<p>To all of you, Princeton applicants/students, what interesting websites or books have you encountered yourself lately with?</p>
<p>I know the question is out of topic, but I figure the most inteligent minds most likely read and post in this particular thread.
Thanks in advance!!
Pensil </p>
<p>Sent from my Ally using CC App</p>
<p>Decision: Accepted</p>
<p>Objective:[list]
[<em>] SAT I (breakdown): didnt take
[</em>] ACT: 35 composite
[<em>] SAT II: 800 math 2, 700 physics
[</em>] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.86
[<em>] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): weighted: 36 unweighted: 110
[</em>] AP (place score in parenthesis): stat (4), US (4), World (4), H. Geo (5), Lang (4)
[<em>] IB (place score in parenthesis): nope
[</em>] Senior Year Course Load: ap chem, ap calc BC, ap econ, engineering class, gymnastics
[*] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): nope lawl</p>
<p>God i have no idea how to operate these posts</p>
<p>Decision: Accepted</p>
<p>Objective:[ul]
[<em>] SAT I (breakdown):
[</em>] ACT: 35 composite
[<em>] SAT II: math 2: 800 physics: 700
[</em>] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.86
[<em>] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): weighted: 36 Unweighted: 110
[</em>] AP (place score in parenthesis): stat (4), US (4), World (4), H. Geo (5), Lang (4)
[<em>] IB (place score in parenthesis):
[</em>] Senior Year Course Load: ap chem, calc BC, Ap econ, engineering class, humanities class
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): nope</p>[/li]
<p>[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[<em>] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): polish school since kindergarten. founder bike club at school. science olympiad. church lector.
[</em>] Job/Work Experience: temp at bike shop
[<em>] Volunteer/Community service: 20 hours at bike thing
[</em>] Summer Activities: bike and skate all day err day
[<em>] Essays: about biking and skating all day err day
[</em>] Teacher Recommendation: dont know…range from average to amazing
[<em>] Counselor Rec: amaaaazing. fav student he’s ever had
[</em>] Additional Rec: polish school principal. very flattering essay!
[li] Interview: oh gawd cant relive this…4/10</p>[/li]
<p>[/ul]Other[ul]
[<em>] State (if domestic applicant): Illinois
[</em>] Country (if international applicant):
[<em>] School Type: public
[</em>] Ethnicity: White
[<em>] Gender: Male
[</em>]Income Bracket: `150k
[li] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none</p>[/li]
<p>[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[<em>] Strengths: Im unique. academics are not the center of my life.<br>
[</em>] Weaknesses: not valedictorian?
[<em>] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: i was unique
[</em>] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: university of minnesota</p>
<p>[/ul]General Comments: Dont be a cliche. Unless you have won national science competitions and have cured cancer, you can’t win on the “pure academic” uber-asian card. Talk about transcending social/ethnic boundaries. Dont you dare talk about the 5000 dollar summer camp your mommy sent you too. Seriously. Im going to kick your ass if you do.</p>
<p>Decision: Deferred</p>
<p>Objective:[ul]
[<em>] SAT I (breakdown): 2320 - First and only sitting - 800 CR, 770 Math, 750 Writing
[</em>] SAT II: 800 Math II, 790 Chemistry, 790 Physics, 780 US History
[<em>] Weighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.62 W, 3.9 UW
[</em>] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 2%
[<em>] AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Computer Science (5), AP World History (5), AP Chemistry (5), AP English (5), AP Physics B (5), AP Statistics (5), AP United States History (5), AP Calculus BC (4)
[</em>] Senior Year Course Load: AP Environmental Science, AP Chinese, Honors Joyce Seminar, AP Physics C, Honors Multivariable Calc, AP European History
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit, National AP Scholar, AIME, National Debate Finalist (12th Place), National Forensics League Superior Distinction, 2011 YMCA Youth of Character, “A” Times in 12 Swimming Events</p>[/li]
<p>[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[<em>] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Speech and Debate (Dual Captainship), Newspaper (Editor-in-Chief), Swimming (Club - Varsity Group), Cross Country, Track (Varsity), Piano (Level 10), Republican Club (VP)
