Princeton University Class of 2020 SCEA Results

Colleges and Universities A-Z Princeton University
41

[ size=4][ color=green][ b]Decision: Accepted**[/color][/size]

[ b]Objective:**
[ *] SAT I (breakdown): 2350
[ *] SAT II: 800s on Math, Chem, History
[ *] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
[ *] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): top 1%
[ *] AP (place score in parenthesis): 5s on 10 APs (won’t disclose for privacy reasons but includes maths, physics, chem, English, history)
[ *] Senior Year Course Load: 5 APs and elective
[ *] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.): National Merit, AIME?
[ /list]

[ b]Subjective:**
[ *] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Varsity tennis captain, music (first chair in school and youth orchestra - submitted supplement), president of 3 academic clubs, some tech internships
[ *] Job/Work Experience: food service
[ *] Volunteer/Community service: volunteer for immigration services (common app essay about this), etc.
[ *] Summer Activities: nothing much
[ *] Essays: Common App (7/10), Princeton Supplement (7/10), Princeton Engineering (7/10)
[ *] Teacher Recommendations: probably decent
[ *] Counselor Rec: probably decent
[ *] Additional Rec: no
[ *] Interview: good
[ /list]

[ b]Other**
[ *] Applied for Financial Aid?: no
[ *] Intended Major: Engineering
[ *] State (if domestic applicant): West
[ *] Country (if international applicant):
[ *] School Type: public
[ *] Ethnicity (Hispanic Y/N/not reported):
[ *] Race(s) (AI/AN, Asian, AA, NH/PI, White, not reported): Asian
[ *] Gender: F
[ *] Income Bracket:
[ *] Hooks/tips (URM, athlete, legacy, 1st gen, etc.): none
[ /list]

[ b]Reflection**
[ *] Strengths: test scores?
[ *] Weaknesses: no major awards, no research, ORM
[ *] Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: lucky :slight_smile:
[ *] Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: nowhere
[ *] Where else are you applying for RD: Stanford, UW
[ /list]
Congrats to everyone accepted, and good luck to those deferred!!

42

Decision: Accepted

Objective:

  • [] SAT I (breakdown): 2330 (CR: 780 M: 770 W: 780)
    [    ] ACT: N/A
    [] SAT II: US History 800, Chemistry 790, Math II 800
    [    ] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
    [] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
    [    ] AP (place score in parenthesis): 5s for CS, Chemistry, Spanish Lang, BC Calc, APUSH
    [] Senior Year Course Load: MV Calc, AP Lang, AP Physics C, CS Courses
    [    ] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.): National Merit Semifinalist, State + International Awards in Academic-based competition

Subjective:

[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Student Government, Athlete, Academic-Based Club, Flute (School Band, Youth Orchestra)
[] Job/Work Experience: Group lesson instructor for individual sport
[] Volunteer/Community service: NHS Member
[] Summer Activities: NIH Summer internship, training for individual sport
[] Essays: Common App (8/10), Princeton Supplement (9/10 - Chose “Princeton in the Nation’s Service” prompt) - I worked pretty hard on both. Everyone I showed them to liked them a lot, but I think I’m still too much in that sick-of-my-own-writing state to make any substantial comments on either! :- )
[] Teacher Recommendations: 9/10, 9/10 - Did well in both of their classes and have really positive relationships with both of them.
[] Counselor Rec: 9/10 - I have a pretty close relationship with my counselor, and she knows me well. Was probably able to speak to my academic, leadership, athletic, and personal qualities well.
[] Additional Rec: 10/10 - Mentor from my summer internship. He was very kind and seemed impressed with my work.
[li] Interview: Went pretty well - I mostly explained my interests and asked questions. Had a nice conversation with my interviewer - we didn’t have too many similarities, but I think I made it work. I smiled a lot![/li][/ul]

Other

  • [] Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
    [    ] Intended Major:
    [] State (if domestic applicant): New York
    [    ] Country (if international applicant):
    [] School Type: Public Magnet
    [    ] Race(s) Asian
    [] Gender: F
    [    ] Hooks/tips (URM, athlete, legacy, 1st gen, etc.):

