Princeton University Class of 2022 SCEA Results

Fingers crossed for everyone for tomorrow. When you get your decision, please post with this format. If you posted in the Chance Me forum feel free to copy your response, but please do comment on why you think you received the decision you did and offer any applicable advice to the nervous underclassmen we once were. :slight_smile:

[ b]Objective:
[ *] SAT I (breakdown):
[ *] ACT:
[ *] SAT II:
[ *] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0):
[ *] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):
[ *] AP (place score in parenthesis):
[ *] 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]

[ b]General Comments:**

MODERATOR’s NOTE:
This thread is for results only. Posts without results will be removed.

**Decision: Deferred **

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1570 (780 RW, 790 math, 19/24 essay)
SAT II: Physics 730, Math II 800
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.98, roughly 4.36 weighted
Rank: 5/450
AP: Human Geography (4), World History (5), Calc BC (5), APUSH (5), English Lang (5), Physics I (5)
Senior Year Course Load: AP English Lit, AP Stat, AP Physics C, DE Econ, plus a few law classes
Major Awards: National Merit Semifinalist, regional women in computing award, AP Honors with Distinction

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Mock trial, placed eighth in the nation at our first competition of the year, robotics club that regularly placed in the top 5 at regionals (captain), orchestra
Job/Work Experience: worked at city pool over the summer
Volunteer/Community service: not much honestly
Summer Activities: job at city pool, community college classes, working on mock trial and robotics
Essays: Common App (9/10)
Teacher Recommendations: I read one and it was good, and the other I didn’t get to read but the teacher likes me and is rooting for me to get into a good school so I’m hopeful
Counselor Rec: my counselor barely even knows my name so who knows

Other:
Financial Aid: yes
Intended Major: Computer Science
State: TX
School Type: public, not particularly competitive either
Ethnicity (Hispanic Y/N/not reported): no
Race: white
Gender: F
Income Bracket: 125-150
Hooks/tips (URM, athlete, legacy, 1st gen, etc.): none

Reflection:
Strengths: I feel really good about my common app essay, it’s about a topic I feel strongly about and relates to my interest in computer science which I think comes across
Weaknesses: I don’t stand out a lot in terms of my extracurriculars and such; I’ve been putting in a lot of hours each week in a couple of things that interest me so now I only have three activities and one leadership position
Where else are you applying: UMich, UT Austin, OU, U of Illinois, USC- I’ve only gotten into OU so far, plus UT auto-admit but not into my major yet

I guess I was probably deferred because I have a few awards and extracurriculars going for me at the regional, state and national level but I don’t have much community service or leadership experience.

Deferred( posting for my son)
[ *] SAT I 1590 ,800(math) RW(790),essay 18/24…single sitting,taken once
[ *] ACT:Did not take
[ *] SAT II:BIO 800,Math 800, Physics 800
[ *] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0):School only has weighted GPA…4.4 /4.0
[ *] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):NA
[ *] AP (place score in parenthesis):Bio 5 ,Comp sci 5, Calc AB 5 ( all self studied)
[ *] Senior Year Course Load: IB (place score in parenthesis):IB Math HL,IB Further Math HL , IB History HL, IB Physics HL, IB Spanish SL, IB English SL
[ *] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.):AIME Qualifier, FBLA 2 time nationals top 10, NMSF
[ /list]

[ b]Subjective:**
[ *] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Quiz Bowl(Captain)…team qualified twice for nationals,State All star team player, Academic Team (captain), Robotics …FTC( Programming lead 8-10, Mentor 11,12)FRC (Scouting app lead), FBLA- 3rd place nationals (10th grade),5th place nationals(11th)
[ *] Job/Work Experience:Internship at a IT start up …summer to present
[ *] Volunteer/Community service: Volunteer at library and robotics competitions( 200 hrs)
[ *] Summer Activities: volunteer and some summer camps
[ *] Essays: Common App (X/10), Princeton Supplement (X/10), Princeton Engineering (X/10)…decent essays
[ *] Teacher Recommendations:did not see
[ *] Counselor Rec:did not see
[ *] Additional Rec:robotics coach…amazing
[ *] Interview:was decent
[ /list]

[ b]Other**
[ *] Applied for Financial Aid?:Y
[ *] Intended Major:Comp sci,Math
[ *] State (if domestic applicant):PA
[ *] Country (if international applicant):
[ *] School Type:Public magnet
[ *] Ethnicity (Hispanic Y/N/not reported):no
[ *] 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
[ /list]

[ b]Reflection**
[ *] Strengths:GPA ,test scores
[ *] Weaknesses:Ethnicity,No research
[ *] Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected:
[ *] Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected:Accepted at UT dallas
[ *] Where else are you applying for RD:
[ /list]

[ b]General Comments:**

Decision: Accepted (lol what!!!)

