@FiveFactorial Thank you! I know it, and I know all schools have different, or its better to say distinct, criteria to choose their students. I just meant I wish I could have a chance to apply to less competitive schools like USB or UCLA or other great in-state schools, but they are super expensive for my family and I had to apply to these schools to have a chance to study at US universities. Now it’s time to wait.
I just got waitlisted by Uchicago (there is still hope to get into since they got off many students from their waitlist during last years). 
@FiveFactorial Does an acceptance into Stanford indicate a favorable possibility/outcome for Ivy day? @Monster1997 Also, I also got waitlisted at Uchicago and feared I had no chance at any of the top schools. But you never know, the admissions process is pretty unpredictable.
@APersonsHistory the whole college admissions process is so random! I have a friend who was rejected by Stanford and accepted to LSE (London School of Economics, possibly the best school for economics and political science in the world!). A personal example would be my parents, who were accepted at birth Cornell and then the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern for their MBAs (note Kellogg was the #1 uni in the world at the time for Business, currently in the top 10) and they were rejected by one of their safeties!! It’s really quite random, and it could just mean you don’t fit their profile, or one school values SAT scores more than another, or another takes a more holistic approach, etc. Just relax and enjoy the ride
@APersonsHistory All schools look for different things, so I wish I could tell you lol. But CONGRATULATIONS for getting into Stanford, that’s freaking amazing!!! I wouldn’t even be thinking about Princeton right now if I were you 
@orionsagittarius good idea! Can confirm that as of now it doesn’t work lol
@FiveFactorial Thank you! I was so shocked myself. My aid letter looks pretty bad though. I’ll have to pay 10k more out of pocket than I would at other schools.
Anyway, just curious to know what option you chose for Princeton writing supplement ! I wrote about Culture
@Monster1997 I chose the one on a person who influenced you. That was Princeton right? Haha
Ahhh. I wanted to wrote about Richard Feynman but I chose another option
I chose a person who has influenced you 
I wrote about a little girl that I taught ballet to who liked to dance with her eyes closed. She was so frustrating to teach in the beginning but I love her so much now lol
@Monster1997 I wrote about culture as well!
I wrote about my little sister (I was an only child to a single mother till she was born to my mother and step father)
I wrote about the influential person, and talked about my paternal grandparents who have never spoken to me or wanted to meet me just because of my DNA (being my mother’s daughter) and how I went from being bitter and resentful to realizing that it’s a gift that’s helped me be open and interested in other cultures, religions, etc. because I never wanted anyone else to feel the way I did for circumstances out of my control and completely natural.
I wrote about what is important in my culture and what I will gain if I get into a diverse place like princeton. Don’t have any feeling about my essay juts felt I should write abut it
I chose the culture essay as I already wrote about an influential person for my common app essay. So my CA essay is about my baby brother and my P essay is about my country’s culture (i.e. snow and skiing hahah) and how that has shaped me.
But ugh, this wait is killing me… I was deferred from REA so I guess my chances are minimal at this point, but Princeton is my #1 choice, no doubt about it whatsoever and I know that if I get in there I will turn down all other acceptances, even the ones where I have gotten merit scholarships…
Btw, does anyone know if they re-read deferred applications as if they were RD or whether they keep in mind that you applied REA first and thus have showed that this is you #1 choice?
My common app essay was about a failure that I had and what I learned from it. Best essay that I’ve ever wrote
I think they will review your profile again.
Yes, I’m curious about @MIA2020 's inquiry. What exactly is the process with which admissions committees handle deferred SCEA applications?
Candidates deferred during the early action process will be reconsidered during the regular decision application process. Regular decision candidates must apply by Jan. 1 and will receive notification of their decision by late March.
From what my GC has told me, they review your application a second time during RD, @MIA2020. No idea if this is legit or not, but I trust my GC.
Also - for my essay, I wrote about an experience I had in my AP Comp Gov class when I was called out for voicing out my opinion on the immigrant crisis because my ethnicity is comprised of a majorly Muslim society and that we’re “basically all terrorists,” so I “sympathize.” (I integrated/used the quote from Dr. Wasow that the problems we face today don’t point to straightforward solutions.)
I chose the culture essay and wrote about my father’s efforts to keep traditions from our heritage alive (I’m about eight or so different things) and about growing up in a predominately Filipino neighborhood (I’m not Filipino.) I really didn’t want to write the culture essay, because - silly me - it seemed like the easy choice. About a week before the app was do, I realized I was making zero headway into my other essay, so I switched topics, and boy was I glad I did. It did turn out to be the easy choice, but that was because I had a lot to say. Writing the thing dug up a lot of childhood memories and I at least enjoyed writing it.