Princeton SCEA Class of 2020 Applicant Thread

Colleges & Universities A-Z Princeton University
1

Since application season is beginning, it wouldn’t hurt to get a thread started.

I’m currently debating on which school to apply early to. I know that a lot of people here have Princeton as a first choice; so, for anyone set on applying SCEA, here are some questions that could start up a discussion:

  1. Why are you applying to Princeton for SCEA?
  2. What draws you to Princeton?
  3. What makes Princeton stand out from other schools?
  4. Where else are you applying for RD?
  5. What are your qualifications?
  6. What are your summer plans?
  7. What is your intended major?
  8. What are your hobbies/interests/extracurriculars?
  9. What tips/advice do you have for applying?

Regardless of whether or not I end up applying to Princeton SCEA, I wish you all the very best in this paramount epoch of life known as the college application process. Good luck! :wink:

(And yes, I also started the application threads for Harvard and UChicago — it’s a way for me to gather information so that I can finalize on an EA school in the fall.)

2

Princeton has released its supplemental essays for the Class of 2020:

Common App Supplement: https://admission.princeton.edu/sites/admission/files/pdfs/SupptoCommonApp_2015.pdf
Universal App Supplement: https://admission.princeton.edu/sites/admission/files/pdfs/SupptoUniversalApp_2015.pdf

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1) Why are you applying to Princeton for SCEA?

Something just attracted me to the school when I first visited. I wanted to go to Harvard (the hackneyed childhood dream), but my perspective changed when I heard about Princeton and their programs. I’ll be doing Princeton SCEA because I see myself as a student there, no doubt about that. If I’m accepted in December, I’ll head over to apply to a fewer number of schools knowing that I got my dream in hand :smiley: But if I get rejected (deep breath), I’ll be fine. It’s good to aim high, even if you don’t get what you want. Because if you shoot for the moon and miss, you’ll land among the stars.

2) What draws you to Princeton?

Faculty and close-knit community. Definitely the beauty of the campus too. I just love it!

3) What makes Princeton stand out from other schools?

'nuff said in previous questions.

4) Where else are you applying for RD?

Quite a bunch, but I’m too lazy to list them off at this point.

5) What are your qualifications?

Eh, I doubt I’ll stand out. 18 AP/IB, 32 ACT, URM (AA-F), the hoopla of internships, ECs, and volunteering. Nothing stellar except one big award.

6) What are your summer plans?

NIH internship. 'nuff said.

7) What is your intended major?

I have to compromise a bit at Princeton since I want Neuroscience, but Molecular Biology and Computer Science maybe.

8) What are your hobbies/interests/extracurriculars?

A lot. I like basically everything. Most specifically writing and trivia things like Jeopardy!

9) What tips/advice do you have for applying?

IDK tbh. Just try your best guys!

4

Hey guys, I was accepted SCEA last year, so I thought I’d just pop in and wish you all good luck. If Princeton is your top choice, absolutely don’t be afraid to apply SCEA. It was a little intimidating for me last year to know that I only had one shot at early admission but honestly, applying early when there’s a significantly fewer number of applicants really helps your application stand out. The admissions team can spend a lot more time on your essays and subjectives, something I think really helped me and other candidates who maybe didn’t stand out so much on paper. So make sure you have fun, take your time, and try to enjoy the process.

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FYI, make sure you take a look at http://realtalkprinceton.■■■■■■■■■■/. You can submit questions for current students to answer, and lots of ground has already been covered (over two years) if you search for past questions. I don’t know of any other schools with something like this, but it’s been really helpful to me as an incoming freshman and the questions will start to be more about admissions as the academic year progresses. Good luck!

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I read a post that said that the site is for admitted students and not prospective students.

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Yeah, I read that as well. But there is an admission section from a few years ago. Take a look here: http://realtalkprinceton.■■■■■■■■■■/tagged/admission

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I’ve only been using it since decisions came out last year, so it has mostly been admitted students since then, but I’m sure they’d be happy to answer admission questions as well. Also, us pre-frosh are asking many of the same things about academics, campus life, etc, that you might be wondering as applicants, so reading through past answers might be helpful!

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  1. Why are you applying to Princeton for SCEA?
    Princeton is, without a shadow of doubt in my mind, my #1 choice. It’s the school I envision myself going to next fall, and so I’m going to take advantage of finding out early whether or not I’ll get in.
  2. What draws you to Princeton?
    -Woodrow Wilson School (!!!)
    -location location location (close enough to NYC to escape suburbia when boredom strikes; far away enough when the bright lights/disgusting smell/overcrowded streets become overwhelming)
    -campus (when I stayed there, I felt like I was a princess - haha)
    -undergrad focus
  3. What makes Princeton stand out from other schools?
    -small campus feel in a mid-sized school
    -research opportunities
    -study abroad programs
    -art museum houses Monets/Warhols/Picassos
    -senior thesis library (AMAZING I READ BROOKE SHEILDS’)
  4. Where else are you applying for RD?
    UPenn, Duke, Northwestern, Swarthmore, Brown, Dartmouth, Cornell, Kenyon, Emory, Tulane, Carnegie Mellon, UCs (I’m from SoCal)
  5. What are your qualifications?
    Salutatorian (striving for valedictorian), 3.97 UW/4.3 W GPA, 32 ACT (aiming for 34), IBDP Candidate, AP Scholar with Distinction, high honor roll since 9th grade…
  6. What are your summer plans?
    -Eco-Intern program (LA River revitalization/awareness)
    -JSA at Princeton Summer School 2015 (took Honors International Relations)
    -tennis practice (varsity singles/doubles)
  7. What is your intended major?
    Sociology or International Relations (depends on what I feel impassions me more once I start college)
  8. What are your hobbies/interests/extracurriculars?
    Reading, writing, tennis, running, pilates, church. Very interested in social stratification/Marxist theory (basically the dependency theory). Journalism editor, board/regular member of clubs at school.
  9. What tips/advice do you have for applying?
    WRITE YOUR ESSAYS AHEAD OF TIME. I’m basically done with my application already; just gotta get letters of rec and feedback on my personal statement and supplements!
10