[ b]Objective:
[ *] SAT I (breakdown): Took it in November (so didn’t submit to Princeton) but 1590
[ *] ACT: 36 (all 36s except 35 in science)
[ *] SAT II: Bio M (800), Math II (800)
[ *] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
[ *] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
[ *] AP (place score in parenthesis): CompSci A (5), Euro (5), APUSH (5), Bio (5), Physics 1 (5), Calc BC (5)
[ *] IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
[ *] Senior Year Course Load: AP English Lit, AP Latin, AP US Gov, AP Macro/Micro, AP Chem, AP Stat, math research, health
[ *] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.): National Merit Semifinalist (if that counts?), a bunch of regional/state awards for debate, Scioly, Mathletes, and research
[ /list]

[ b]Subjective:**
[ *] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Public Forum Debate (President), Science Olympiad (President), Mathletes (President), Latin Club (President), played piano for awhile but never did anything with it. Not really an EC, but I’m in my school’s math research program so I’ve done computer science-y projects about public health since 10th grade
[ *] Job/Work Experience: Tutoring and babysitting
[ *] Volunteer/Community service: Volunteer counselor at Camp Invention for a week, some volunteer tutoring, some community service stuff in Israel over the summer, coach for middle school’s Science Olympiad team
[ *] Summer Activities: 5 weeks of research on mental health after Hurricane Sandy (submitting to JAMA Internal Medicine, entered Regeneron but haven’t heard back yet), CIT at my sleepaway camp (lol), Camp Invention counselor, Israel trip
[ *] Essays: Common App (7/10): It was lighthearted, not too genuine, definitely not a masterpiece. I never felt too confident about it, but my mom told me it was good if that counts? Princeton Supplement (8/10): Slightly more creative than Common App but still nothing special, wrote about my strange addiction to Sporcle (great website 10/10 would recommend). I also really liked my fill-in responses, I basically joked around on every single one (note: you will not get rejected automatically if you say your favorite movie is Sharknado).
[ *] Teacher Recommendations: Bio teacher (7/10): kinda crazy but liked me, not sure if she can write well? Latin teacher (8/10): knows me pretty well and likes me a lot, but I doubt she’d say anything super special/memorable to admissions
[ *] Counselor Rec: no clue, I’ve spoken to her maybe twice in my life
[ *] Additional Rec: none
[ *] Interview: Went decently well, but probably didn’t count much
[ /list]

[ b]Other**
[ *] Applied for Financial Aid?: no
[ *] Intended Major: Computer Science
[ *] State (if domestic applicant): NY
[ *] 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): White
[ *] Gender: F
[ *] Income Bracket: 150+
[ *] Hooks/tips (URM, athlete, legacy, 1st gen, etc.): legacy (dad, grandpa)
[ /list]

[ b]Reflection**
[ *] Strengths: Tests, grades, lots of leadership positions?
[ *] Weaknesses: Essays, didn’t save the world or cure cancer or anything, not many ECs/jobs/community service
[ *] Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Legacy, good grades/tests
[ *] Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: nowhere
[ *] Where else are you applying for RD: committed to Princeton so nowhere, but my top choices were Dartmouth, Hopkins, and Cornell
[ /list]

[ b]General Comments:**
Reading through this thread last year, I almost talked myself out of applying SCEA after seeing kids who won huge national awards or were president of 12 clubs get deferred. You have to remember that College Confidential is a self-selecting pool of the most high-achieving, committed students and is not representative of the entire SCEA pool. I definitely did not expect to get in, but I’m realizing now that I was probably selling myself short, just like many juniors/underclassmen reading this thread probably are. Good luck everyone and to those who also committed, see you there:))) Also, if we’re keeping track, I got the Q1 grades request

Decision: Deferred

[ b]Objective:
[ *] SAT I (breakdown): N/A
[ *] ACT:33 (36E, 29M, 33R, 34S) 9W
[ *] SAT II: 740 US, 720 Lit
[ *] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.75-3.85?
[ *] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):N/A (School doesn’t rank)
[ *] AP (place score in parenthesis):US history, World History, Ap Lang all 5
[ *] IB (place score in parenthesis):
[ *] Senior Year Course Load:AP Bio, AP Lit, AP Stat, International Relations, U.S government
[ *] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.):
[ /list]