Reflection

[ul]
[] Strengths: Grades, Test Scores, ECs, Recs
[] Weaknesses: Lack of extensive research experiences and major academic awards
[] Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Overall well roundedness - good grades/challenging courses at competitive HS, athlete in unique-ish sport, leadership experiences, essays, positive recs to speak to my character
[] Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Nowhere else yet
[li] Where else are you applying for RD: I believe I am done![/li][/ul]

General Comments:

Still feels very surreal. Feeling extremely grateful and undeservingly lucky right now. I have a little bit of faith in the process now - while it of course is still a huge gamble in many ways, I think that if you stay true to yourself while applying, and think of college as a stepping stone to success rather than the definition of success, good things will come one way or another. Wishing all the best to RD applicants & to the many others I’m sure were much more qualified than I but did not get the result they wanted. Please PM me if you have any questions!

43

Decision: Deferred

Objective:
[] SAT I (breakdown): 2360
CR: 800
WR: 800
MT: 760
[] ACT: Did not report
[] SAT II:
USH: 800
Math 1: 750
Biology E: 750
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.2 weighted, school does not do unweighted
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 2% of class
[] AP (place score in parenthesis):
AP USH: 5
AP Language: 5
[] IB (place score in parenthesis): NA
[] Senior Year Course Load: AP Calc AB, AP Physics, AP Literature, AP Music Theory, AP Psychology, Gender Studies, Theology
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.): National Latin Exam Gold Certificate 3 years in a row[/li][/list]

[ b]Subjective:**
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Cross Country, All-State Athlete (Captain)
Indoor Track, All-League Runner (Captain)
Outdoor Track, League Champion 3000m (Captain)
Sports Editor, School Newspaper (Editor)
[] Job/Work Experience: Babysit
[] Volunteer/Community service: I volunteer over 200 hours a year since middle school at an organization for individuals with special needs.
[] Summer Activities: I trained all summer for cross country, ran a half marathon, travelled to Europe, took a PreCalculus class (my school didn’t offer Algebra in 8th grade) to get into AP Calc.
[] Essays: Common App (X/10), Princeton Supplement (8/10)
[] Teacher Recommendations: I would say 7 or 8/10 for both. I had the teachers both for two years, and I think that I really showed passion for their subjects. I did not see the recs though.
[] Counselor Rec: 9/10. She knew how much I wanted to go to Princeton, and I’m guessing she wrote a great letter.
[] Additional Rec: NA
[li] Interview: 7/10 He was really nice, we met for coffee, and talked a lot about reunions and cross country.[/li][/list]

Other
[] Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
[] Intended Major: Classics
[] State (if domestic applicant): NY
[] Country (if international applicant):
[] School Type: Catholic
[] Ethnicity (Hispanic Y/N/not reported): Not Hispanic
[] Race(s) (AI/AN, Asian, AA, NH/PI, White, not reported): White
[] Gender: Female
[] Income Bracket: $200,000+
[] Hooks/tips (URM, athlete, legacy, 1st gen, etc.): Legacy
[/list]

Reflection
[] Strengths: Test scores, transcript, legacy
[] Weaknesses: I guess lack of any research or super distinctive ECs? I am an All-State athlete so that consumed most of my time outside of class hahaha.
[] Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I’m not sure. It’s a numbers game. I thought that I might have a good shot at getting in, especially because my dad went there. He’s pretty bummed, too.
[] Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Manhattan College, accepted.
[li] Where else are you applying for RD: RPI, MIT, Harvard, Stony Brook, CUNY, Notre Dame, Cornell[/li][/list]

General Comments: Good luck to everyone who got in, and maybe good things will happen RD!

44

Decision: Deferred

Objective:
[] SAT I (breakdown): 760 CR, 800 M, 800 W
[] ACT: -
[] SAT II: 800 M2, 780 Chem, 760 Bio M
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): ~1/560 (school does not report)
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Calc AB (5), AP Chem (5), AP World (5), AP USH (5), AP Psych (5), AP Humano Geo (5), AP Physics 1 (4); Psych/HG self studied
[] IB (place score in parenthesis): -
[] Senior Year Course Load: most rigorous courseload; AP Economics, AP Calc BC, AP Lang/Comp, AP Spanish, AP Physics 2, AP Statistics
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.): not really: AP Scholar W/ Distinction; Nat. Merit Commended; Merck State Science Day (8th county Integrated); NJASC, Student Leader of the Year Nominee (1 per school) [/li][/list]

