My hypothetical chances!

Colleges & Universities A-Z Princeton University
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<p>Hi. I'm an incoming freshman this September, and yes, I am worrying way in advance. Princeton is my dream school, and I have done a lot of reading about it and visited the campus and been to the town. I want to know my hypothetical chances based on my hypothetical plan for the rest of high school. (: It's mostly achievable and likely to happen, but my reason for asking so early in advance is that I want to make sure my extracurriculars and such don't hurt me.</p>

<p>I'm Asian American (i.e. 100% Asian ethnicity, born in America), female, and attend a large public high school that's considered good. I believe my only hook is that I live in NJ, which makes up 15% of Princeton students or something like that.</p>

<p>ASSUMING that I get a high GPA, high SAT and SAT II scores, high ACT score, high AP scores (I know I'll be taking 4-8 AP courses by the time I graduate), and write excellent essays and have outstanding recommendations and a good interview...</p>

<p>By senior year, it'll be something like this:</p>

<p>ECs: Varsity Volleyball, Varsity Basketball, Varsity Lacrosse, Classical and Acoustic Guitar for 6 years (3 years of actual lessons), Piano for 9 years (all years actual lessons), Model Congress (founder and president), School Newspaper (higher ranks, not just membership), School Choir or Radio Station [I have not yet decided] for three years, School A Capella for three years, Acrylic and Oil Painting (little kid art classes, 6 years watercolor/sketch/acrylic class, break, 3 years acrylic/oil class=9+ years total), Teaching Children at Church About God, Personal Research Projects, Personal Website Arguing Opinions/Issues, Short Personal Films, and possibly Acting School if we can afford it by then.</p>

<p>Volunteer Work: Special Olympics aide, Retirement Home for a few years, Summer Missionary Trip(s), Soup Kitchen, probably Hospital, and possibly Tutoring (maybe get paid, I don't really care)</p>

<p>Other Work: Summer Camp Counselor, Internships (if I can find any for minors), and other summer jobs if I can find any more unique ones (i.e. not cashiers and waitresses) </p>

<p>I also will hopefully have published a novel by the time I apply; it's in the works.</p>

<p>I don't really think I'm the stereotypical Asian--I'm into every kind of art, not so into science, enjoy being social, like sports other than tennis, etc. Will that help me as a smart but different Asian?</p>

<p>And the question I'm most worried about...will admissions officers hate my extracurriculars?
I know I'm not the best at any one thing, and so I'll never be that girl with national awards for x activity (except maybe writing, and that "National" Honor Society and such). But I am good at many things and have an extremely wide range of interests, so is that enough? Or will adcoms think that I'm just trying to "impress" them with a myriad of various hobbies, like one of those people who throws everything on a resume so they'll be accepted at the elite? I'm really not like that, and I truly love everything I do in its own unique way.</p>

<p>In closing (and sorry for this massive wall of text)...</p>

<p>Do you think that admissions officers will [incorrectly, as I said] see my extracurriculars as insincere and "just to get into college"?
Do you think that, assuming I earn high scores, this all culminates to a reasonably likely acceptance at Princeton [in four years]?
If not, what should I do to better my chances?</p>

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<p>Just do what you enjoy… admissions can tell if you try to beef up your resume. For instance, hopefully you have a sincere interest in this Model Congress, because probably half of the people applying have started their own club of sorts, to the point that it is not impressive, but rather just shows they needed some type of club to lead. Just make sure that you don’t come off that way. Also, living in New Jersey is probably more of a bad than a good thing. The reason there is such a large percentage of NJers is that a) so many kids from NJ apply to princeton and b) the children of faculty get accepted at a much higher rate, and most of them are instate. It stinks, I know; im from NJ too. So pretty much do what interests you, and if all of those ec’s you mentioned interest you than that’s great, but if not, the admissions will see right through it. And, in response to your last line (culminates to a reasonably likely acceptance at Princeton) that is near impossible for you, simply due to demographics. Asians from NJ have poor chances all around, and the average acceptance rate is about 9%… just, taking out some of the completely unqualified applicants that apply for the hell of it, you probably have a 12-14% chance no matter what you do. good luck!</p>

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<p>I just hope they don’t automatically assume that I’m trying to “beef up my resume”…
And yes, I do have a sincere interest in Model Congress. I participated in it in seventh grade (a Social Studies/IRLA project that lasted a few months) and, because I’m interested in political issues and their possible solutions, I want to be an actual Senator (or other politician), so I decided that I would make a Model Congress Club. If for some reason I can’t, I’ll join Model UN, which is the next best thing that my school already offers.</p>

<p>Aw, that’s too bad about the affirmative action and NJ disadvantages. Oh well…
Thanks for answering! :)</p>

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<p>Can anyone else chance me based on my original post? :)</p>

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<p>I understand that you mean well, but you are being absurd. Enjoy high school, do the activities you plan to do, visit Princeton to make sure it’s really your dream, and then apply.</p>

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<p>absolutely correct ^^</p>