[ b]Subjective:**
[ *] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Newspaper editor, yearbook editor, debate at columbia law, president of tutoring program (volunteer work), other stuff not worth mentioning
[ *] Job/Work Experience: Internship at big NYC law firm
[ *] Volunteer/Community service:
[ *] Summer Activities:
[ *] Essays: Common App (8/10), Princeton Supplement (7/10)
[ *] Teacher Recommendations: Both from 10th grade teachers. Only saw one of them and it was ok (7/10)
[ *] Counselor Rec: idk but she likes me
[ *] Additional Rec:
[ *] Interview: good enough
[ /list]

[ b]Other**
[ *] Applied for Financial Aid?: yes
[ *] Intended Major: Woody Woo
[ *] State (if domestic applicant): NY
[ *] Country (if international applicant):US
[ *] School Type: Public
[ *] Ethnicity (Hispanic Y/N/not reported):
[ *] Race(s) (AI/AN, Asian, AA, NH/PI, White, not reported): African American
[ *] Gender:M
[ *] Income Bracket:idk
[ *] 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]

[ b]General Comments:**

Deferred

SAT I (breakdown): 1510 (720 RW, 780 math, 7/7/7 essay)
ACT: 34 (35/32/34/33)
SAT II: Chem 770, Math II 770,
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0 uw, 103.98 weighted
Rank: 1/107
AP: Human Geography (3), World History (5), Chinese (4, self studied), APES (5, self studied), APUSH (5), APCSP (4), AP Chem (4)
Senior Year Course Load: JROTC, AP English Lit, Econ, AP Gov, AP Calc, …
Major Awards: National Merit Commended, AP Honors with Distinction, Captain of 1st place district stem bowl team, a few AcDec medals from 12th grade

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Making iOS Apps since 10th grade after school didn’t have another CS course, launched a few into app store
President of Junior World Affairs Council: promoting international awareness by going to see speakers, trying new cuisine, hosting international festival at school
President of StuCo
Co-Cap of Robotics club

Job/Work Experience: 5hr/wk at a Tutoring center
Volunteer/Community service: did school’s service projects
Essays: Common App (8.5/10), Princeton Essay (8/10), didn’t write eng essay
Teacher Recommendations: Haven’t read either but I’ve known both teachers well for four years. One is sponsor of JWAC, wrote about my interest in history and JWAC. Other taught AP Chem, great writer, used form letter, overall pretty good though.
Counselor Rec: counselor just came this year but she likes me. Talked about my personality.

Other:
Financial Aid: yes
Intended Major: Computer Science, History
State: TX
School Type: new, small, charter school
Ethnicity (Hispanic Y/N/not reported): no
Race: Asian
Gender: M
Income Bracket: ~100k
Hooks/tips (URM, athlete, legacy, 1st gen, etc.): none

Reflection:
Strengths: My essays were unconventional, but I liked them. The Princeton specific one I thought was a little cheesy. Did have a good interview (interviewer said I was a good applicant and “would do fine at Princeton”).

Weaknesses: No major awards and school is small and new, doesn’t offer too many APs (~10), about 1/2 are econ disadvantaged, so my school might have put me at a disadvantage.
Where else are you applying: UT Dallas, SMU, UT Austin (Accepted for EECS), Tulane, Bowdoin, Emory, Tufts, Rice, Vandy, Davidson, Swarthmore, Duke, Cornell

I think Princeton is a reach for anyone unless he/she is a legacy or recruited athlete. But I tried. That’s all that matters.

Oh, also, please suggest me some more schools because I think I will need to apply to some more.

Decision: DEFERRAL

[ b]Objective**:
– ACT (super-scored): 29 = 31 Eng, 29 Reading, 27 Science, 24 in Math
– SAT II: Did not take
– Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.6!
– Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): like 25/400? Not top 10%
– AP (place score in parenthesis): APUSH (4), AP Euro (4), AP Lang (4)
– Senior Year Course Load: AP Lit, AP Stats, Latin 203 at UW Madison, Archaeology 300 at UW Madison
– Major Awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.):
Many Academic Decathlon awards. Local, regional, state, and national (online) level.