Subjective:
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Model UN Treasurer 2 yrs, President 2 yrs
Local Hackathon Co-founder/Financial Director
Founder, Youth Mentorship Program at Local Elementary School for disadvantaged youth
Co-Founder/Co-President, Science NHS/Club
Vice President, NHS
Secretary, Spanish NHS
2 yr. Class Treasurer
4 yr. Student Council Co-Chair
3 yr. Varsity Volleyball
[] Job/Work Experience: Worked with Bronx Doctor, 3 yrs, did shadowing/treated patients
[] Volunteer/Community service: Hospital Work (3 yrs), was asst. to Head Nurse; Latchkey Supervisor for Elementary School
[] Summer Activities: NJ Boys State, BIO@TECH at GTech, Work at NYC Doctor’s office (3 yrs)
[] Essays: Common App (9.5/10), Princeton Supplement (9/10)
[] Teacher Recommendations: History (10/10 had for 2 yrs.), Chem (9/10)
[] Counselor Rec: 7/10, Not personalized b/c large public highschool/essentially repeat of Common App info
[] Additional Rec: -
[li] Interview: 7/10, Nothing special[/li][/list]

Other
[] Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
[] Intended Major: WWS
[] State (if domestic applicant): NJ
[] Country (if international applicant):
[] School Type: Large, Public (~2000)
[] Ethnicity (Hispanic Y/N/not reported): Asian
[] Race(s) (AI/AN, Asian, AA, NH/PI, White, not reported): Asian
[] Gender: M
[] Income Bracket: -
[] Hooks/tips (URM, athlete, legacy, 1st gen, etc.): None
[/list]

Reflection
[] Strengths: Test Scores, Grades, Rank, ECs?, Essays? (risky)
[] Weaknesses: Essays were very risky and could’ve been interpreted either way; no focus on ECs; lack of opportunities at HS to capitalize on; lack of major awards; interview was not that great
[] Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: See Weaknesses
[] Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected:
[li] Where else are you applying for RD: -[/li][/list]

General Comments:
Our school does not have any opportunities to succeed and prepare students for top caliber colleges so I just tried take maximum advantage of what I was given; Tried to have initiative in my school and create many org. Overall though, I know I’m not as impressive as other applicants despite my high school setbacks.

45

[ color=orange][ b]Decision: Deferred**[/color]
Objective:
[] SAT I (breakdown):
[] ACT: 30 C 29 E 31 M 27 R 34 S (yes this is probably what end up costing me)
[] SAT II: ugh
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.97
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 8/379
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Calc AB (4), AP Lang (4) AP USH (5), AP Humano Geo (5)
[] IB (place score in parenthesis): -
[] Senior Year Course Load: AP Physics 1, AP world, AP Stat, AP Literature
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.): AP Scholar W/ Distinction; 2nd place in Science Fair (actually went and studied this experiment more in depth abroad), Principal Honor Roll Every Year, SOS International Volunteer Recognition Award, FBLA Regional Awards[/li]
Subjective:
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
National Honor Society 2 yrs
Future Business Leaders of America (Parliamentarian and Historian, actually helped my school host the Regional Conference and invited guest speakers, made sure to emphasize this in my extracrit short essay)
Environmental Club
Math Club
Created/Founded a Social Media group called “The Global Diplomats” (I had to do this bc it was ridiculous that my school didn’t offer or had any motivation to bring Model UN)
[] Job/Work Experience: Assistant/Weekend Job at Computer Repair Store
[] Volunteer/Community service: Alot of Tutoring in school (including some foreign languages)
[] Summer Activities: Went to Jordan for an internship in helping out refugees across the Middle East
[] Essays: Common App (10/10) wrote about my experience over summer in Jordan helping refugees
Princeton Supplement (11/10) (alot of my teachers and peers told me it was one of best essays ever bc of how profound and MLKish it sounded, it was the waslow one)
[] Teacher Recommendations: AP US History (11/10 ) it was one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen someone write about me
Pre-Calc (9/10)
[] Counselor Rec: 10/10, We had an amazing relationship
[] Additional Rec: -
[li] Interview: 9/10, Good but really really short (30 minutes)[/li][/list]