[</em>] Volunteer/Community service: Church (Chair of Student Team, Guitar, Choir, Mentoring), YMCA (2011 Youth of Character), World Changers (Construction)
[<em>] Summer Activities: Community Service, Debate Camp
[</em>] Essays: Decent
[<em>] Teacher Recommendation: One from Newspaper moderator, one from Speech and Debate Coach
[</em>] Counselor Rec: Decent
[li] Interview: Said he’d recommend me</p>[/li]
<p>[/ul]Other[ul]
[<em>] State (if domestic applicant): CA
[</em>] School Type: Highly competitive prep school
[<em>] Ethnicity: Asian :’(
[</em>] Gender: Male
[<em>]Income Bracket: Affluent
[</em>] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Brother goes to Princeton</p>
<p>[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[<em>] Strengths: Scores, Extracurriculars, AP courses
[</em>] Weaknesses: Low UW GPA
[<em>] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: That low UW GPA (3 B’s Sophomore year because of illness the week of finals)
[</em>] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Hopefully I’ll get in, but the chances are unlikely.</p>
<p>[/ul]General Comments:</p>
<p>masterc888, you weren’t deferred because of your UW GPA, you were deferred because you fell into your own stereotype. </p>
<p>Don’t be a cliche people!!!</p>
<p>hmm… acrylicsalmon, that’s a very interesting observation. Just curious, how did I fall into my own stereotype? And how can I avoid that for future college applications? Thanks in advance.</p>
<p>wow nice, not one single denied applicant</p>
<p>CHOOSE ONE:</p>
<p>[ size=+2][ color=orange][ b]Decision: Deferred **[/color][/size]</p>
<p>[ b]Objective:**[list]
[ *] SAT I (breakdown): 2370 (800 CR, 780 Math, 790 Writing)
[ *] SAT II: 800 U.S. History, 780 Math II, 740 Literature
[ *] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): not sure unweighted, 4.24 weighted
[ *] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): top 3% (class of 500)
[ *] AP (place score in parenthesis): 5’s on U.S. History, Euro, Macro, Micro, English Language
[ *] Senior Year Course Load: AP Calc BC, AP Spanish, AP Chem, AP English, AP Gov
[ *] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Cum Laude Society, National Honor Society, National Merit Scholar Semifinalist, AP Scholar with Distinction</p>
<p>[ /list][ b]Subjective:**[list]
[ *] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Field Hockey (2 years varsity, 1st team All-League, Team MVP, Team Best Offensive Player, Scholar Athlete, Academic All-Ohio and All-American), Lacrosse (2 years varsity, JV MVP, team State Runner-up), swimming (individual district finalist, team State Champion), Student Council (2 years, Service Director), Class Treasurer, literary arts magazine staff member (magazine ranked top in Ohio), Harry Potter Club, Climbing Club (Vice President), Cross Country (1 varsity letter), also played club field hockey and lacrosse, Homecoming Court haha…
[ *] Job/Work Experience: Nanny for 50 hours a week one summer, lifeguard, babysitting
[ *] Volunteer/Community service: Civic Association Junior Director, tutor for special needs kids, volunteer swim coach, tutor through Ohio State, camp counselor, “Link Crew” leader
[ *] Summer Activities: work, sports and friends really
[ *] Essays: good I thought, one was about me being a walking contradiction (undercover nerd, being tiny but leading my team in yellow cards and being technically a first generation African-American) other one was about an Autistic kid I tutored and became good friends with
[ *] Teacher Recommendation: 1st one was amazing, 2nd one fairly generic but still good
[ *] Counselor Rec: definitely generic, our counselors are divided by last name at my school and the one I have is not the best…
[ ] Additional Rec:
[ ] Interview: excellent
[ /list][ b]Other
[ *] State (if domestic applicant): Ohio
[ *] School Type: fairly large public
[ *] Ethnicity: White
[ *] Gender: Female
[ ]Income Bracket: 200,000<
[ ] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none really
[ b]Reflection
[ *] Strengths: SAT scores, well-rounded, not a nerdy person
[ *] Weaknesses: extracurricular leadership, 2nd teacher rec, no clear passions
[ ] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: not sure really I think it is basically impossible to tell these days, I definitely did not expect to get in but it’s still hard not to be disappointed
[ ] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: accepted at Ohio State for basically free
[ b]General Comments: Congratulations to all those accepted!! Maybe I still have a shot in the spring.</p>
<p>sorry I sucked at formatting that, I’m definitely a rookie cc poster</p>
<p>CHOOSE ONE:
[ color=orange][ b]Decision: Deferred**[/color]</p>
<p>[ b]Objective:**[list]
[ *] SAT I (breakdown): 2350 (770 CR, 780 M, 800 W)
[ *] ACT:
[ *] SAT II: 790 Chem, 770 Math L2, 760 U.S History
[ *] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.88 (but had an upward trend since freshman year)
[ *] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): school doesn’t rank
[ *] AP (place score in parenthesis): 5s on Calc AB, Chem, U.S History
[ *] IB (place score in parenthesis):
[ *] Senior Year Course Load: all APs - Stats, Bio, Econ/Gov, English, French
[ *] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): </p>
<p>[ /list][ b]Subjective:**[list]
[ *] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Piano (Level 9), French Honor Society President, Tutoring for 2 years
[ *] Job/Work Experience:
[ *] Volunteer/Community service: Interact, NHS, CSF
[ *] Summer Activities: took Physics at community college for 2 summers
[ *] Essays: common app was pretty good but supplement was done really quickly
[ *] Teacher Recommendation: should be excellent
[ *] Counselor Rec:
[ *] Additional Rec: didn’t send
[ *] Interview: my interviewer was really nice and i think we connected</p>
<p>[ /list][ b]Other**[list]
[ <em>] State (if domestic applicant): CA
[ *] Country (if international applicant):
[ *] School Type: Public
[</em>] Ethnicity: didn’t report, but Asian…
[ *] Gender: Female
[ *]Income Bracket:high
[ *] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none</p>
<p>[ /list][ b]Reflection**[list]
[ *] Strengths: SAT score, course load junior/senior year, recs
[ *] Weaknesses: my gpa is not too high because i didn’t do well freshman year, over-represented ethnicity/state
[ *] Why you think you were deferred: probably wasn’t unique enough
[ *] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:-</p>
<p>[ /list][ b]General Comments:** i’m not too surprised to be deferred and am definitely happy that i didn’t get rejected. i would love to go to princeton though so we’ll see what happens. good luck to everyone else who was deferred and congrats to those accepted!</p>
<p>[ size=+2][ color=red][ b]Decision: Rejected**[/color][/size]</p>
<p>[ b]Objective:**[list]
[ *] SAT I (breakdown): 780 CR 740 Math 620 Writing
[ *] ACT:-
[ *] SAT II: I don’t remember. They were pretty good.
[ *] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
[ *] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 53/504
[ *] AP (place score in parenthesis): 4 on both World History and US history.
[ *] IB (place score in parenthesis):
[ *] Senior Year Course Load: 4 AP classes, two languages.
[ *] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit commended student, girl scouts bronze award</p>
<p>[ /list][ b]Subjective:**[list]
[ *] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): rowing for 3 years- won nationals, 100 mile bike ride and triathlon to raise money for Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, on the board of directors of a fundraiser bike ride for the same charity, violin and cello, swing dance club, more volunteering.
[ *] Job/Work Experience:
[ *] Volunteer/Community service: my Leukemia and Lymphoma Society work, volunteering at soup kitchens and similar charities frequently
[ *] Summer Activities: not much. A few Johns Hopkins camps, but mostly rowing.
[ *] Essays: awesome. really well written and edited by multiple english teachers/princeton alums.
[ *] Teacher Recommendation: I was told they were great.
[ *] Counselor Rec: presumably very nice
[ *] Additional Rec:
[ *] Interview: ehh, he basically told me that I was what he was looking for but I feel like I came off a bit dumb.</p>
<p>[ /list][ b]Other**[list]
[ *] State (if domestic applicant): NY
[ *] Country (if international applicant):
[ *] School Type: public
[ *] Ethnicity:white
[ *] Gender:female
[ *]Income Bracket: just under $100,000
[ *] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): not really sure.</p>
<p>[ /list][ b]Reflection**[list]
[ *] Strengths: extracurriculars, SAT scores I guess.
