Please chance me for Princeton!

Colleges and Universities A-Z Princeton University
1

Hello!
I’m a junior in high school and want to go to Princeton. I have a 4.0 unweighted gpa and have taken 10 AP classes, but I am worried that my 1580 SAT is too low, as it is not perfect. I have taken the SAT 5 times to try to improve my score but cannot get better than a 1580.

ECs: president of the multicultural club, d&d club. Member of hacker club.

IQ: 155 (official)

Hobbies: playing d&d, hacking, drinking soup

Please chance me. I DONT NEED ANY SORT OF HATE OR NEGATIVITY. THANKS FRIENDS. PLEASE SERIOUS POSTS ONLY THANKS.

2

Do not mention you IQ in your application to Princeton. Everyone who applies to Princeton has a high IQ. They care about what you have done.

Your stats are great. 1580 is a great SAT. I remember a friend in high school who wanted to get an 800 on an SAT test so he took the German test (he was fluent). He got a 790. Top schools will not care about the difference between 1580 versus 1600. However, most applicants to Princeton with a 1600 are turned down.

Princeton accepts about 7% of applicants. Your stats are great, but your chances are not much different from 7%.

Apply to Princeton. Then focus on schools where you are likely to get in. When it is time to apply to graduate school the great universities will still be there. You will have had four years of university which will give you a better opportunity to shine relative to other students.

You are likely to be very successful wherever you go to university. If you go to a university that is a lot less famous and lower ranked, you will be surprised how strong the professors are and how strong some of the other students are. Expect to need to work hard in university wherever you go.

3

Colleges look at more than just your academic stats but also the person you are outside of your classes. This is reflected in your hobbies and activities that your participate in and how passionate you are about them. An admissions committee is looking to bring in a freshman class of diverse students with different interests. Each student is a unique addition and brings value to the school. It’s not just what the school can do for you but what value do you bring to the school you will enroll in and that is usually reflected in your essays.

Schools want students that don’t just attend classes and are high performers but that will contribute to social aspect of the college. Aside your grades how can you make a difference at the school you plan to attend. A school like Princeton offers opportunities that many other colleges may not offer. You have to be able to express how you are a good fit for the school, why you want to attend this school, and what resources that are made available to you that you will utilize that no other college offers. Did you make the most of your high school experience and utilize all the opportunities that your school offered? They want students who will make the most of their college experience and utilize all the opportunities that the college offers because a strong academic student alone can get a good quality education at almost any 4 year accredited college.

The number of applications received are much more than the spots available in the incoming class. Almost all the applicants have excellent academics stats. It’s what else that is unique about them (their experiences, achievements, or talents) that makes an applicant stand out amongst the many applications that are reviewed. Being a 4.0 student and having perfect test scores isn’t a guarantee of admission at top schools. There will be lots of students with your stats that would be applying to such competitive schools. It tells a college you are a strong academic but it doesn’t tell anything else about what you bring to the table and why they should offer a spot to you.

4

Be cautious with your tone and use of language when applying. You clearly are very intelligent but you need to also be smart.

Translation… IQ 155 (official), hobbies drinking soup, not satisfied with a 1580 and a warning in bold “serious posts only”’ comes off as a bit arogant when written by a 16 year old and read by an adult.

It appears you will have the quantitative stats for strong consideration, but you can easily tank your application on the qualitative side. I ask myself would I want my kid to be your roommate… to be honest not really.

You have wasted hours upon hours retaking your SATs to be able to claim perfection while not achieving leadership roles in any ECs or for that matter even participating in a meaningful way. It raises red flags about checking boxes versus real intellectual curiosity and lacks any sense of passion towards non academic interests.

“I don’t need any hate or negativity”. I am expressing neither so I hope not taken as such. Trying to give you an honest assessment.

Top advice, go find someone not as smart as you that is in need, academically, emotionally or financially and find a way to help them. You will benefit from learning empathy and realize that you are blessed with abilities that can serve a greater good then proving your own intellect and aptitude for standardized tests.

Good luck.

5

Your SAT score wont keep you out of any school.

That said, the most competitive schools aren’t guarantees for any student. Spend time finding match and safety schools that you are excited about. No one’s chances are good at Princeton unless your family donated a building.

6

“You have wasted hours upon hours retaking your SATs to be able to claim perfection while not achieving leadership roles in any ECs or for that matter even participating in a meaningful way. It raises red flags about checking boxes versus real intellectual curiosity and lacks any sense of passion towards non academic interests.”

Nocreativity1, you hit the nail on the head! So few students seem to have real intellectual curiosity. So many seem in search of a “name”, then in search of A’s and they are ruining academics! Let’s find a way to give them the A on the first day of the semester and send them home. I’d so much rather an entire class filled with B students interested in learning and understanding and seeking…then a class of students interested in little more than whether they will nab the A.