[ b]Subjective**:
– Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Professional Croatian Tamburitzan going on tour in Croatia this year,

Founded a satirical political party and allied with the unknowing presidential candidate “Joe Exotic.” Also recruited internet meme Ken Bone. Our coalition party received 900+ votes in the 2016 election.
Translated Hittite texts with help from a professor at an Ivy League school.
Invited to attend an international congress on Ancient Near Eastern Studies (attended, of course)
ACADEC Team member.
– Job/Work Experience: Worked as a barista during my sophomore year (it sucks, btw)
– Volunteer/Community service: I should have put all the stuff i do for my Croatian band, but it totally slipped my mind.
– Summer Activities: took a course in Ancient Hittite at the University of Chicago, took a course in Classical Latin at the University of Chicago
– Essays: Common App (15/10), Princeton Supplement (15/10) – they was real good.
– Teacher Recommendations: Three by university professors
– Counselor Rec: probably average. New counselor this year.

– Additional Rec: one by HS ACADEC coach/AP Euro teacher, one by president of Croatian group.
– Interview: 6/10. I don’t think that my responses were all that great. Lasted 15 min longer than she had planned because she really enjoyed my questions.

[ b]Other**
– Applied for Financial Aid?:Yes
– Intended Major: Classics, Near Eastern Studies, Russian
– State (if domestic applicant): Good ol’ Wisconsin
– School Type: bad public school
– Race(s) (AI/AN, Asian, AA, NH/PI, White, not reported): White
– Gender: Male
– Income Bracket: Lower middle class
– Hooks/tips (URM, athlete, legacy, 1st gen, etc.): none.

[ b]Reflection**
– Strengths: Extracurriculars
– Weaknesses: Testing and GPA. Alas, if i was only good at mathematics!
– Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Probably deferred because of tests and GPA. Hopefully, my standing 4.0 in all of my university level courses will be upheld and will allow me to turn in a good report this winter.
– Where else are you applying for RD (some combination of): Haverford, Colby (its free, cur non?), Yale, Brown, Dartmouth, UW Madison (safety. Would NOT recommend for humanities majors), UM Ann Arbor, UNC Chapel Hill, William and Mary, Tufts, and a bunch of others i cant recall right now.

[ b]General Comments:** I never thought I would be deferred. But granted 70-some-percent of SCEA apps get deferred it isnt that much of a shock. Hopeful, and at least I now know my terrible GPA and tests wont sink me wherever I go.

Also: I don’t think my Q1/Tri-1 grades were requested. Nor did i recieve a financial aid email – but that might be because I completed it lol.

Deferred

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1510 (770 RW, 740 M)
ACT: n/a
SAT II: US History-670, Math I-680 (yikes)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 97/100
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): n/a
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP World (4), AP Lang (4), APUSH (4)
IB (place score in parenthesis): n/a
Senior Year Course Load: AP Art History, AP Euro, AP Lit
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.):
NM Commended, AP Scholar

Subjective:

-Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Cross Country & Indoor/ Outdoor track (Captain)
Travel soccer (14 years)
Campus Ministry (coordinator/E.M.H.C)
Peer tutor/counselor/tour guide etc

-Job/Work Experience:
Intern at large arts nonprofit

-Volunteer/Community service:
Mentor for autistic elementary students
Spent summer volunteering at an arts camp & well known museum volunteer

-Summer Activities:
Summer leaders experience @ West Point
Art museum based programs

Essays: Common App (10/10- spent months working on it, received amazing feedback), Princeton Supplement (9/10)
Teacher Recommendations: Both teachers I love and have had for 3+ years
Counselor Rec: Didnt read probably great
Additional Rec: n/a
Interview: My nerves definitely messed me up a bit but other than that it went well ~30 mins

Other**
Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Art History
State (if domestic applicant): NY
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Catholic
Ethnicity (Hispanic Y/N/not reported):
Race(s) (AI/AN, Asian, AA, NH/PI, White, not reported): Asian & White
Gender: F
Income Bracket: 125-150K
Hooks/tips (URM, athlete, legacy, 1st gen, etc.): I wish

Reflection
Strengths: ESSAYS
Weaknesses: SAT II, no big awards, basic extracurriculars
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Really common applicant
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Accepted: SUNY Binghamton, 5 other local schools
Where else are you applying for RD: I guess Princeton now lol, Cornell, Dartmouth, Boston University, Bowdoin, Colby, Fordham, Northeastern, NYU, Wellesley, Yale
General Comments: I was expecting a deferral so no surprise but still hopeful! Good luck and congrats to those who got in!

