<p>It’s never too early to start thinking :)</p>
<p>Thank you for that offer GOODENOUGH 
CONGRATULATIONS on getting into Princeton!
I do have a question, if you don’t mind. I’m going to a very small school and we only have 6 AP classes and although I am taking them all I had wanted to self-study some. Last year I took 1 class and s-s for 3 tests (Macro, Micro, and HumanGeo). I was planning on s-s more next year, but I can’t get a definitive answer on whether or not they help regarding admissions. Did you do anything like that? Would you think they helped? Thanks!!</p>
<p>Honestly, I don’t see a problem with this thread…I mean, to be honest, I’m thinking about colleges because I enjoy thinking about colleges, and (I think) others feel the same way. It’s nerve-wracking but the earlier you start thinking about it the more prepared you’ll be :)</p>
<p>^ I both love it, and hate it. lol</p>
<p>I hated it. It made the first semester of my senior year miserable.</p>
<p>^ But it obviously worked out for the best for you Congrats! Do you mind sharing stats?</p>
<p>goodenough, I concur. I think that your junior year is an appropriate time to start thinking about college. You are also most definitely correct- once you start, you cannot stop lol. Also, congratulations with your acceptance to Princeton! And YellowDaisies, it is fun to think about college, without going overboard.
Now I do have two questions-</p>
<p>1) Do you think it is okay to start taking the SAT the fall of your junior year? Reason being that I would love to get it over with as soon as possible- realistically, I will take it more than once, but I would rather spend some time this summer preparing and hopefully by the end of my junior year, that is one less thing I have to worry about. Thoughts?</p>
<p>2) (This is what, probably the 4th/5th time I’ve brought this up here on CC?) My question is, I did terrible on two SAT II tests- scores that I don’t feel like mentioning again. Some colleges do you have score choice, but for those that don’t- off of a rough estimate, do you think that if I were to retake the tests, (more preferably, just one) and actually do well- would this majorly affect my chances for admittance? Would the admissions office just look past those mediocre scores, provided you had good ones?</p>
<p>Thanks everyone.</p>
<p>^ Yes! I would definitely take the SAT before senior year!!</p>
<p>Question:
- What is your biggest barrier to being accepted into Princeton?</p>
<p>I’m international.</p>
<ol>
<li>What is your greatest advantage? </li>
</ol>
<p>I’ve taken AP tests that no one else in my school has.</p>
<p>another pton class of '14 here!</p>
<p>it’s good to see so many passionate prospective tigers out there (i was once in your shoes) and it’s always nice to get a head start on college admissions. but be sure not to think too much about the process during your most important year of high school and focus on your classes/testing/ and much more!</p>
<p>this is pretty late, but i’ll just go for it. can any Princeton alumns shed some light on the culture at Princeton, such as traditions, social scene, what an average Princeton student is like?</p>
<p>Any thoughts on the reinstatement of EA?</p>
<p>It will be similar to Yale’s. Not too much of difference.</p>
<p>Since I think like you, and I know what are you hoping, I cannot say it will help much.</p>
<p>It would be nice to think that the EA will have an acceptance rate of 20% plus, but I highly doubt it. Even with minor legacy in EA, Princeton is still a tough school to get into for anyone.</p>
<p>I’m now just learning about the real world impact of grade deflation as my child looks for a job with a new Princeton degree…it ain’t pretty. Pure and simple, at first glance your resume doesn’t make the first cut. My husband hires research assistants from only the best schools and has a lot choices and a 3.2 GPA from Princeton or even a 3.6 just doesn’t compete with a 4.0 from Wash U. or Northwestern. The Princeton student’s transcript and accompanying Princeton disclaimer doesn’t even get a second look. They are eliminated quickly and efficiently by the GPA…it’s too low versus the competition. The school claims that the disclaimer makes everything alright. WRONG. Many employers eliminate the Princeton student from consideration because of a low GPA because in a very competitive market THEY CAN. Just as schools who see more applications than they can possibly read, eliminate those not worth taking a harder look at, employers do too. Most don’t even know about grade deflation because they never get that far in the process. Unless your GPA is over a 3.8 don’t put it on your resume. I’m sure this happens to graduate school and scholarship applications too. Welcome to the real world, Princeton students.</p>
<p>Grade deflation at Princeton doesn’t turn a 4.0 into a 3.2 or even a 3.6.</p>
<p>The handling of grade deflation by Princeton (the transcript disclaimer) has students believing that their lower GPA’s still makes them competitive and I’m here to tell you it does not because many employers don’t even get that far. The sheer volume of 3.8-4.0 students out there in the marketplace from excellent schools puts Princeton’s 3.6-3.8 students in the “second tier” and employers, scholarship committees and graduate schools have plenty to do just getting through the first tier. For the AVERAGE Princeton student with a 3.2, forget it. Don’t put your GPA on your resume in an attempt to get the “closer look.” Then hope the disclaimer is actually read by a very busy person.</p>
<p>^At the margin what you are saying may be true. However, the average GPA at Princeton went from 3.46 in 2003 to 3.39 in 2009 (NY Times article). That’s not a huge difference. </p>
<p>However, since students science and engineering classes are not to be much affected by the new policy (they have always had grade deflation), students who take mostly humanities courses are probably more harmed by it.</p>
<p>I think Princeton students tend to blame all their woes on grade deflation. I don’t believe they are losing out on job opportunities to kids from Wash U because of it.</p>
<p>@soomoo
You may not “think” but my husband KNOWS because he’s fighting hard for Princeton and it is a fight to get his colleagues to take a look at Princeton’s lower GPAs. Grade deflation doesn’t affect the best of the best but it does affect the other 95%.</p>
<p>^^Ok. I concede. You are right in that I am not out there hiring students. </p>
<p>My son is only a freshman so in 3 more years when he is out there pounding the pavement I may be singing a different tune. :)</p>
<p>This issue just fries me because these kids work so hard to get there, then they work so hard while there only to be told “not good enough” when they get out. And everyone tells them they are just whining…I guess that’s all they can do since this was the deal going in. The reality of getting a job is too far away to think about when grappling with grade deflation issues as a high schooler. With the benefit of 20/20 hindsight now maybe getting A’s at Northwestern is better than B+ at Princeton for the same amount of work.</p>
<p>@Tigermom</p>
<p>Did you see this article? Dartmouth gave out 55% A’s last year. This is a bit much. </p>
<p>Too bad no other top Universities have copied Princeton’s policy so far. Then the lower GPAs wouldn’t hurt.</p>
<p>[News</a> & Notes: The Dartmouth columnist comes out in support of grade deflation - The Daily Princetonian](<a href=“http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/2011/03/04/27849/]News”>http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/2011/03/04/27849/)</p>