@BigApple2018 Tell me more, I’m also a big foodie
@MyDogsNameIsFat Thank you so much for your sincerity, and I totally agree that the certificate program is one-of-a-kind! I’m definitely interested in statistics/mathematics, but I am also excited by the prospect of venturing into political science and possibly even foreign studies. Princeton definitely caters to the educationally adventurous. 
I hope that Yale doesn’t pass you up, and I wish you the best of luck with Princeton and any other decisions. 
ya see I have sweet tooth, I know it’s a problem but I don’t care. When I took the tours on campus and they talked about the cuisine in this house and barbecue at that I house, I knew i found my happy place! Icing on the cake was cookies! I hope to dine with each and everyone of you! 
@MrElonMusk @Benji3025 @writergirl0316 @MaybeHarvard2022 etc LOL
@Benji3025 - You asked, “On another note, why did everyone choose to apply to Princeton? What about the school stands out to you from its peers? I’m just curious about what everyone hopes to take advantage of at Princeton if accepted.”"
First and foremost, it’s the quality of undergrad education, and it’s really hard to beat what Princeton has to offer. Sure, Harvard might enjoy higher “prestige” around the globe, but prestige is NOT the same thing as quality education. Sure, Stanford might enjoy a bit more edge in popularity contest due to its highly promoted and supported sports programs and grad schools, but with about 2K less undergrad population in comparison to Stanford, Princeton grabbed our attention for its historical and traditional focus on undergrad education and experience. In spite of all the flaws of any college ranking systems, given the undergrad focused methodologies, it’s not surprising that the U.S. News and World Reports has been ranking Princeton as #1 for more than a decade. Harvard’s higher “prestige” and Stanford’s higher popularity not withstanding…
Apart from these very general comments, my musician son, who still hasn’t decided on a career in music or something else, Princeton’s double degree program with the Royal College of Music in London offered a unique window of opportunity to explore and test his passion for music or something else as a career. This flexibility is something that is tailor-made for him in comparison to Harvard/New England Conservatory of Music double degree program, which you have to audition for and commit from the get go, and Stanford, which doesn’t have anything even remotely like either Princeton or Harvard. Yale came up with BM/MM program only after, and even then, we never really considered Yale seriously for various reasons that are not relevant to get into here. The fact that Princeton displayed its commitment to its excellence in musical focus with the recent grand opening of the Lewis Arts Center only helped to seal the deal for us.
For serious consideration of quality undergrad education, we placed our priority attention with the likes of Williams, Amherst and Pomona that my son was also admitted to. Their lack of grad school reputations was just fine with us because my son was applying to an undergrad institution, NOT a grad school. That will come later. The reason why we chose Princeton over all other institutions that admitted him was that, fortunately, Princeton not only met all of our undergrad quality education criteria but also came through with the best FA package offer.
@TiggerDad @Benji3025 The undergrad focus is also what I like so much about Princeton. After my visit this summer, everything appealed to me but that’s my favorite aspect!
@TiggerDad I just wanted to say I’m incredibly impressed with you, and parents like you, who are involved with your children’s education! It’s a very hard process, and I know doing it without support is hard. @all parents on the chat Good luck to your kids! Your support gives them a real head start!
@Benji3025, I like that the school was large, but due to it’s isolation, very tightly knit. Coming from a very small, isolated community, I really appreciate the opportunity to grow (more people, close to big cities, global connections, etc.) while maintaining my sense of close community. It makes Princeton very unique, in my opinion. Hopefully, they feel as good about me!
@Benji3025 I applied to Princeton because of their focus on undergraduate education, their top-notch astrophysics program, the proximity of campus close to two major cities without being in them, and the affordability.