7

Definitely mention your IQ, and make your application revolve around it. Also mention to AOs that you watch Rick and Morty in your free time and understand all the nuanced jokes, they will really enjoy that. If there’s one thing colleges love, it’s having applicants brag about their IQ score to assert their superiority. Make AOs know that you’re better than them.

8

guys, this is so messy…not satisfied with a 1580…took the SAT 5 times…YIKES man…but also this kid is like 16 so maybe lay off. long post incoming because i used to be like this so heres a hot take from someone who has lived through it.

WHATEVER U DO DONT MENTION UR IQ…u might as well tell them that you were a moderator on r/incels. do NOT mention your IQ.

right now, you’re coming off as a fake geek boy who makes misogynistic comments at girls for playing MTG, which is…not great. even if you have a 1600 and 50 AP’s they’re gonna slap u with that big fat rejection notice.

you really need to show that you have a personality. really really. that matters way more than 20 points on the SAT. for me, i had a 1570 on the SAT with one of the worst known curves of the year, 14 AP’s (including senior year). within those 14 AP’s i took Calculus AB while taking Physics C (which means I had to learn calculus and apply it in the same timeframe). i ended up with double 5’s on Phys C which is notoriously hard at my school since they make Mech and EM semester classes instead of year-long classes and it’s known as a killer senior class (and took it junior year). additionally, i got a 5 on AP Language, which is pretty hard, especially for a STEM-oriented student. I’m the only person in my school who got double 5’s in Physics C AND a 5 in English language. for EC’s, I’ve placed in flute competitions, done state S&E, been selected for the concerto competition, etc. plus some leadership. whatever. there are more but guess what? it don’t matter!

because there are thousands of applicants who are just as impressive, if not moreso. the ONLY way i can distinguish myself is by showing my personality through essays (and to a lesser extent, the arts supplement. you can’t really tell much with flute, but if you were a writer or an artist, definitely include an arts supplement). so anyways back to the essays. what did i write them about?

depression and fanfiction. yeah. sounds messy but since I got gud at writing after reading a spectacular fanfic and much of my current recovery-positive, change-loving mentality has been defined by my struggle with depression, my essays SLAPPED. yours can to!

but, uh, not until you’ve done some genuine self-reflection. not to call you out or anything, because i think this could really help you. and don’t worry, I was totally like this too. so i get it.

anyways, here goes: you seem to put way too much stock in numbers and statistics (grades and SAT). whether this is due to lack of parental encouragement or whatever, it’s something that you should address. because once you get out of high school and college, that framework is gone. you should wean yourself off it while it’s easy to (not to mention that when you fail, because you will at some point, it’s going to hit a lot harder if you define your entire life around some arbitrary grade).

here is another tip for you: be selfish. I don’t mean steal your brother’s favorite sweater because it makes your eyes pop (you should ask to borrow it). i mean, like. value yourself. value your friends. take time for yourself. learn to knit or something. you seem to do that with D&D, which is cool and great. i’ve always wanted to learn how to play D&D (and maybe that would make a good essay topic, since it’s fairly unique and not “i profess my love to my classical instrument for 600 words”).

finally, and this is CRUCIAL, learn empathy. i mean, like…D&D sets lots of examples with gender and sexuality positivity i think, so that might be a good place to start…additionally i know Undertale has bad culture surrounding it but it’s genuinely a fantastic game and Will teach you empathy. stay off of FOX news and 4chan and don’t argue with people over the internet because that will screw over your sense of empathy COMPLETELY…and try to consider things from others’ points of view. this idea of empathy actually works WITH my previously discussed idea of selfishness, as described with this quote from terry pratchett since you seem like a fantasy dude:

“All witches are selfish, the Queen had said. But Tiffany’s Third Thoughts said: Then turn selfishness into a weapon! Make all things yours! Make other lives and dreams and hopes yours! Protect them! Save them! Bring them into the sheepfold! Walk the gale for them! Keep away the wolf! My dreams! My brother! My family! My land! My world! How dare you try to take these things, because they are mine!
I have a duty!”

…wow. CHILLS. (note: from The Wee Free Men)

anyways i hope you have a slappin time with my advice (which will actually make you look better to colleges because they dont want study machines and i know this because a former AO told me that) while i go take some more cold medicine because ive been at 101 Fahrenheit for a good 2 hours now. TTFN!

9

OP hasn’t returned since the day of the original post. Regrettably I suspect he didn’t post in the hope of receiving legitimate advice but instead was looking for validation. I wish him luck and the maturity that will come with experience and time.