<p>I'm a Junior at a prestigious public high school in NJ. We do not have class rank, but I have a 4.2 weighted GPA, take almost all AP and honors classes. I got a 2170 on my SATs. My EC's are good. I am the Lt. Governor for a NJ district Key Club, I am Student Council Secretary, I founded a club, and I've had 1 1/2 year of work experience as a tutor at an educational center, while playing four years of Rugby. </p>
<p>Would it be a better course of action to apply early to Princeton, which has a much higher acceptance rate than applying to UNC Chapel Hill which has a much lower acceptance out of state? Do I even qualify for Princeton? My next door neighbor is an alum and offered to give me a recommendation and Interview. Which would be the better course of action? (...I love both schools!)</p>
<p>Yeah, since then I've started SAT class so I'm hoping to raise it to hopefully a 2250. Also to clarify, I have more EC's than that, such as the science olympiad team and peer leader, and I am becoming an EMT this summer. I devote a lot of my time to them though. As Lt. governor of key club, for instance, I am in charge of five schools' key clubs in the district. Is that "Princetonian" enough? </p>
<p>(Ah i feel like I'm bragging about myself. It's awkward! Thanks for the help everyone!)</p>
<p>2250 would be far more realistic. As for ECs, the stereotypical Princeton kid would have started an international club and be running chapters in 14 countries. Who really knows? But you do have to keep in mind why it looks like the acceptance rate is way higher ED. It's simply because that's when the coaches pull in all the recruited athletes, all the legacies apply, the development office get's their candidates in and highly qualified urms are asked to apply. There is no proof, and many people doubt, that people not in these special categories have any better chance. An interviewing neighbor is always nice, but unless there's a building with his name on it an alum has little sway.</p>
<p>The link below displays UPenn's admitted class of 2005 stats. Although Penn is a little easier to get into than Princeton, I think that the UPenn stats will give you a good idea of where you need to be to get accepted at Princeton.</p>
<p>The next link is to the Princeton admitted class of 2005 stats. No where near as informative as the UPenn page, but you should note the SAT stats that they list and aim accordingly.</p>
<p>Thank you so for your help. I'm leaning toward UNC Chapel Hill now. Not only does it sound more realistic, but it always was my number one when I was little anyway. Good luck everyone!</p>
<p>UNC-CH is an awesome school, and I feel pretty bad for you considering I'm in-state and it's considered the school you go to when you aren't admitted anywhere else. Anyway, I'd say try for UNC-CH early. Have you visited both schools? They have VASTLY different atmospheres. Learn more about the schools, THEN make your decision. And good luck with the SATs!</p>
<p>The median verbal SAT for Princeton is 680-770. The median math SAT is 690-790. 71% scored 700+ on verbal; 73% scored 700+ on math. 94% were in the top 10% of their class, and their average uw GPA was 3.83. Chapel Hill will be tough, but not as bad.</p>
<p>I strongly suggest you consider Princeton ED. I don't normally support ED for indecisive people, but Princeton vs. UNC is a bit different. For one thing, Princeton includes no loans in their financial aid package. That makes it much, much cheaper than Chapel Hill. I knew someone who turned down the AB Duke for Princeton because it was a better deal financially. Basically, there's two scenarios.</p>
<p>1) You apply ED to Princeton. You will probably be admitted or deferred rather than rejected. If admitted, you're done. If deferred, get your other apps (including UNC) ready. You stand a good chance at UNC RD.</p>
<p>2) You apply EA to UNC. You don't find out until late January, so you have to apply to many schools no matter what. You'll have a tougher time in the RD Princeton pool, and UNC EA won't give that much of an advantage. </p>
<p>On the other hand, if you're not comfortable with being obligated to attend Princeton, ED might not be the best choice. I would definitely visit before applying to either.</p>
<p>Wow turning down an AB Duke for Princeton...Interesting decision to have to make. I'd go Duke just because of the atmosphere, but to each his own! Ah, the beauty of college decisions...</p>