Other
[] Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
[] Intended Major: Woodrow Wilson School
[] State (if domestic applicant): MD
[] Country (if international applicant):
[] School Type: Large, Public (3000+)
[] Ethnicity (Hispanic Y/N/not reported): White, Middle Eastern though
[] Gender: M
[] Income Bracket: 30K
[li] Hooks/tips (URM, athlete, legacy, 1st gen, etc.): 1st gen[/li][/list]

Reflection
[] Strengths: Essays, Recommendations, and I guess my Experiences in the EC section
[] Weaknesses: DEFINITELY THE TEST SCORES
[] Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected:-
[] Where else are you applying for RD: Univ MD, Brown, Harvard, Yale, Cornell, Duke, UC Berkeley, Dartmouth, Stanford, U of Miami
[/list]

General Comments:
Congratulations, to all of those who were accepted bc you deserve it! I really think my test scores killed me as they are in the lower percentile of Princeton. Overall, my school isn’t renown for the amount of student’s it sends to the Ivies. Anyway for all of us that got deferred, lets cross our fingers, finish out the year strong and hope for the best!!

46

Little late to the game. But here it is…

Decision: Accepted

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2350 (770 CR 800 Math 780 Writing)
ACT: 33
SAT II: 800 Math 2, 770 US History, 780 Spanish
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): salutatorian
AP (place score in parenthesis): Ten tests (mostly 5s)
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP Physics C, AP English, Calc 3 at community college, AP Euro, Orchestra
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.): AP National Scholar, NMSF, local awards

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Lots of music stuff (All-State, etc), varsity lacrosse, Key Club, National Charity League
Job/Work Experience: fast food for a year
Volunteer/Community service: just enough for NHS requirements lol
Summer Activities: taught music to young kids
Essays: Common App (10/10), Princeton Supplement (8/10)
Teacher Recommendations: great, teachers love me
Counselor Rec: we’re really close
Additional Rec: from parent of girl I teach, Princeton alum
Interview: arrived late because I couldn’t find the coffee shop haha, other than that, went pretty well…was one of my older sister’s friend’s parent

Other
Applied for Financial Aid?: Y
Intended Major: Biology
State (if domestic applicant): northwest
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Ethnicity (Hispanic Y/N/not reported): N
Race(s) (AI/AN, Asian, AA, NH/PI, White, not reported): biracial (vietnamese/hispanic)
Gender: F
Income Bracket: lower-middle class
Hooks/tips (URM, athlete, legacy, 1st gen, etc.): URM-ish, athlete but not recruited

Reflection
Strengths: solid academics, SAT score
Weaknesses: small school that doesn’t send kids to ivies.
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I really don’t know, salutatorian, good recs
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: nowhere else yet
Where else are you applying for RD: Johns Hopkins (BME) and Harvard (pending rejection basically)

General Comments:

I honestly didn’t even plan on applying until two weeks before the deadline. I also feel really guilty because the valedictorian at my school also applied and he somehow got deferred (he also did way more in high school than I did…)
Good luck!

47

Decision: Accepted!

Objective:
[] SAT I (breakdown): N/A
[] ACT: 32
M: 33
E: 34
S: 29 (oops)
W: 36
[] SAT II:
Math II: 760
Literature: 710
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 3/~250
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): A good mix of 3s, 4s, and 5s (oops)
[] IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
[] Senior Year Course Load: All AP courses
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.): N/A[/li][/list]

Subjective:
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Leadership in a lot of clubs/student government - ordinary
[] Job/Work Experience: N/A
[] Volunteer/Community service: Years of volunteering in community
[] Summer Activities: I took college classes for the summer after sophomore year and did research programs for the next [one was through MIT])
[] Essays:
Common App (11/10): unique topic that had a lot of positive feedback for the most part
Princeton Supplement (10/10): unique topic but had some grammatical errors
[] Teacher Recommendations:
Science Teacher (10/10): worked a lot with him throughout high school/performed well in class
English Teacher (10/10): ^^
[] Counselor Rec (11/10): her letter was amazing (very expansive) that filled in the gaps of my app
[] Additional Rec (7/10): used evaluation letter from a summer program
[li] Interview: N/A[/li][/list]