[ *] Weaknesses: class rank- my class is literally probably the most intelligent my school has ever had. Our averages are very close, and they don’t weight the ranks nearly enough.
[ *] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Everyone else is better than me.
[ *] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Nowhere, yet.</p>
<p>[ /list][ b]General Comments:** I guess I’m the first brave person that was rejected haha. It stinks, but I’ll get over it eventually. Congratulations, the rest of you.</p>
<p>Hmm, I posted way back on page 3, I think, and I just found a mistake. It’s a good thing it’s my son who’s going to college and not me. :-(</p>
<p>For income, I meant to put <$80,000. Sigh.</p>
<p>Not to hijack this thread but just observing that most of the “unhooked” EA of the top schools seem to have 2300+ scores with almost perfect SAT2 scores and GPA and a ton of APs (with 5). That is what apparently gets you to be in their radar and then they pick the applicant with the music or science or sports (and yes the essay). Quite interesting but damper at the same time.</p>
<p>Masterccc, you seem like a really bright guy. I know you could hold your own at any school in the world. But the fact of the matter is, Princeton gets a ton of applicants who fit the exact same stereotype as you. No, I’m not talking about the asian stereotype. Its the Ivy stereotype, with all it’s one dimensional perfection. I’m talkin high income family, crap-ton of extracurriculars (with leadership positions), perfect scores and 4.0 GPA’s. What value is there in that? A sea of uber-competitive drones does not make for a pleasant (or interesting) school atmosphere (see Columbia U.). </p>
<p>For your remaining schools, I want you to take your essays, and toss anything that can be attributed to your academics and high income status. Focus on humility…and what sets you apart from the rest. </p>
<p>I don’t like using myself as an example, but its hard not to. For my summer essay, I wrote about how i spent my entire summer biking to different ethnic restaurants in chicago. For my engineering essay, I talked about how jealous i was of my friends when they got longboards, so I ended up making my own out of a flimsy plank of wood and got a huge scar on my forehead as a result…and now build longboards in my spare time.</p>
<p>College apps are about selling yourself…you want to look back on your essays and think: “Whats my image that I’m selling? why is this better than everyone else’s?”.</p>
<p>^great tips. Also mental health risk is getting high in the ivies and top univ…they clearly want kids to have some other passion (that is non-academic).
@mastercc - the other thing with your deferral could be too much competition at your school (region) and private school means you had lots of opportunities so you are scrutinized at a different level…:(</p>
<p>Are there kids at your school who did get in? That could be a factor as well…Also your teacher recommendations seem to be a coach and a moderator. Shouldn’t that be an academic teacher?</p>
<p>@acrylicsalmon - Good point. I’ve just got one qualm with that. Do colleges want interesting people in their campus, or people with leadership capabilities who are likely to succeed? Why do you think your image is better than everyone else’s? Also, congratulations on making it to Princeton :)</p>
<p>@fall2016parent - You are probably right. One guy from my school got into Princeton, one to Harvard, five to Stanford, one to UPenn dual-major program, and one to Harvey Mudd. (and that’s all from just EA). 30 students in my class have over 2300 SAT scores. I really am at a loss as to how to compete with my peers. My recommendations were from junior year academic teachers, they just happened to be moderators.</p>
<p>Thanks for the congrats man! I appreciate it :)</p>
<p>Colleges want a wide mix of students…theres a niche for the academic, the leader, the adventurer, and any archetype you want to assign yourself. </p>
<p>The issue here is that the number of applicants with the “academic” archetype far outnumbers the quantity of “academics” Princeton would like to admit. Amongst a sea of highly competitive academics, your relative value is decreased. Uniquely talented individuals, given their short supply, have a higher market value. </p>
<p>I don’t think my image is better…just in lower supply.</p>
<p>deferred
don’t feel like posting all my stats, but i’m an asian with above 2350 SAT, good grades, multiple presidencies…
smh. i was bummed about it for a while, but what can you do?</p>
<p>You can conclude that several people in the Admissions Office have ADHD or something along those lines. Sorry, am I being too open with my opinions?</p>