires and see if you are recruitable. They are online.
You also need to be aware of demographics and geography.
Your stats do qualify you to apply. You need to dig into what these schools like and need, in order to present yourself.
[I guess I decided Princeton because of its higher focus on learning and the love of it.
[/quote]
You’re not going to get into any top college if that’s going to be your reasoning for wanting to attending. Pretty much every university has a focus on learning.
Great stats, but you do look generic like the other posters said. However, I think uniqueness is overrated. Be genuine in your essays, and you’ll improve your chances. Chance back?: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1778302-chance-an-asian-yale-duke-williams-p1.html
Be genuine in your essays. It’s not about the topic of your essays, but how you treat it. It’s often your treatment that makes you unique. Sure, tons of kids play the clarinet, but no one does it the same way or has the same favorite song. Princeton/Harvard/Yale are common app, so definitely have a strong common app essay.
As far as Princeton’s supplement, see if there’s also a creative aspect and stress that it is your first choice, but really define a reason that’s a bit more specific than the one you gave.
Good luck 