<p>Decision: Accepted </p>
<p>@adriennevaughan - same thing happened to me!</p>
<p>Objective:[ul]
[<em>] SAT I superscore (breakdown): 2280 (770W, 780M, 730CR)
[</em>] SAT II: 780 Math II, 750 Chem, 720 Bio (M)
[<em>] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.5, 3.6-ish I guess?
[</em>] Weighted GPA: 4.13
[<em>] AP (place score in parentheses): APUSH (5), Bio (5)
[</em>] Senior Year Course Load: AP Psych, AP Eng, AP Econ, AP Calc BC, Philo, Music Theory, Honors Classics of World Literature, Jazz Ensemble.
[<em>] Number of other applicants in your school: 30 (4, including me, got in)
[</em>] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):Commended Scholar (NMSQT)</p>
<p>Subjective:[list]
[<em>] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): JAZZ DRUMMER – 2011 Jazz Band of America, 2010 NJ All-State Jazz Band, various other honor bands. Lots of awards at jazz competitions.
[</em>] Job/Work Experience: Taught drum lessons.
[li] Volunteer/Community service:[/ul] Camp counselor at Hindu Heritage Summer Camp in Rochester, NY. Volunteered at a hospital in India. Shoveled driveways from time to time in the winter.</p>[/li]
<p>Writing (Write a brief description and Rate Quality on 1-10 Scale; 10 as Best):[ul]
[<em>] Essays (Include Subjects):Wrote about my English teacher. It was good (it worked, yeh?)
[</em>] Common App Main: Wrote about jazz drumming and how I wanted to study music
[li] EC Short Answer: Wrote about a podcast that my friend and I started</p>[/li]
<p>[<em>] Teacher Recommendation #1: bio teacher. probably good (didn’t read)
[</em>] Teacher Recommendation #2: english teacher. probably great (didn’t read)
[<em>] Counselor Rec: didn’t read
[</em>] Additional Rec: band director. read that one. awesome.
[<em>] Interview: good interview.
[</em>] Art Supplement:[/ul] Sent in a CD that sampled my jazz drumming. Also met director of jazz studies personally and handed him my CD, and kept in contact with him throughout the year.</p>
<p>Other[ul]
[<em>] Date Submitted App: 12/30/10 (I think?)
[</em>] State (if domestic applicant): NJ
[<em>] Country (if international applicant): USA
[</em>] School Type: Public Mid-sized
[<em>] Ethnicity: Indian
[</em>] Gender: Male
[<em>] Income Bracket: didn’t apply for aid.
[</em>] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): probably the music stuff</p>
<p>Reflection[list]
[<em>] Strengths: Music supplements. Solid standardized test scores, essays, and recs.
[</em>] Weaknesses: GPA
[<em>] Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I’m sure my app went through the music department at one point or another. I guess Princeton likes jazz musicians. I think a lot of my other stats were strong enough. The only thing that could have hurt me was my GPA.
[</em>] Where else have you been accepted/deferred/rejected: Accepted: Princeton, NYU, Oberlin, UMich (music), Rutgers. Rejected: Brown, Dartmouth, Columbia, UPenn, Williams, Wesleyan, Northwestern.
[li] What would you have done differently?:[/ul] studied harder lol</p>[/li]
<p>[/list]Other Factors:
General Comments/Congratulations/Venting/Commiserations, etc: I’m absolutely elated that I was accepted to Princeton. I learned that grades aren’t everything, although every other ivy/williams/wesleyan I applied to rejected me. However, if you do what you love and work hard at it, amazing things can happen! Getting into Princeton was only a dream, but it came true.
Briefly explain why you applied to Princeton : Pretty great jazz program, amazing academics, stellar reputation, close to home, lovely campus. This was the ideal place for me.</p>