Hey! For all you SCEA applicants who were recently deferred by Princeton University, feel free to mope on this thread with me. We can discuss what to do and what not to do to help our admission status. We can compare and contrast stats and qualifications. Most importantly, we can chat about our chances of being admitted in the regular decision pool…speaking of, does anyone have any credible statistics about how many deferred Princeton applicants are later offered admission?
@nikuedu
I got deferred y’day.
My stats:-
Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2120 (640 CR 800M 680W); 2200 (640CR 800M 760W); 1550 (750R 800M) [New SAT]
ACT (breakdown): 35C (36E 35M 34R 36S) [one sitting]
SAT II: 800 Chemistry; 800 Physics; 800 Mathematics Level II
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): N/A [Indian educational system - CBSE - hence percentage: 96.8%: ultra-high for CBSE student]
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/200
AP (place score in parenthesis): None taken. AP courses not offered. Plan to take 4 AP exams next year.
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: English, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Computer Science (CBSE system - Indian educational system)
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Winner of national science competition (30 students out of 50,000); Environmental Agency Energy Challenge (national environmental competition - wastage tracking and analysis using Geographic Information System) winner; Silver Lead School Award by Environmental Agency Abu Dhabi (with cash prize of approx. $8000)-won this prize for my school; community/govt. awards/certificates for academics
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
- Events Coordinator for Prakriti Environmental Club
Mentioned in Additional Information section of Common App: I head components of Green Audit – my job involves allocation of resources for the audit, optimization of audit procedures and most importantly, keeping track of trends in resource consumption and designing a plan of action based on the issues discovered through audit data analysis. During the years I have been involved, there has been a significant drop of 5 grams of waste items per capita.I was a designer and analyst for the team that developed the solar films project. Using monetary incentive received by Environmental Agency for pioneering environmental work, the solar films project was implemented indigenously and has reduced electricity consumption by 15% in the school. I have attended one international and many environmental summits. I worked on a project as Lead Student Project Coordinator for the Zayed Future Energy Prize international environmental contest as well. - Robotics: Club member, finalist at World Robot Olympiad UAE
- Debate/Speech: President, Moderator for Verbatim Debating Club; In-charge of meetings; recruiting, mentoring members; conducting club competitions; taking care of administrative matters; served as vice president
- Karate: Black Belt (Shodan) holder, Oriental Karate Club; Learning Shorin-ryu Seibukan karate for eight years, assisting sensei in teaching children; won medals in inter-club kata contest
- Prefect (2016), Spring House Vice Captain (2015): Responsible for maintaining discipline, developing house spirit, selecting students for competitions
- Distinguished Speaker, Inner Universe TM Club: Participation in Toastmasters meetings taking up roles of Speaker, Evaluator, Chairperson. 15+ trophies in UAE Division H Conference (DTAC)
- Batsman & Wicketkeeper, Zayed Cricket Academy
Job/Work Experience: Internships/jobs not legally allowed for under 18 persons.
Volunteer/Community service: Volunteer for an NGO and in an anti-smoking campaign.
Summer Activities: Visited a nuclear reactor in India and some labs, was a speaker for a youth leadership program for juniors
Essays (rating 1-10, details):
Common App essay: 8/10 - talked about how taking a different perspective in a trivial situation changed me and talked about my intellectual development in high school; it was somewhat unique
Princeton Supplement: 8/10 - talked about my first experience in an interview and how it went badly and what I learnt from it: to delve into fearful experiences to develop as a person. I’d say the matter was a bit generic but revealed an important aspect of me, in a very strong manner.
Princeton BSE: 9/10 - wrote about my experience visiting a nuclear reactor and associated labs, talked about what I wanted to achieve with a Princeton education and how I fit into it
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
Teacher Rec #1: By CS teacher for 2 years - I’m sure it’s very good.
Teacher Rec #2: By English teacher who has known me for 4 years and taught me for 2 years - she considers me her best student so I am sure the rec is excellent.
Counselor Rec: Knows me kinda well and feels I am a competitive applicant, so I think she wrote a good recommendation.
Additional Rec: By environmental club coordinator - she said she wrote a really good one for me.
