***Official Princeton University Class of 2021 Regular Decision Results ONLY***

Colleges and Universities A-Z Princeton University
21

**Decision: Rejected **

Objective:
SAT I superscore (breakdown M/CR/W/Essay): 2300 (770/740/800/8) only sitting
SAT II (subject, score): Math 2 - 800, Lit - 670
Unweighted/Weighted GPA: 3.9 ish UW
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 5%
AP/IB (place score in parentheses): APUSH (4), AP Lang (4). AP Calc AB (5). AP Gov (5). AP Comp (5). AP Environmental (5).

Senior year course load:
AP Calc BC
AP Physics
AP Statistics
AP Economics
AP Literature

Awards:

  • AP Scholar with Distinction
  • National Merit Scholar Commended
  • Chosen as 1 of 8 teens nationwide for a major program (lots of publicity)
  • (2x) High school award in math and science - given to best student in each class
  • Yale essay contest 1st place
  • Two other, smaller online essay contests - finalist/top10 winner
  • second place in We The People state competition
  • High honor roll, NHS, etc.

Extracurriculars (exactly what is on my Common App):

  • Blogger for the Huffington Post
  • Co-Editor in Chief of school newspaper
  • Co-President of DECA business club
  • Co-Founder of a growing company (annual revenue projected around $15k-20k)
  • Published writer and journalist: fantasy novel published on Amazon, reporter for local newspaper, published in 4 literary magazines
  • Editor for a national high school literary magazine
  • Karate Black Belt (first degree)
  • Class Treasurer
  • AVID Tutor and Freshman mentor
  • Former waiter and housekeeper at a bed and breakfast, ongoing private tutor with 3 clients, former employee for a financial literacy website

Recommendations:
Good

Essays:
Pretty good

Other:
U.S. State/Territory or Country: competitive state
School Type: Very large public
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket Range: No financial aid
Hooks (URM, first generation, recruited athelete, development):

Strengths: ECs
Weaknesses: Scores and GPA
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I think the peer recommendation helped me as well as the interview!
What would you have done differently?: Nothing
Where else did you apply?

Accepted: Dartmouth, Johns Hopkins, Northwestern, UVA, and BC
Waitlisted: Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Duke, and UChicago
Rejected: Princeton, Penn, Cornell, and Brown

Expected this because of my 670 on Lit so I’m not sad. Although I’m sorry to all those with no hooks who deserved to get in!

22

**Decision: Rejected **

Objective:

SAT I superscore (breakdown M/CR/W/Essay): 1550, 760M/790CRW
SAT II (subject, score): 750 Math II, 750 English Lit, 720 M Bio
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.85
Weighted GPA: N/A
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
AP (place score in parentheses): 4 English Lit
Senior Year Course Load: Calc BC, Chem, English, 2 Histories
Number of other applicants in your school: 10 that I know of, probably more :’(
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.): nada
Common Awards (AP Scholar, honor roll, NM things, etc.): NM commended

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (name, grade levels, leadership, description): Captain of two varsity sports, All-state in one and all conference in both. Editor of school paper, play jazz, spend a lot of time playing online chess lol.
Job/Work Experience: Worked informally landscaping in the summers.
Volunteer/Community Service: Mentored young children at a local elementary school, experiences there prompted my CA essay.
Summer Experience:

Writing (Subject, 1-10 rating, details):

Essays:
CA: pretty good, about community service was shorter than normal 8/10.
Supplements: Long one was really philosophical 5/10, two short ones were unique but not amazing, 7/10.
Other (teacher’s subject, 1-10 rating, details):

Teacher Recommendation #1: Headmaster, English teacher, brilliant guy 9/10
Teacher Recommendation #2: Math teacher, kinda had a rocky relationship with him 5/10
Counselor Rec: Probably was alright, 6/10
Additional Info/Rec:
Interview: Wasn’t anything special, 6/10
Art Supplement:

Other

Date Submitted App: The day it was due lol 1/1 i think
U.S. State/Territory or Country: South
School Type: Private
Ethnicity:White
Gender:M
Income Bracket Range: Too much for aid, not enough to pay
Hooks (URM, first generation, recruited athlete, development): none

Reflection

Strengths: My Princeton essays were the most unique and compelling ones I’ve written, one rec was probably outstanding, had the scores to get considered, significant upward trend in gpa.

Weaknesses: Other recs were bad to mediocre, white, ECs weren’t special, gpa trended upward but was still somewhat low, LOTS of other kids from my school applied, Subject tests were eh.
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected:

What would you have done differently?: Asked someone else to write my STEM rec.
Where else did you apply?
Dartmouth, some CTCL schools, UA, a few other LACs, a Canadian school.

23

**Decision: Rejected after Deferred **

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1580 (790 Reading and Writing, 790 Math, 22 Essay)
ACT (breakdown): 35 Composite (36 English, 35 Math, 33 Reading, 36 Science, 33 Writing)
SAT II: 800 Math II, 800 Biology M
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0 W, 4.85 UW
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
AP (place score in parenthesis): Biology (5), US History (5), BC Calc (5), Lang and Comp (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis): none
Senior Year Course Load: AP Chem, AP Lit, AP Gov, AP French, AP Stats
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): nothing extremely major… National Merit Commended, AP Scholar with Distinction, Harvard Book Award, French Honor Society, National Honor Society, and a bunch of school academic awards.