Other
[] Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes!
[] Intended Major: Undecided
[] State (if domestic applicant):
[] Country (if international applicant): N/A
[] School Type: Public
[] Ethnicity (Hispanic Y/N/not reported): N
[] Race(s) (AI/AN, Asian, AA, NH/PI, White, not reported): Asian
[] Gender: Male
[] Income Bracket: =
[] Hooks/tips (URM, athlete, legacy, 1st gen, etc.): None? I think?
[/list]

Reflection
[] Strengths: Essays, extracurriculars, passion shown, good transcript, good recommendation letters
[] Weaknesses: Test scores…
[] Why you think you were accepted: I definitely think my essays were the decided factor… they exhibited voice, insight, and self-reflection through an interesting lens
[] Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Nowhere!
[li] Where else are you applying for RD: Nowhere![/li][/list]

General Comments: I think my acceptance either shows:
(1) the crapshoot nature of the application process – an Asian with a 32? Absurd!
(2) how important essays are to figuring out the identity of an applicant.

Too lazy to fix this ./list thing…

48

Decision: Accepted!

Objective:
[] ACT: 33 C (35 E, 32 M, 33 R, 31 S, 26 W (literally wut))
[] SAT II: 760 Latin, 780 Bio E
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.3): 3.74 (its literally impossibly to get straight A’s at my school, but my avg. is bet. an A and A-)
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): School doesn’t release ranking, but top 20%
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): School doesn’t use AP curriculum, only Honors
[] Senior Year Course Load: Honors Physics, Honors Calculus (combined classes), Advanced Studio, Senior Honors English Electives, Human Evo, Race, Ethics,
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.): NLE summa cum laude for 3 years, Science Scholars program (funds student with stipend to conduct scientific research, very selective school program)[/li][ /list]

Subjective:
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Visual Art (Art Club), Choreographer for school’s dance concert, (Science scholar program took up a lot of time), Bio Olympiad, Varsity Badminton (freshman year, but switched secondary schools), (Student rep for Women’s Society), (Historian)
Advanced Dance classes, Editor of School’s fashion magazine, (Classics Club Co-Pres)
[] Job/Work Experience: Summer internship at Oncology Lab
[] Volunteer/Community service: Volunteering tutoring children from underprivileged housing projects
[] Summer Activities: Science Scholars (10th, 11th), Lab internship (11th)
[] Essays: Common App (10/10): Wrote about tutoring + compared to teaching my grandmother how to read, sounds corny I know, but I’m very good at writing about myself
Princeton Supplement (10/10): Wrote about making fried dumplings with my parents, sentimental and very genuine, college counselor said first draft was basically perfect.
[] Teacher Recommendations: (10/10) Got one from my Chem teacher, got along amazingly and cool lady. Another from Essay writing teacher, amazing class and truly connected with him, gave me some of the best grades of my life.
[] Counselor Rec: 10/10: Hands down I know she killed it, truly cares about every one of us and puts herself out there to make sure that we get what we want.
[] Interview: (9/10): The interview was a bit over an hour, he was an extremely chill guy, pretty young. Only thing is we didn’t have much in common in terms of interests but we had a great conversation and I made sure to ask a lot of questions.
[ /list]

Other
[] Applied for Financial Aid?: Yep
[] Intended Major: Molecular Biology, Classics, concentration in Visual Arts (?)
[] State (if domestic applicant): NY
[] School Type: Private, Boarding
[] Ethnicity (Hispanic Y/N/not reported): N
[] Race(s) (AI/AN, Asian, AA, NH/PI, White, not reported): African American
[] Gender: Female
[] Income Bracket: >200K
[li] Hooks/tips (URM, athlete, legacy, 1st gen, etc.): URM, not 1st gen. but immigrant parents [/li][ /list]

Reflection
[] Strengths: My essays. Honestly didn’t do well on the writing sections of the standardized tests (26 on ACT wtf, I wiped out by the end of the test), but I’m very good at writing about myself and personal essays, so these just came easily. Didn’t show them to anyone but my college counselor (once). Submitted visual arts supplement, they actually are a HUGE advantage.
[] Weaknesses: Some Test Scores (?), The amount of people applying from my school is absurd, so I didn’t think I would have a good chance (Either all smarter than me or have connections/legacy/recruited).
[] Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Honestly was expecting to get rejected lol, but I guess I have a wide range of interests and extracurriculars. Art, Science, Dance, Classics etc. Could have done me a huge advantage.
[] Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Only Princeton so far
[li] Where else are you applying for RD: Stanford, Brown[/li][ /list]

General Comments: Honestly, this came as a complete shock to me. Was on the phone with my mom and started screaming and crying, her coworkers heard me. Never expected this to happen but I’m beyond excited. Just waiting to hear from other schools, but financial aid was a big factor in why I applied there in the first place so I’ll see.

