<p>Decision: Rejected</p>
<p>Objective:[ul]
[<em>] SAT I (breakdown): 2320 (800 M 790 CR 730 W) Single-sitting
[</em>] SAT II: Math II 800 Physics 780
[<em>] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
[</em>] Weighted GPA: 4.74 (5+ scale)
[<em>] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 32/916
[</em>] AP (place score in parentheses): Statistics (5), English Language (5), U.S. History (4)
[<em>] Senior Year Course Load: AP Calculus BC, AP Physics C, Honors English IV, Honors Economics/Government, Choir, Cross Country
[</em>] Number of other applicants in your school: 3-5
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Hispanic Scholar, AP Scholar, Nat’l Merit Commended[/ul]</p>[/li]
<p>Subjective:[ul]
[<em>] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Cross Country (varsity co-captain, state champions), Track & Field (varsity runner), Chamber Choir (section leader), Native American Club (VP), NHS (member)
[</em>] Job/Work Experience: Summer job at a driving range, '09
[li] Volunteer/Community service: About 130 hours with various track/cross country related camps.[/li][/ul]</p>
<p>Writing (Write a brief description and Rate Quality on 1-10 Scale; 10 as Best):[ul]
[<em>] Essays (Include Subjects):[list]
[li] Common App Main: 9.5/10 I was immensely pleased with this essay. I wrote about running a mile in a workout as the narrative frame, using a lap-by-lap breakdown to describe different aspects of myself and how they connect with my running.[/li][</em>] EC Short Answer: 7/10 Talked about cross country, pretty generic.
[<em>]“A few details” questions: Not much to say about these
[</em>]“Your Voice” Extended essay: 9/10 Wrote about my grandfather and his fervor for learning
[<em>] Engineering Essay (if applicable): 8.5/10 About my intentions to develop and implement sustainable and replicable water purification technologies in resource-poor Central American countries, framed by a narrative of my last vacation to Honduras.[/ul]
[li] Teacher Recommendation #1: English teacher, did not read, probably good[/li][</em>] Teacher Recommendation #2: Physics teacher, “top I’ve encountered in my career”
[<em>] Counselor Rec: In a class of 900+, probably very generic
[</em>] Interview: Excellent, lasted two hours, etc.[/list]</p>
<p>Other[ul]
[<em>] Date Submitted App: 12/29/2010
[</em>] State (if domestic applicant): TX
[<em>] School Type: Moderately competitive public, sends a few students to top schools
[</em>] Ethnicity: Hispanic
[<em>] Gender: Male
[</em>] Income Bracket: >10,000 custodial, 200,000+ noncustodial
[li] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM [/ul]</p>[/li]
<p>Reflection[ul]
[<em>] Strengths: URM, essays, co-captain of state championship team
[</em>] Weaknesses: Rank, courseload, dearth of awards
[<em>] Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I haven’t done anything particularly spectacular in high school. I have the smarts for Princeton (or so I think), but not the accomplishments. Being bright simply isn’t enough.
[</em>] Where else have you been accepted/deferred/rejected:[list]
[<em>] Accepted: Texas A&M, UT Austin, Vanderbilt (likely), Cornell (likely), Duke (likely)
[</em>] Waitlisted: Nowhere
[li] Rejected: Princeton[/ul][/li][li] What would you have done differently?: Taken more AP classes, gotten involved in some academic extracurriculars[/list]</p>[/li]
<p>Other Factors:
General Comments/Congratulations/Venting/Commiserations, etc:</p>
<p>Rejection stings, especially after those three likely letters, but I can’t say I was surprised. I may be a URM, but not in the sense to which affirmative action should apply to me, and I’m sure Princeton was able to discern the difference. I’m hardly alone, as it seems many highly qualified applicants were turned down this year. Congratulations to those of you who were admitted, and good luck to everyone else. I’m sure you all have promising prospects outside of New Jersey for college, and I wish you all the best. </p>
<p>Briefly explain why you applied to Princeton (This may very roughly show who really had an interest and if there is some correlation with acceptance): </p>
<p>I loved the campus and the academic atmosphere. Also, the prestige is always alluring.</p>