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):

  • Varsity Tennis (Captain)
  • National Honor Society (Officer)
  • Asian Culture Club (President)
  • Math Team
  • Biology lab aide

Job/Work Experience:

  • Intern at biomedical company
  • Teacher assistant at local language school (won award for best teacher assistant)

Volunteer/Community service:

  • Invention/Science Camp (Camp Counselor)
  • Volunteer at local hospital
  • Volunteer at town library

Summer Activities:

  • Internship at biomedical company
  • Summer program at Brown
  • Invention/Science Camp (Camp Counselor)
  • Hiking/traveling with family

Essays (rating 1-10, details):

  • Common App: 9/10, Wrote about finding balance between being an individual and contributing to a community
  • Supplements: 8/10, Worked hard on these, but were kinda average I guess

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
Teacher Rec #1: AP Bio teacher 9/10, did well in class, work as lab aide
Teacher Rec #2: AP Lang teacher 9/10, did well in class, connected with teacher
Counselor Rec: 8/10 didn’t know super well, but she definitely likes me a lot
Additional Rec: none
Interview: 5/10 Was my first interview and I think my interviewer’s first ever as well. She did not come prepared to ask me questions, so it ended up being me scrambling to ask her questions… lets just say it was awkward. X_X

Other:
Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Molecular Biology
State (if domestic applicant): MA
Country (if international applicant): USA
School Type: Public, small but high-ranking in Massachusetts, competitive atmosphere with many legacy students
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: F
Income Bracket: Upper middle class
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): cousin went to Pton lol

Reflection:
Strengths: Grades, test scores, teacher recs
Weaknesses: Interview, Asian, interested in biology (very popular major), many strong legacy applicants from my school
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Average essays and see above
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Accepted at Yale, Brown, Dartmouth, Duke, Vanderbilt, UVA, and McGill; wait listed at Harvard, UPenn, and Cornell; Rejected at Columbia and Princeton

General Comments: Congrats to all those accepted! You have worked so hard for this - enjoy yourself now!! For all those who didn’t receive the good news you were hoping for, please remember that college admissions is such a crapshoot and that some random admissions officer’s decision does not reflect who you are as a person.

24

Decision: Accepted

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1400 out of 1600
ACT (breakdown): Did not send
SAT II: 790/750 - Literature, US History
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Weighted GPA: 5.678
Rank: 1/130
AP: APUSH (5), Literature 11 (5), Statistics (4)
Senior Year Course Load: Very rigorous (
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Girl Scout Gold Award, Presidential Gold Award, AP Scholar, Scholastic Athlete, Coca Cola Scholar (2017)

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): International Student Diplomat to Peru through Sister Cities International, Self-learning over 6 languages, Varsity Volleyball/Soccer, Girl Scouts, Beta Club President, HOSA President
Job/Work Experience: None
Volunteer/Community service: Founded national nonprofit Teen Talks, volunteer at Syrian refugee resettlement camp
Summer Activities: Medical Internships
Essays (rating 1-10, details): Common App 9/10. The Princeton supplement was probably my best essay (10/10)
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: History teacher. 10/10
Teacher Rec #2: English teacher. 10/10
Counselor Rec: New counselor to school 8/10
Additional Rec:
Interview: Really intense and interesting - we spoke French most of the time because we both spoke the language. She was very impressed, I think, at my tenacity and abilities with languages.
Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes.
Intended Major: International Relations (Woody Woo)
State (if domestic applicant): NC
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Small, magnet
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: Less than $100k.
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Nope

Reflection

Strengths: My work with nonprofits (especially founding my own), knowing 6+ languages, and MY ESSAYS!
Weaknesses: Low stats compared to Ivy League competitors
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Essay Supplement
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted to Yale, Harvard, UVA

Accepted: Yale, Harvard, UVA, NC schools
Rejected: No where
Waitlisted: Duke

General Comments: Be yourself, and apply even if you don’t think you’ll get in! You never know - my stats were pretty low in comparison to others but my essay and character stood out I think!

25

Decision: Rejected

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): M:690 W:600 CR:800
ACT (breakdown): 33 R: 36 S: 30 E:33 M: 32
SAT II: Bio:800 US History:760 Math II:700
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0):3.85 UW
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): mid 30’s/ ~350
AP (place score in parenthesis): APUSH: 5 Human Geo: 5 Psych: 5 Lang:5 Calc:4 World: 4 Bio:3
Senior Year Course Load: AP Gov, AP Stats, AP Micro and Macro, Calc 2 @ local college, AP Lit, Spanish IV, American Film (Independent Research Course I designed), and some filler classes (we’re on trimesters)
Major Awards: AP Scholar with Distinction

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): STAND human rights campaign (w/ leadership role) Model UN (w/ leadership role), FIRST Robotics (w/ lr), Academic Bowl (for fine arts and spelling,) Link Crew, acted in the school’s musical, NHS, and a few other things
Job/Work Experience: Conservation Research my summer of Sophomore year, and I was an intern at a not for profit organization over summer of junior year
Volunteer/Community service: Dog Walker for humane shelter, graded math contests for the local middle school, volunteered at local holocaust museum
Summer Activities: Conservation Leadership Conference and a Law summer program

Rate out of 10
Essays:
Common App Essay: It was about my social anxiety and was pretty personal, it was reviewed by a lot of people and was pretty solid 8/10
Harvard Essay: It was about Kermit the Frog, and how he influenced my interest in patent law. It was weird and a risk but it was well written I think 8/10
Teacher Recommendation: Didn’t read, but my 10th grade English teacher is also an academic team coach and club sponsor and I know her really well, so I would be bold to say 9.5/10. My other rec was my Calc teacher liked me but admittedly doesn’t know me all that well so most likely 6/10
Counselor Rec: She sponsored a club I was in, but still hardly knew my name somehow? Undoubtedly not too good 4/10
Additional Rec: My bosses from the not for profit co-wrote a rec. They really liked me, and I still volunteer so I think a solid 8/10
Interview:

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Statistics
State (if domestic applicant):IN
Country (if international applicant): USA
School Type: large public
Ethnicity: Black and Hispanic
Gender: M
Income Bracket:
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM, LGBT+
Reflection

Strengths: ECs, GPA had really strong upward trend, really rigorous workload
Weaknesses: GPA, scores, a lot of really smart people want to go to Princeton
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: The essay was a risk, admittedly. It was a little weird in hopes of showing off my personality, but it might have flopped. Moreover, there are just a lot of really impressive people applying to Princeton
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Accepted: UPenn, Cornell, UChicago, URochester, UWisconsin, IU
Waitlisted: Harvard
Rejected: Brown, Princeton, Yale

General Comments: I’m really OK with the results tbh. I feel like a lot of people who post rejections on CC have a huge chip on their collective shoulder. If you go in with a realistic mind-set, rejections sting a lot less.

ALSO: You can’t hear this enough. If you are applying to reach schools, please please please make sure you have a solid safety/targets to which you actually are OK with going!!! I was lucky enough to get into some reaches, but It’s really traumatizing to see people go to schools they hate because they didn’t plan out the “what if’s”.

26

This is really late but better late than never.

Decision: Accepted

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown): 1410
ACT (breakdown): n/a
SAT II: 660 math II, 590 lit (lol), 620 chem
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.29 Unweighted, I think like 3.9 weighted
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): n/a
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Computer Science (4), AP English Language (3), AP Environmental Science (3), AP Statistics (4)

Senior Year Course Load: AP Calc AB, AP English Literature, AP Physics 1, Gym, Health, Honors Economics, Orchestra,

Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Honor Roll, AP Scholar

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Math Team, Envirothon Team, Weight Training, Its Academic

Not too many, but I joined some for application purposes during senior year.

Job/Work Experience: nope… I volunteered at a hospital though

Essays (rating 1-10, details): I thought they were all very good. I spent a lot of time on them. My AP English teacher said they were the best she’s ever read.

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): 10/10 for all

I would stay after class a lot to talk to my teachers. They genuinely like me, and they probably helped me get into the schools I did.

Other
Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Political Science
State (if domestic applicant): California
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: African American
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: >$300,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM

Reflection

Strengths: GPA, focused on several extracurriculars (large depth).
Weaknesses: lack of an additional subject test
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Got really good letters of recommendations, and I wrote pretty good essays. I also made the honor roll every quarter in my school which probably also helped.

Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Got into Princeton (attending), Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth and Cornell. Got rejected by Caltech.

General Comments : If anyone has any questions, please message me. I won’t be checking too often, but I can definitely help.

27

MODERATOR’S NOTE: This thread is for decisions ONLY. No other comments. I had to delete several posts.

28

@hodge812 Hi! I’m just really curious because I’ve seen you post on a few other threads, but just wondering, without being offensive at all, because very competitive schools have obviously liked you a lot, how did you get in with such a low GPA? I feel that your SAT is average, but I also have a low GPA (3.75 unweighted) and I feel like that is my biggest struggle in my application. Was there anything extraordinary that you did? Please reply back!

29

@Lexie73 your gpa is high enough. get over it and don’t spend too much time on it. i wrote an essay about being black and growing up in a white neighborhood. it was pretty personal to me, so i think that might be why i got in.

30

@hodge812 Hello,

I just wanted to say how did you do it?

Do you think the essays are what help people be accepted to selective colleges? And personally I have a GPA of 3.7. Should I stop focusing on my GPA and focus on other parts of the application, what did you do?

Please reply!

31

@AgentBK yeah, you’re fine. join extracurriculars. do what you like. get close to your teachers and have a fun time. now again, having a higher gpa would help… but you should be ok if you write really great essays. take the time to research colleges, etc