49

[ size=4][ color=green][ b]Decision: Accepted**[/color][/size]

[ b]Objective:**
[ *] SAT I (breakdown): 800 CR, 730 M, 760 W superscored (2 sittings)
[ *] ACT: did not take
[ *] SAT II: US History 780, Biology E 700
[ *] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0, Weighted ~4.9
[ *] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/~400
[ *] AP (place score in parenthesis): World Hist- 5 Bio- 4 US Gov- 4 US Hist- 5 English Lang- 5
[ *] IB (place score in parenthesis): Bio SL- 6
[ *] Senior Year Course Load: IB Diploma plus AP Econ
[ *] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.): None really…just state level stuff and awards related to my major…plus AP Scholar but that’s a dime a dozen
[ /list]

[ b]Subjective:**
[ *] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Dance (fairly intensive), HOSA, NHS, Key Club (pres), a few others
[ *] Job/Work Experience: none
[ *] Volunteer/Community service: tons, well not compared to a lot of people here but I was pretty passionate and involved, think that showed in my app
[ *] Summer Activities: Neuro research camp, volunteering, netflix
[ *] Essays: Common App (8/10), Princeton Supplement (9/10), Princeton Engineering (n/a)
[ *] Teacher Recommendations: Math teacher: standout: 10/10 English teacher: 8/10 fairly generic but well-written
[ *] Counselor Rec: never saw, probably bad (periodically remembers my name)
[ *] Additional Rec: nah, neuro mentor submitted 11/2 on common app…
[ *] Interview: Fairly ok, white Jewish guy, asked me a lot about racial stuff…maybe 6/10
[ /list]

[ b]Other**
[ *] Applied for Financial Aid?: yah
[ *] Intended Major: Neuroscience
[ *] State (if domestic applicant): South
[ *] Country (if international applicant): US of A
[ *] School Type: Large very poor majority-minority public
[ *] Ethnicity (Hispanic Y/N/not reported): N
[ *] Race(s) (AI/AN, Asian, AA, NH/PI, White, not reported): AA not African (quite rare in many high-level academic circles)
[ *] Gender: Female
[ *] Income Bracket: <100k
[ *] Hooks/tips (URM, athlete, legacy, 1st gen, etc.): URM, lowish income, terrible school
[ /list]

[ b]Reflection**
[ *] Strengths:Stats for my demographic, essays, passion for service and neuroscience showed through
[ *] Weaknesses: Two 4s on AP, not super-strong extracurriculars
[ *] Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: because I have some fairly unique life experiences and strong passions
[ *] Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Accepted- Georgia Tech, Deferred- nowhere, Rejected- nowhere yet
[ *] Where else are you applying for RD: Harvard, Emory, GA Tech
[ /list]

[ b]General Comments:** So blessed honestly! 110% excited. Go tigers go!! I mean, it’s a crapshoot but still please apply. Also fin aid is great if you get in.

50

Decision: Accepted

Completing this for my D - hoping that it can be a useful data point for those coming later.