My son is applying SCEA to Princeton this year for Engineering. We visited and he loved the campus, the small engineering classes and the research opportunities. He will probably also apply to Cornell, Yale, Duke and UVA. He is number two in his class with a 4.8 GPA (4.0 UW), 35 ACT, Math II 800, Biology 780, taking Chemistry subject test in Oct, National AP scholar, 5 honor societies, marching band, etc. Sounds like Princeton is a long shot for anyone, even with good grades and scores. I wish everyone good luck and look forward to watching this board until Dec 15th.

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Note to Neuroscience person - There is a Neuroscience certificate, you can major in MolBio or Psych and add the certificate, all kinds of great opportunities for research.

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@Alumother @Princetonian2020 - There’s actually a brand new neuro concentration being offered for the first time this year! Take a look at the info at pni.princeton.edu. The certificate is still offered as well, though I believe the quantitative and computational track may be phased out (don’t quote me on that).

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Are you guys saying that there is a neuroscience major, not minor, now? @kestrel24 @Alumother

Edit: Oh my god, I just checked the Princeton website and I think I could cry of joy (even more so if I get to be a member of the Class of 2020!) http://pni.princeton.edu/education/undergraduate-concentration

14

Hi guys, I love Princeton and am interested in applying SCEA. However, my chances of admission are really low (however, so are everyone else’s…). I’m worried I will be overlooked because of my class rank. My school is really high-achieving (even though it’s just a regular public school in Illinois), and the GPA system is flawed (taking study halls/lunches raises your GPA and taking arts and language lowers it due to how the GPA is weighted) and my weighted 4.3/ unweighted 3.85 GPA ranks me almost 50th in my class of 397 students. The school knows it’s GPA system is flawed, and is doing away with class rankings next year. Another thing that lowers my GPA is the rigor of my courses. I’m taking Calc III dual-enrollment at University of Illinois, and that class is on the same GPA scale as Honors Geometry (which is nowhere near the level of thinking or amount of work that is demanded in Calc III). Will Princeton be able/willing to do some sleuthing and figure out that the Valedictorian of my class only takes 5 academic classes to play the system (or something to that effect), or will they see that my class rank is 50th and immediately be less willing to give my application a full review?

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^^ They will take into account your class rigor and your GC also has to rate how demanding your schedule was so I assume if your Valedictorian applies and hasn’t taken the most demanding schedule, it will be noted. That being said, if you are an unhooked applicant applying SCEA, I would say you need to be at least in the top 5% of your class and probably closer to the the top 1-3% unless you have some really fantastic EC accomplishments (not talking on the HS level but at least on the state and preferably national level). I think kids underestimate how difficult it is to be accepted early because they don’t factor in how many spots are reserved for recruited athletes (20-25%), legacies (15-25% depending on overlap with recruited athletes), URM’s(10-20% depending on overlap with RA’s), Int’l (5-10%), celebrity/ development (1-3%). When you add all this up, you realize there aren’t many spots left. If you also factor in that Asians will be about 15-20% of the SCEA accepted pool, if you are white and unhooked there are even less spots. Sorry for the sobering stats.

16

About how many URMs are accepted SCEA? Are those statistics out?

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From my last year experience, I think it is very important to assess your chance very realistically in choosing early decision college because it is your best chance of getting in. When it comes to Regular decision it will be super hard since students who were deferred or rejected got panic and applied to every possible colleges they can.

18

May I offer a slightly different perspective? SCEA acceptance rate is around 18.5%, however this includes recruited athletes, most legacies, children of faculty and staff and otherwise hooked applicants. I believe these groups skew the acceptance numbers significantly. For example, recruited athletes are typically given a pre-read, and assessed well before the actual acceptance date so the offer of admission is more of a formality in these cases. Knowing that approximately 20% of all undergrads at Princeton are varsity athletes, it would stand to reason that this group alone could comprise 200-250 students out of the approximately 760 offers of admission given for SCEA. Add in the other groups mentioned and the SCEA admission rate for otherwise unhooked applicants hovers closer to the RD rate. Most applicants in the early pool are deferred to the regular round anyway. Applying early may offer a slight advantage but it is probably not as significant as the numbers may appear.

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^^ Exactly! See my post #14 for more numbers on just how hard it is to get in early.

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I maybe wrong but I still think 18.5% is a lot better than 4%(1141/27250) regardless. Plus, applying SCEA showing that it is your first choice which will increase your chance of getting in. College wants to have higher yield rate. It is still the numbers game,