Princeton Multicultural Open House 2015

Colleges and Universities A-Z Princeton University
1

Hello - my son recently received an invitation in the mail for the Princeton Multicultural Open House. The letter was signed by the Associate Dean for Diversity Outreach. I’m surprised that he received this letter because he is not a URM. In fact he is an ORM (Asian).

I looked through this forum threads from past years and it appears that Princeton sends out invites once a year to central NJ area students. The day includes an info session on Princeton academics, presentations from current students, and financial aid. The day ends with a campus tour and a chance to meet admissions officers.

Does anyone know more about this event? Would it look strange for an ORM to show up to this type of event? Is this just a ploy to get local area students to apply to boost stats?

2

What kind of Asian are you? East Asians and South Asians from India are ORM, but Bengladeshis and Pakistanis may not be, since they are Muslim.

3

@4thfloor Hunh? India has the largest muslim population in the world.

4

@4thfloor: ORM south asian.

5

OP: Perhaps your kid’s info is on a mistaken target list. Who knows? Who cares? I highly doubt they’re trying to boost applicants. If it’s paid for, and will be of interest to your son, have him attend. Come application time, being an ORM won’t help him – but he’ll have a vision of what PTon is all about and can personalize his essays, if needed.

So what if it’s a mistake? Take advantage, I say. PTon won’t be hurt by it.

6

@T26E4 you’re right. No harm in going. Princeton was never really on my sons radar so maybe he can learn a bit about it.

7

I would consider going.
@4thfloor are pakistanis and bangladeshis, as well as the religion you are from make you ‘not’ an ORM? Wouldn’t they just be categorized under ‘south asian’.

8

Hello - I went to the open house this past weekend with my son. Here are my impressions:

  • About 900 people were in the audience. Probably at least 400 of which were prospective students. Rest were family.
  • Students were pretty evenly divided between URM and ORM
  • There were presentations given by the Dean of Admissions, Financial aid, Student life, a student panel and the day ended with a tour
  • At the end of each presentation they gave a chance for the audience to ask questions
  • There was very little opportunity to interact with the admissions officers themselves. During the one break there simply wasn't enough time to ask questions.
  • The staff didn't explain how the students were picked to be invited. It appears that they probably bought a mailing list of high school students in the area. There doesn't appear to be any special process by which students were selected that I could tell.

Overall I’m glad I went. It was useful to learn more about the university.

9

Do you cover your own transportation costs?

10

It looks like they only invited students living in the immediate area (NY/NJ/PA). There was no offer to pay for transport by Princeton.