Hypothetical scenario guys: Student 1 has phenomenal awards (International recognition, lets assume), but average - slightly above average essays which aren’t bad, but aren’t terrific. Student 2 has average awards but extremely well-written essays. Both have great stats (GPA, SATs, APs) as well as stellar ECs/recs .
Who has a better chance of being accepted?
Hi everyone! I recently qualified for an ran at the State Cross Country meet, making me an All-State runner. This happened well after my app was due. Should I notify Princeton about this? It’s a pretty significant accomplishment, I think. If so, how should I notify them? Thanks!
There is an email address on the admissions page of the P’ton website. Send them an email and they will add it to your file.
@azwu331 You’re saying “The officers just started committee this week.”
Do you mind sharing how you know this?
First marking period grades can be uploaded through the Guidance Counselor’s account. There’s a section that asks you how many transcripts you’re submitting at this particular time and for which marking period. It’s how we (hub and I, but hub is our son’s official guidance counselor) submitted our son’s. We’ll be repeating the process for his mid-year and final grades/transcripts. If your school doesn’t do first marking period grades, then obviously, they can’t be submitted and it doesn’t seem to be held against you.
From what we understood on Princeton’s application pages, they only require 2 LoR for public and private schoolers. Homeschoolers, such as ourselves, are required to submit 3, preferably from non-parent teachers. Only 2 were allowed to be submitted through the Common App, so we asked the 3rd recommender to submit their’s through snail mail, fax, or email. We used the info provided on the email we got asking for the 2nd letter. (Son had asked weeks in advance, kept getting told it was being sent in, etc.)
@agrimon, Here’s what homeschoolers have to submit just to Princeton. It’s similar to the other Ivies our son applied to as well.
Parent/Guidance Counselor side of things:
5. The PFAA and later the FAFSA (the usual for any applicant’s parents or independent student)
6. Detailed homeschool transcripts for each the required/heavily suggested marking period reports. Detailed means: title of each subject, description of the course, curriculum used for each course, GPA, grades, credits. We chose to also organize this by core subjects and then additional subjects. This was done for each high school grade. We also included where he was primarily schooled, additional schools, and all of the teachers he’s had including his mentor. The first two pages are a very compact, bare basic version of just GPA, grades, credits for each grade, and then a list of his classes by title for each of the main subject areas. We also included a detailed list of extracurriculars as the Common App didn’t allow enough space for them. His first marking period transcript is 22 1/4 pages long. (My son has taken A LOT of courses because homeschooling year round has allowed this. A college our son applied to that only wanted basic info and thinks a homeschooler’s book list is only about “a page long” is in for a shock. Our son’s bare basic first marking period transcript is 9 pages long.)
Some colleges also require an interview from all homeschooled applicants. Our son couldn’t apply to one because we didn’t find out that the interviews, even for RD, had to be done by Nov. 1, and the date had long passed. Other colleges require a GED or equivalent. Others require even more documentation even if it’s not required by your state’s homeschooling laws. Honestly, the Ivies are easier to apply to than some other schools. They know these kids are independent, driven learners who have been out in the world, rather than the stereotype the media and public love to perpetuate.
Homeschooling high school, and the past 10+ years, was far less daunting than our part of the college application process.
Last point: Everyone homeschools differently and laws vary by state. Some families use mostly online classes, some a cover school or service that issues their transcripts for them, others a co-op, and still others do their high school years mostly through dual-enrollment classes at the local community college or state school. What I listed above was based off of the college’s requirements as they pertained to our family and our state’s laws.
Hey I’m an RD pleb but I had a question. For the “your favorite movie/book/etc.” questions, how long did you guys make them? Like for inspiration, I said “powerful instrumental music”. Should I give an example, like a soundtrack for a movie?