Interview: Went pretty well. Discussion was smooth; interviewer really liked my questions regarding Princeton; he appreciated my fine qualities and talents. So I guess it was pretty good.
Other
Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes, but not expecting any
Intended Major: Computer Science B.S.E.
State (if domestic applicant): N/A
Country (if international applicant): United Arab Emirates (I am an Indian though)
School Type: Private charter high school
Ethnicity: N/A
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: $150,000-$160,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Not sure if it’s a hook but those accepted from my place are usually from IB/IGCSE schools which are more expensive and offer more opportunities for their students. So I am a ‘different’ applicant in the eyes of Princeton, maybe? (very few apply to Ivies from Indian community schools in the UAE)
Thoughts:
I expected a deferral, but I am must say I am pretty bummed. My scores and recommendation letters were top notch for sure. And my ECs are well-rounded (and the environmental work was a tad bit unique) and quite justified for a person studying in the Indian system which is completely academics-based. I am quite disappointed, as I performed exceptionally well under my circumstances and put together a good application.
Anyway, I am thinking of sending in an LOCI, and I have already sent my Mid Year Report.
A question: Is there any way that I could mention that I used all opportunities available to me under my circumstances without sounding negative?
The reason I want to say this is because the few students accepted to Princeton from UAE are from A Level/IB schools where the students are offered special opportunities for internships and other activities in school itself. (I sent an e-mail to Princeton regarding this way back in August and they said they do consider differences in educational environment but I am not sure how far this is true.)
Yes Princeton does consider differences in educational environment so if you have sent an email already, it’s been considered together with your application.
As an international student it’s quite difficult to secure an offer of admission. Generally, 11-12% of the population at Princeton in any given year are internationals, meaning 145-150 per class. A significant number of those are recruited athletes (my son was one of these). Some are children of alumni, dignitaries and major donors. Additionally, Princeton is one of the few schools that does not differentiate between domestic and international applicants for financial aid, drawing a larger pool of international applicants than many other schools might. So you can see that the odds for an unhooked international are quite low.
A deferral is so disappointing for a student who has truly done everything possible with the opportunities before them. Any communication now with Princeton beyond the LOCI should be strictly new information that adds to your initial application (new awards etc). Beyond that, I’d encourage you to apply to some matches and safeties and a few other reach schools. Whether at Princeton or somewhere else, you will certainly find success if you continue on your current path.
I’m so stressed blegh :(( March 30 is sooo far
@MissAnthropy tell me about it lol
8->
Does anyone know the percentage of SCEA applicants who get deferred? It seems as if the majority of applicants who were not accepted SCEA got deferred… :-<
I don’t think anyone knows because I’ve heard that deferred SCEA kids have a better chance and that they have a worse chance @Reese5 
@MissAnthropy hmmm I’ve heard both too. Oh well, we’ll see in 17 days!! 8-X
@MissAnthropy @Reese5 according to Daily Princetonian:
[quote]
The number of students admitted from regular admission was 1109, and the acceptance rate for regular decision candidates, including those who were deferred in early action and accepted in the regular pool, is 3.8 percent./quote
This matches what admissions told us face to face, that the deferred student goes into the RD pile and is re-evaluated like all RD applicants.
FWIW - Harvard in 2015 accepted just 2.3%
[quote]
just 2.3 percent of applicants who were deferred to the regular admissions cycle received acceptance letters./quote
At this level, best to have plenty of matches and safeties.
Good luck!
-psy
I ended up getting a provisional patent and I sent an email to Princeton but do you think I should upload proof of this to the portal or will they take my word for it. The patent was for a process to desalinate seawater and produce energy at the same time.
I think I read somewhere that they’re no longer accepting updates 
@currylord
but definitely give it a shot! it can’t hurt 
I got an email saying that the info was added to my file, so, fingers crossed!
ugh I’m freaking out…I just need to know that I didn’t get in so I can let go of the tiny bit of false hope that’s making me so anxious!!!
@nikuedu -
You’re going to be rejected. Give up hope, get over it, and move on.
@nikuedu -
Now that I’ve helped you move on, I’d like to wish you the best of luck with your college admissions, including Princeton.
I was also deferred SCEA but at that point wasn’t a member of college confidential. I can really not believe at all that they changed their minds and accepted me!!