Objective:
** SAT I (breakdown) ** : 800 (CR), 800 (M), 790 (W) - one and done (took once, Oct. of junior year)
** ACT: ** Did not take
** SAT II: ** Math II - 800, Lit - 760
** Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0):** 99 (school does not calculate unweighted)
** Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):** school does not rank
** AP (place score in parenthesis):** Bio (4), Eng Lang (5), Eng Lit (5), Euro (5), French (5)
** IB (place score in parenthesis):** NA
** Senior Year Course Load:** AP English, AP Chem, AP US History, AP Calc AB, Honors French VI
** Major Awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.):** National Merit Semifinalist, AP Scholar with Distinction, national writing award, school academic awards

Subjective:
** Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Student newspaper all 4 years (editor in chief senior year), several community service and diversity boards, 2 years of a varsity sport (9 and 10), a few other school and church activities
** Job/Work Experience: writer for local newspaper, paid neuroscience lab internship, babysitting
** Volunteer/Community service:** Yes: summers with one established organization and created a vibrant after-school outreach program in local underserved elementary school during the school year
** Summer Activities**: volunteering, lab research, Yale Young Global Scholars program
** Essays:** very pleased with them - good mix of her serious side as well as her wicked sense of humor
** Teacher Recommendations:** Waived access but D said one of them sort of held it up in front of her and she thought she saw a sentence that included the phrase “best student I’ve taught in 42 years …”
** Counselor Rec:** Didn’t see - assume it was good
** Additional Rec:** Lab mentor
** Interview:** Pretty good - sounded like a fairly wide-ranging conversation.

Other
** Applied for Financial Aid?: ** No
** Intended Major: ** History or English (& she is thinking about taking pre-med prereqs)
** State (if domestic applicant): ** Flyover country (lol)
** Country (if international applicant): ** NA
** School Type: ** Competitive private that historically sends lots of kids to Ivies
** Ethnicity (Hispanic Y/N/not reported): Not Hispanic
** Race(s) (AI/AN, Asian, AA, NH/PI, White, not reported): ** White
** Gender: ** F
** Income Bracket: ** Did not apply for financial aid
** Hooks/tips (URM, athlete, legacy, 1st gen, etc.): Legacy (mom). Also, selected by Princeton Admission Office for Creative Arts & Humanities Symposium in fall of 2015 - it created the opportunity for D to re-introduce herself to regional rep when she attended, so hopefully the regional rep might have had a mental image of her when her file was being read and discussed

Reflection
** Strengths: ** Very strong academics and love of learning for the sake of learning. Her essays showed that she thinks deeply and that the life of the mind is more important to her than almost anything else in her life.
** Weaknesses: ** No idea if there were many other candidates just like her only better
** Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: ** My guess is that she has what Princeton happened to be looking for this year. She’s concerned about the injustices she sees in society and backs up her concern with significant action. She loves to learn and took the most rigorous courses available to her, and spent her summers further exploring both her intellectual passions and her work on behalf of underserved communities. I’m certain that luck played a role too - there are so many wonderful candidates.
** Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: ** Nowhere
** Where else are you applying for RD: ** Nowhere

General Comments:
Throughout the college search process my H and I went out of our way to show our D a wide variety of wonderful colleges. We know she would have loved many, many schools and that there is no one “perfect” college. She must have gotten the message not to fall in love with any particular school because it took her two full weeks after getting her SCEA acceptance to decide to withdraw the applications she had submitted to other schools and accept Princeton’s offer. She’s looking forward to her college years and knows how lucky she is that her college decision came to her in December. As a mom, I am pleased with how things turned out for her but I also am 100% certain she would have landed on her feet at another school if Princeton hadn’t worked out. Best of luck to all who are still waiting - keep your chin up and know that you will land in a place that will offer you wonderful challenges and opportunities.

51

I’m late, but this may be helpful. I realize this is incredibly vague, so feel free to message about specifics haha:

[ size=4][ color=green][ b]Decision: Accepted**[/color][/size]

[ b]Objective:**
[ *] SAT I (breakdown): by no means perfect
[ *] ACT:
[ *] SAT II:
[ *] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): by no means perfect
[ *] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):
[ *] AP (place score in parenthesis): 4s and 5s
[ *] IB (place score in parenthesis):
[ *] Senior Year Course Load:
[ *] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.): some
[ /list]

[ b]Subjective:**
[ *] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): mainly revolved around two niche-ish subjects
[ *] Job/Work Experience: a lil bit
[ *] Volunteer/Community service: a lil bit
[ *] Summer Activities: programs and internships
[ *] Essays: one i was ok with, the other i thought was really dumb in hindsight
[ *] Teacher Recommendations:
[ *] Counselor Rec:
[ *] Additional Rec:
[ *] Interview:
[ /list]