@ivyhopes for BSE applicants, the applications go through an additional read by an engineering committee to ensure the applicant has sufficient preparation to be successful. I know this because of having spoken to admissions after my son was accepted SCEA and he had to self study a course because of the class being cancelled due to insufficient enrollment. Admissions has an excellent grasp on various types of awards and competitions as well as school systems both in the US and abroad.
@AcrobatX I read an article a few weeks back (interview with admissions officer or dean, I don’t remember) that stated that the committee often begins gathering during the first week of December. In addition, there was an applicant last year with the username alfawarlord who had connections with a Princeton admissions officer, and he gave hints that the committee was in action in early December. The comment is in the 2019 Princeton SCEA thread, I believe.
@tutututututuru You don’t have to list examples to those questions; it’s just a way for Princeton to know you better. I just listed down a few of my favorite sources of inspiration without going too deep into analysis.
@Cantiger Does the engineering committee just look to see if an applicant is prepared enough to be successful in the BSE program (i.e. good SAT Math II scores, chemistry and physics classes, science awards, etc.), or do they have a say in whether a BSE applicant is admitted (i.e. read essays, write comments, rank on a scale, etc.)?
@cantiger Are you at a disadvantage if you are a BSE applicant who is taking physics as a senior?
@cantiger I got a B (89) in AP physics Mech (my only B) and a 4 on the exam. Does that look bad? X_X
@beemane No. One of my friends last year took Physics as a senior and got in.
@meaa7130 That might depend on which year you took the class… when did you take AP Physics Mechanics?
@Cantiger Hi! I was wondering what the engineering committee mostly looks at when they read through your application? I actually submitted my research abstract from my junior year and in my EC’s I have many research-related internships. So would they make comments on those to increase the chances of being admitted? Thanks 
@meaa7130 Honestly though, a 89 isn’t going to be seen too badly. The admissions officers know that you are a person too, and if everything else on your application looks good, they might just disregard the B. I’m not an admissions officer though, but that’s just my guess.
interesting question about the email from FA going out to applicants who didn’t file their parents’ 2014 Tax return -
I wonder if EVERYONE who didn’t file their parents 2014 tax return received the email?
Looking back on this thread, it appears that only @ALibertarian didn’t receive the email even though he did not file his parent’s tax forms yet.
Are there any other people on this thread who didn’t receive this email but also didn’t submit their parents’ 2014 tax returns yet?
As someone else said, everyone who receives the email rushes to post on this board,so it’s hard to tell if everyone is receiving the email or if it’s only selected people.
This is just my opinion, but wouldn’t it be just a little too obvious for admission officers to send emails to only potential applicants regarding FA? (Oh I didn’t receive the email because I emailed them the 2014 tax return right after submitting the application…)
I don’t understand your question
Admissions officers aren’t sending the emails - they are coming from FA
Also, they aren’t sending emails to “potential applicants” but to actual applicants - namely, people who failed to attach their parent’s 2014 tax returns
the question is, did EVERY person who failed to send in the tax return receive this email? @ALibertarian said he did not receive the email, even though he didn’t submit his parent’s 2014 tax return
@arcane25 “The financial aid email has literally zero correlation with whethr or not you’re going to be accepted. I received the email in October due to being QB (they thought I had mistakenly applied SCEA because I put “Finalist” in my achievements section of the common app), and it was the same type of email, just worded a little differently. I know you all want to read into it more, but you really shouldn’t.”
it doesn’t sound like you’re in the same category as everyone else here at all – so I don’t think its the same thing, so i wouldn’t agree with your interpretation
You say the email is “worded differently” which means — it IS different.
Also, you were contacted in October about this – everyone on this thread received this FA email YESTERDAY, in December, not way back in October. I’m sure there were people who submitted their applications in October, but did not receive an email until yesterday. I would think that there COULD BE a correlation.
It doesn’t sound like you know any more than anyone else about the meaning of the FA email from yesterday, so I don’t think you should sound so “all knowing” about the correlation. the bottom line is, no one really knows.