To expand on my reasons, I appreciated the undergrad focus since not many research universities that I’ve seen have such a program. As someone who plans on going to a PhD program in planetary science after getting my bachelor’s degree, being able to do research and get necessary attention from professors to grow and thrive to get to the point of succeeding in grad school is amazing. For my degree there I’d love to study astrophysics. Despite the program being ranked at or near the top of college rankings, the major and department are small and close-knit, which I appreciate in the same way as I do the undergrad focus. The astrophysics department also has great observational resources including the Subaru Telescope on Mauna Kea in Hawai’i which I’d love to do research at. Although I haven’t visited campus yet, I love the proximity of campus to Philadelphia and NYC without being in the cities. It’s a happy medium where students are able to take in what both cities have to offer without being amongst the hustle and bustle 24/7. And finally, Princeton’s affordability is one of the principal reasons why I applied there. Coming from a lower income family with a sibling a year behind me in school, affordability was one of the main things on my mind when I applied to college. I don’t want to burden my mom with paying for college and co-signing on loans with me, and I wouldn’t have to worry about that at Princeton. According to the NPC, it would only cost me $1,100 a year to attend and it wouldn’t cost my mom anything, all without loans! Hopefully I get good news on the 28th and become a tiger (if I don’t get into my top choice, Dartmouth)!
@benji3025 Similar situation like @TiggerDad here. My son is a ballet/contemporary dancer with strong interest in biology (for pre-PT). Princeton offers excellent quality of education as well as a very strong dance program. He also applied for Harvard and Columbia for the same reason.
I have advised my DD’s friends group, apply EA to your first choice only when you are absolutely ready. For applicants with high profiles but no-hooks, the chance in RD is similar even better than EA. You need time to work work and rework on your applications. My DD applied Princeton EA, a few days later she found two typos and a grammar error in her essay.
@hooverhoo I just found two grammar mistakes in one of my supplements, and this makes me remember an old thread that a student mis-type “clam frat” with “clam fart” in Yale’s application. lol
^^Depending on the AO, a clam fart essay could become a hook.
@Benji3025 Princeton Neuroscience Institute! So neat!
How much does legacy, child of parents who made a large donation, or child of a faculty member matter at Princeton? I am curious because I have heard people complaining that these students always get in, even if they should not.
@geugen So out of those three options, legacy status matters the least. For all of the thousands of graduates, you can expect an average of two kids per each one and those numbers are simply too high to consider a parent alum too important. It does technically help though, because it shows a personal connection to the school which makes you more likely to choose them over other acceptances.
A family member being a faculty member is a little more significant. To begin with, since your relative works there, in theory, they have properly prepared you for the school because they know exactly what the admissions board is looking for. But also it goes back to personal investment and not only are you more likely to pick that school to go to, you are less likely to drop out because you have an established support system there.
Lastly, your family making a large contribution would definitely help you. Though no admissions board will admit you because of this alone, it simply makes financial sense to give these students a slight priority. Think about It, if they accept just one more student, the school could get another multi-million dollar facility in return. It obviously doesn’t say on your application if your family are donors, but if they recognize your name because it’s on half of the buildings on campus, not only will the school get an invested student, they’ll also probably get more money from the family.
TLDR: These things definitely have some effect on the decision process because they are signs of a personal investment to the school which usually equals lower dropout rates/ more motivated students. But in the end, if someone is completely unqualified, this won’t get them in.
@geugen Princeton sent my mom a letter saying the legacy admit rate was 30%, while the overall admit rate was 6-7%. It also said about 12% of students are legacies. However, it made it very clear that legacy applications are evaluated the same as every other application, and that the correlation between legacy status and admission is not causation.
My daughter’s aunt went to Princeton. Will that be considered as legacy?
no it wont
Does anyone know when is the Princeton Preview days for Regular decision? I am planning an event on April 8 and want to ensure it does not conflict. Thank you for any insight
@SNaray there are two Preview Days, April 9-10 and April 16-17. Source: https://apply.princeton.edu/portal/hosting?cmd=home
Here a link to preliminary schedule: https://apply.princeton.edu/portal/hosting?cmd=schedule
Cheers,
Psy
@holdingouthope Isn’t your daughter’s aunt just your sister haha? (or sister-in-law)