[ b]Other**
[ *] Applied for Financial Aid?:
[ *] Intended Major:
[ *] State (if domestic applicant):
[ *] Country (if international applicant):
[ *] School Type: public
[ *] Ethnicity (Hispanic Y/N/not reported):
[ *] Race(s) (AI/AN, Asian, AA, NH/PI, White, not reported): asian
[ *] Gender: f
[ *] Income Bracket:
[ *] Hooks/tips (URM, athlete, legacy, 1st gen, etc.):
[ /list]

[ b]Reflection**
[ *] Strengths:
[ *] Weaknesses:
[ *] Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: i got very, very, very, lucky
[ *] Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected:
[ *] Where else are you applying for RD:
[ /list]

[ b]General Comments:**

52

Decision: Accepted

[ b]Objective:**
[ *] SAT I (breakdown): One-Time 2250 (770 Math, 740 CR, 740 CR)
[ *] ACT:
[ *] SAT II: 780 US History, 750 Literature, 750 Math II
[ *] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.80
[ *] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):
[ *] AP (place score in parenthesis): US History 5, Spanish 5, Microeconomics 5, European History 5, Calc AB 5
[ *] IB (place score in parenthesis):
[ *] Senior Year Course Load:
[ *] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.):
[ /list]

[ b]Subjective:**
[ *] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
[ *] Job/Work Experience:
[ *] Volunteer/Community service:
[ *] Summer Activities:
[ *] Essays: Common App (X/10), Princeton Supplement (X/10), Princeton Engineering (X/10)
[ *] Teacher Recommendations:
[ *] Counselor Rec:
[ *] Additional Rec:
[ *] Interview:
[ /list]

[ b]Other**
[ *] Applied for Financial Aid?:
[ *] Intended Major:
[ *] State (if domestic applicant):
[ *] Country (if international applicant):
[ *] School Type:
[ *] Ethnicity (Hispanic Y/N/not reported):
[ *] Race(s) (AI/AN, Asian, AA, NH/PI, White, not reported):
[ *] Gender:
[ *] Income Bracket:
[ *] Hooks/tips (URM, athlete, legacy, 1st gen, etc.):
[ /list]

[ b]Reflection**
[ *] Strengths:
[ *] Weaknesses:
[ *] Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected:
[ *] Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected:
[ *] Where else are you applying for RD:
[ /list]

53

Decision: Deferred
Decision: Then, Rejected

Objective:

[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 2360: 800 CR/800 M/760 W - 1 sitting
[] ACT: 35/35/35/35/35 - 1 test
[] SAT II: 800 Math II; 800 History
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.6 (1/160)
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): First
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): 12 tests - 11 x 5; 1 x 4;
[] IB (place score in parenthesis): None
[] Senior Year Course Load: 6 AP’s
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.): National Merit; Gold Key Writing; FBLA National test top 5; US Presidential Scholar (sf); Others not listed for privacy.[/li][/ul]

Subjective:

[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Violin - numerous, Piano, Model UN (President); FBLA; others
[] Job/Work Experience: Part-time work
[] Volunteer/Community service: Oversees mission; deaf school volunteer; nursing home
[] Summer Activities: Governor’s School; Duke TIP; Biomedical Internship
[] Essays: Common App (10/10), Princeton Supplement (9/10), Princeton Engineering (9/10)
[] Teacher Recommendations: 10/10
[] Counselor Rec: 9/10
[] Additional Rec: n/a
[li] Interview: 10/10[/li][/ul]

Other

  • [] Applied for Financial Aid?: No
    [    ] Intended Major: Engineering
    [] State (if domestic applicant): South
    [    ] Country (if international applicant):

    [] School Type: Private
    [    ] Ethnicity (Hispanic Y/N/not reported): N
    [] Race(s) (AI/AN, Asian, AA, NH/PI, White, not reported): White
    [    ] Gender: M
    [] Income Bracket: High
    [    ] Hooks/tips (URM, athlete, legacy, 1st gen, etc.): None

Reflection

[ul]
[] Strengths: Scores, geographical location
[] Weaknesses: Lack of a hook
[] Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected:

[] Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Accepted to Vanderbilt, Dartmouth, Duke, Georgia Tech; Harvard (WL).

[li] Where else are you applying for RD:[/li][/ul]

General Comments: