I’m pretty sure a lot of applicants get in without an interview - there were probably too many applicants in your area
You’re right. Well update me when you get accepted! I’ll update you when I get rejected.
Ah well! As usual, I am quite late for the discussion.
@writergirl0316 Except that the kids who apply SCEA are required to sacrifice applying early to any other Ivy. In trade for that sacrifice, Princeton should follow through on their end of the contract. Not fair to only skim off the top. The other option would be to be forthcoming that an early decision should not be expected. How many would choose to use their single early option if they knew they were not actually going to get a decision? (Post delayed for some odd reason.)
I don’t entirely remember what you’re responding to, but I disagree that a college is obligated to give you anything other than what it explicitly promises you because you don’t think it’s “fair to only skim off the top.” I’ve had friends, for instance, argue that a school that doesn’t meet need would have to give you enough money to attend because you applied ED and “showed your faith in that school,” which I disagree with entirely. They’re private institutions, and unless they commit in writing to following a certain protocol, you have no reason to believe that they will because it would be the nice thing to do.
By applying to Princeton SCEA, you sign a contract with them that you are going to apply to no other private US schools early in exchange for a decision of Admitted, Deferred, or Rejected. They do follow through on their end of the contract, and any applicant who does even a cursory Google can find out what the deferral rate is. I agree with you that Princeton should give more explicit decisions, and I stand by that, but I also do not think that they are going to care what we think is fairest unless they have a tactical reason why they should.
@kaiiiiiii it could be the opposite lmao don’t underestimate yourself
@writergirl0316 Single Choice Early Action. Action. A deferral is inaction. If no action will be taken, what is the point of making the contract that you will not apply elsewhere early? I’m not arguing fairness. I don’t care about niceness. There is a contract being made and Princeton does not honor their side of it. I’m sure there is some fine print somewhere that says they don’t have to render a decision, but in the spirit of the law, there is a contract which calls for action on their part, too. If a decision is soo unlikely, one would apply elsewhere early and just apply regular decision to Princeton. A deferral is not action.
I totally agree with @dowzerw When they defer like 80% percent of the applicants, for the applicants it’s just like they have wasted their early choice. Look at Stanford, they defer less than 10% of their early applicants and give a concrete decision to everyone else. I would rather be rejected on time rather than wait 4 more months with a tiny bit of hope and then get rejected.
Early Action at the Ivies is a major part of recruiting athletes for their sports programs. It’s where a verbal offer becomes a real offer from coaches. Don’t be fooled!!
Essentially, when you apply through “Early Action”, you sign consent to receive a decision “early”, in December. The decision can be accepted, deferred, or rejected. Princeton honored the contract by giving you a decision that applies to the early applicant pool. That has nothing to do with what the name of the contract is. The name “Action” refers to the applicant’s action - submitting application materials before the early deadline.
Before you apply early, you should know how the thing works specially for one school. Some schools tend to give athletes or in-state applicants an advantage. Some schools defer most of the applicant, like Princeton, Harvard, and Brown. Some schools don’t, like Stanford. Some schools don’t care whether you “act” early or not, like MIT, with almost the same acceptance rate for either batch.
Being a deferred student this year, I know how frustrating this is @dowzerw. But that is just how the thing works. Don’t worry too much.
@Hephaestion Not actually a deferred student. Are you? I am just commenting generally as I think it is important for applicants to understand that if they use their one Ivy early at Princeton in particular, it will most likely yield the same response as had they not applied early. Would you choose it as your one early if you knew you were unlikely to get early action? Whatever someone wants to argue is the fine print, students who apply early anywhere do so to receive a yay or nay early.
I agree with @Hephaestion. I actually am a deferred student (though not from Princeton), and I have at least five friends who were deferred from there. Every single one of them knew what the deferral rate from last year was before they applied, and they all applied anyway. So, yes, all of us did choose our one early even though we knew we were unlikely to get an acceptance or rejection, for various personal reasons. IMO, you shouldn’t be applying to HYPS early if you can’t look up what the deferral rate from the year before was and use that information to inform your decision – Princeton almost always publishes this. The issue is not a lack of transparency; it’s not the fault of the school if applicants don’t know to look beyond the title in order to see what an agreement actually entails. Regardless, deferral is an action, just not a final one.
Whether or not you would rather be rejected early and now regret your choice, it’s not Princeton’s fault that you agreed to apply SCEA to their school – presumably knowing their typical deferral rate – and then complained when you ended up confronting the statistically probable reality. I would argue that most students know that it will most likely yield the same response, but apply for the slim chance that it won’t, however idealistic that mindset is.
@dowzerw Sure, it would be nice to know a finalized decision, but that’s how early actions/ decisions work… [sigh*] I’m deferred at another university.
@Hephaestion Actually, it IS how it works in many cases, most likely in most early application cases, other than Ivies. My D is in at 7 of 7. Top 20s, not Ivies, but enough for her to not feel stressed as she awaits regular Ivy decisions (which will come at the same time as others’ early Ivy applications). None binding so no conflict issue. But all rendered definite decisions, did not defer. (actually, some were RD applications that sent selective early offers-such a bonus to receive).
I wouldn’t recommend applying early to anywhere with an 80%+ defer rate. Personal preference, and the preference of many. Clearly writergirl would not mind applying early for a late decision.
Good luck to you. The happy news is its finally not much longer!
I applied SCEA because I realized how scared I was of doing ED and because I knew I was only applying to about 7-8 school, I missed out on applying to one school early action which wasn’t too big of a deal for me.
Just did my Princeton interview… it went well… I hope it translates into good news in the coming weeks…
LOL did it really go well? You seem unsure haha. I really hope you get in! I know I’ll get rejected.
Hello. I am having trouble completing my PFAA. I’ll tell you my current situation.
I am residing with my aunt, my legal guardian, and am a permanent resident of the United States. I have lived with her since July 2017. However, all of my financial costs are being incurred by my parents, who live in India. Therefore, whenever I try to fill the application, I get stuck between the household information and the parents’ financial information. I don’t know whom I should mention in those two parts. Furthermore, even if I am supposed to say my parents in the financial parts, they have never filed tax for the United States but the only options available there are for people who have filed tax returns for the U.S.A. Thank you for any help.
If you’re asked to do an interview, and then financial aid is also asking follow-up questions/clarifications, does this mean an acceptance is likely pending?
Maybe this has been answered somewhere else, but I cant find it. Does Princeton defer a large percentage of EA applicants or a select percentage?