do you guys think that the increase in SCEA applicants this year will affect when the results are released?
Thanks everyone in this thread for all of the help and advice - it is much appreciated!! Does anyone know if Quest Bridge decisions were released today?
@collegebound1915 Yes, they were! I don’t know if there are any QuestBridge applicants on this thread, but I do know some QuestBridge people who will be receiving their decisions today. 
Had my interview today!! It was amazing! My interviewer was really nice and the whole interview was really relaxed and chill, just like a conversation. I don’t know why I was so nervous. It lasted a bit less than an hour, and that was only because I had run out of questions to ask. He asked me the basic questions, why do you want to go to Princeton, what is your favorite subject, what are your extracurriculars, the usual. I asked him about his experience there and we chatted about that for a while. At the end he had a whole page of stuff written about me and I gave him my resume. I felt really good about the whole thing even though I know it doesn’t really count a whole lot. Now all that’s left is the horribly long wait!
@eyesight2020 I don’t think it’ll affect the release date that much. I know last year Harvard’s application numbers for SCEA increased by 20+%, but the school still released decisions at its normal time. More applicants just means that the people who are hired during the preliminary round are paid to get rid of more applicants; the amount of students that survive until committee pretty much stays constant since the admissions officers can only read so much. That being said, the SCEA admit rate this year is not going to look as pretty due to the almost 10% increase in applicants.
@meaa7130 Ahh, that’s wonderful! I really hope Princeton accepts you; they would be extremely lucky to have someone like you in their class! Crossing my fingers so that hopefully we can both receive good news in two weeks!
I can’t believe decisions are out in just two weeks! This is super cliche, but it feels like I was just hitting the “Submit” button on the Common App yesterday. I have a feeling that the days will start to slooooooow down as the decision date gets closer though 
@emtfxc i feel you. i’ve probably been unconscious this past month, but now, two weeks will seem like the longest thing ever. i’m trying to get through these next two weeks by feeling excited about the little things so I can get my mind off of this… sometimes, though, I catch myself thinking “2 weeks is literally half a month” and “decisions come out when exams do” and yeah.
@azwu331 Thanks for your efforts on this forum, and this is my first posting in CC. Best luck to you! My daughter also applied the 2020 SCEA for Princeton. I have a question on your post #344. Does Princeton get help from part-time employees for review in the preliminary round if needed?
@agrimon Yes, Princeton uses part-time employees to read during the preliminary round. Admissions officers are only used during the committee round; in fact, there was an article that was released regarding this on the Princeton website not long ago.
Hopefully this helps! 
@agrimon Also, good luck to your daughter as well!
@azwu331 Thanks for the information and wish. So passing the preliminary round depends on the two adjudicators’ preference or rubrics, which may entail some sorts of uncertainties if they are not fully qualified or if they have a potential conflict of interest with applicants that they review. Any thought?
I wonder what percentage of apps make it past the preliminary round. If the applicant’s transcript isn’t that good but everything else is, would it make it to the committee?
@agrimon My strong suspicion is that both a hired reader and a regional ad com are reading the application file, each with different roles. It would not make sense for the ad com to only be involved at committee - they are the ones who have the knowledge of the high schools, the grading systems, the guidance counselors, and the regional context.
hey all, i’m a student at princeton right now, and last week I got the chance to view my admissions file (via FERPA request). this includes reader comments, what kind of information they look at, and how they score/rate applicants. if you guys have any questions about the process i’d be happy to shed some light (though obviously there are many things that we’re still not privy to)
@lomoso If you could give us some information about the entire process, that would be great!
For example, what comments do the readers write, how they look at your application and rate it, how much emphasis is put on the essays, how do the first two readers decide to send someone over to committee, etc.
@gearsstudio That I don’t know; it’s all up to the admissions officer. I do know that around 1,000-1,500 applications make it to committee, where the officers keep on shredding until they reach their desired ~750 SCEA admit number. It gets especially difficult to tell how the officers get rid of people when they reach ~800 applicants remaining… I wonder how they got rid of applicant #768 last year when they accepted 767 students through SCEA. 
@agrimon @Jennings99 Regardless of whether the first two people reading the application are hired workers or adcoms, there is always the possibility that an applicant might continue/fail to continue to committee due to uncontrollable factors. For example, the reader’s mood that day may impact whether or not an application makes it through; sometimes acceptance requires a bit of both luck and skill. The first application that a reader reads after a fresh morning coffee and a good night’s rest is psychologically going to be viewed better than the 515th application read on the same day, even if both applicants are equal in talent. I know that this might be going a bit too deep into the psychology of decision making, and that admissions officers will deny this fact, but it’s just an aspect of human nature. We all become more grumpy and tiresome as time passes; it’s just a natural body process.
The adcoms will say that they never make mistakes, but in reality, we are all human, and errors make up pretty much every aspect of our existence. It’s difficult to chance decisions for top-tier schools because almost every applicant is qualified, and there are just so many places along the line where bad decisions can happen. Will a ridiculously qualified applicant get deferred this year? Of course. Will a not-so-great entitled snob get in this year as well? It’s pretty likely. What does matter is that Princeton tries its best to minimize this capacity of error; sometimes, a misfortune for some prospective applicants may just be a compromise for the quick decision notification for everyone. If every application was given enough dedication to eliminate all potential for error, then we wouldn’t be able to receive our decision notification until late next year! I know that several people (including me) won’t be too happy if that happened.
Sorry if this is too long or something. This is just my view on the process… there’s really nothing we can do except endure the long wait and leave everything up to the adcoms instead of speculation. I’m sure that we’ll all end up where we are supposed to be, and that success will await us regardless of where we go. Princeton is often secretive in terms of how they conduct their decision making process, so contradictory information might be spread across many reliable sources from the school. I guess that’s just a quirk of being such a selective institution.
@lomoso that’s so cool! i have a question that’s been bugging me forever: if you can see comments on the LoRs, how do the readers view the letters of recommendations?
@azwu331 that thought is scary. like what if you were that close to being accepted? (I told myself I would not be stressing out over this, but I am…)
Hey guys, quick question! I recently got this email:
Dear (my name):
We received your 2016-17 Princeton Financial Aid Application; however, we have not yet received a copy of your parents’ 2014 federal tax return and W-2 statements.
Please fax or email a copy of these forms to our office as soon as possible.
Sincerely,
Princeton University
Undergraduate Financial Aid
Should I take this as a good sign or is it just something that everyone gets?