ACCEPTED

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown): 1500 (didn’t send)
ACT: 35 (36E, 34R, 30M, 36S)
SAT II: Chem 730, Math I 730, USH 700, Physics 700, Lit 730, Math II 700 (I had a fee waiver to take them don’t judge me)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/162

AP (place score in parenthesis): 5: World, USH, US Gov, Lang; 4: Chem, Physics 1, Capstone Seminar

Senior Year Course Load: AP Bio, AP Lit, AP Capstone Research, AP CompSci P, AP Calc BC, Theology, Journalism III

Major Awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.): Princeton HS Poetry Award, 1st; NMS Semifinalist

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Creative writing/editing; Journalism, EIC; Model UN, president; Policy Debate, captian; Varsity Swim, co-captain; City’s youth grant-making board, exec seat

Job/Work Experience: Spring-fall food service (ice cream!)

Volunteer/Community service: weekly at local hospital

Summer Activities: mostly working, spent last summer at Kenyon’s young writer’s workshop

Essays: Common App (8.5/10), wrote about how I lost my front teeth in elementary school and again last summer, overcoming insecurity, basic but I hope well written

Princeton Supplement (9.5/10), wrote about my grandparents being immigrants and low income, losing Baltic culture in America, I liked it a lot

Teacher Recommendations:

History/Capstone Seminar teacher & MUN advisor—he likes me a lot but gets a ton of requests. I got to see it and it was pretty form.
English/Journalism/Seminar teacher—we’re super close and I know she writes killer recs; I didn’t see it.
Additional: creative writing mentor—I saw it and it was incredible; very thankful.
Counselor Rec: she’s super nice and we get along, but I don’t know what she would’ve said. She did do an interview with me just to get info about me.
Interview: Professor at a state school about an hour from me. Went pretty well; he was super nice.

Other:

Applied for Financial Aid? Of course. Inended Major: Woody Woo w/ certs possibly in creative writing or philosophy
State (if domestic applicant): Michigan
School Type: Urban Catholic, co-ed, very few ivy students ever
Ethnicity (Hispanic Y/N/not reported): N
Race(s) (AI/AN, Asian, AA, NH/PI, White, not reported): White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: 50-70k
Hooks/tips (URM, athlete, legacy, 1st gen, etc.): Midwestern? Middle low income, grandparent immigrants

Arts supplement: sent poetry supplement + the additional rec mentioned earlier.

Reflection:

Strengths: Grades? Creative writing, sent arts portfolio. I honestly think that was it (+essays)
Weaknesses: I worried about one of my recs, SATII scores
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I really think it came down to creative writing. Winning their contest last year must’ve really helped. I’m so surprised, happy, excited, and thankful.
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: accepted to Michigan State rolling
Where else are you applying for RD:
Waiting on UMich EA, still planning on Yale, Penn, and Northwestern RD. I had some other schools as backups, but I won’t submit.

Thank you to everyone on this website! Your comments and advice has been so so helpful. To everyone on the EA applicant forum that I’ve been lurking on for weeks, I did receive a 1Q grades request.

Decision: Deferred

SAT I (breakdown): n/a
ACT: 36
[ *] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.95
[ *] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): n/a
[ *] AP (place score in parenthesis): BC (4) bio (5) APUSH (5)
Senior Year Course Load: MV calculus, ap Spanish 2, AP English, AP physics, AP Government
[ *] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.): n/a
[ /list]

[ b]Subjective:**

[ *] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Internship at Museum of science and Industry, FBI internship, DECA, speech and debate, Martial Arts, Fencing

Job/Work Experience: Babysitting

Volunteer/Community service: Volunteering at Museum of Science and Industry.

Summer Activities: Full scholarship to Notre Dame summer scholars program for molecular and environmental biology

[ *] Essays: Common App (X/10), Princeton Supplement (X/10), Princeton Engineering (X/10)
I’m not sure what this means.

[ *] Teacher Recommendations: 2
[ *] Counselor Rec: 1
[ *] Additional Rec: 0 but I am going to add one now.
[ *] Interview: Went well I believe.
[ /list]

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

[ b]Reflection**
[ *] Strengths: I think I do a lot of extracurricular and show my passion for the things I love in my essays.
[ *] Weaknesses: I didn’t take the most challenging science class at my school. My essays could have been written better.
[ *] Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: It could be anything. I’m sure everyone applying is brilliant and it really just depends on what they’re looking for.
[ *] Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: no where else yet.

Deferred
SAT: 1340
Math: 740
Lit: 600
African-American
Volleyball and Dance
Strong Essay on my culture
Great Interview
GPA: 89/100
Very rigorous secondary school

Status: Deferred
(I’m actually very excited about this!!)
ACT: 26
SAT II: 690
GPA: 3.68
White
First generation
Essay on how my transition in art helped me understand my juvenile diabetes
Public school that is in top 100% in NY (Rye High)

I’m so surprised that I was deferred!

Accepted!

[ b]Objective:
[ *] SAT I (breakdown): 1570 (800 Math, 770 R/W)
[ *] SAT II: 800 Math II, 790 Physics
[ *] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): My school has 4.3 unweighted scale, but I think mine is ~3.97 on a 4.0 scale. 4.0 from sophomore year onward.
[ *] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/469, but school doesn’t officially provide rank
[ *] AP (place score in parenthesis): Physics 1 (5), Calc BC (5), US History (5), English Lang (5), Comp Sci A (4)
[ *] Senior Year Course Load: AP Chemistry, AP Biology, AP Microeconomics, AP English Lit, AP Statistics
[ *] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.):


[QUOTE=""]

National Merit Semifinalist
New Jersey Governor’s School of the Sciences nominee
Several 4-H awards centered around showmanship and presentations
Several best in breed/reserve best in show awards at small animal shows (does this count as an award for me or my animals? Lol)
Won school’s science, history, English, and Spanish awards (one selected for each grade)
[ /list]

[/QUOTE]

[ b]Subjective:**
[ *] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):


[QUOTE=""]

FRC Robotics Team, (community service coordinator, programming captain). We’ve gone to the championships each year and also won two competitions last year.
Marching Band, (saxophone section leader)
4-H Herpetology club. (Teen leader and treasurer). Extensive involvement in county fair.
Independent herpetoculture stuff; I have a lot of snakes and have gone to/entered in different small animal shows, expos, etc.
Jazz Band, lead alto sax.
School academic team
[ *] Volunteer/Community service:
Volunteer for library summer reading program, summer band camp for elementary school students, and other miscellaneous community service opportunities. Total is a few hundred hours throughout high school
[ *] Summer Activities: Robotics preseason camp, marching band preseason, volunteering, herpetology stuff, and pursuing personal interests
[ *] Essays: Common App (8.5/10), Princeton Supplement (9/10)
[ *] Teacher Recommendations: Got one from my AP US History teacher and the other from my AP Physics teacher. Both of them seem to have enjoyed getting to know me as a student and person, but I haven’t seen what was written so I can’t give any assessment.
[ *] Counselor Rec: Not really sure what this one could’ve been like.
[ *] Interview: I think it went pretty well. Nothing completely astounding, but I was prepared and could give thoughtful answers/ask thoughtful questions.
[ /list]

[/QUOTE]

[ b]Other**
[ *] Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
[ *] Intended Major: Molecular Bio
[ *] State (if domestic applicant): NJ
[ *] School Type: Central NJ Public
[ *] Ethnicity (Hispanic Y/N/not reported): Y (Guatemalan)
[ *] Race(s) (AI/AN, Asian, AA, NH/PI, White, not reported): Black, White
[ *] Gender: Male
[ *] Income Bracket: ~75k?
[ *] Hooks/tips (URM, athlete, legacy, 1st gen, etc.): Multiracial URM
[ /list]

[ b]Reflection**
[ *] Strengths: Test scores, grades/class rank, and expressive essays
[ *] Weaknesses: No defined niche for my ECs
[ *] Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: See above strengths, in addition to being a URM
[ *] Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Nowhere yet
[ *] Where else are you applying for RD: Now that I’m in, I’m not entirely sure. I had already submitted apps to safeties and matches, but I may end up still sending in applications to my second/third choices just in case.
[ /list]

[ b]General Comments:** I am completely astonished. I’ve always considered myself to be a relatively ordinary person living a relatively ordinary life, so being provided with an opportunity like this feels completely unreal. Even as I type this I feel like I’m dreaming. Congratulations to anybody else who made it, and to those who were deferred or denied: don’t give up!

Decision: Deferred
[ b]Objective:
[ *] SAT I (breakdown): 1490 (740 math, 750 English), single sitting
[ *] ACT: N/A
[ *] SAT II: Chemistry: 630 Mathematics II 670
[ *] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): (My school is super weird with GPA. Honors, DE, and AP are all weighted the same, and we don’t do 4.0) UW, 98.08/100, W: 100.54/105
[ *] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 2/273
[ *] AP (place score in parenthesis): World (5) US (4)
[ *] IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
[ *] Senior Year Course Load: AP Chem, French V (DE, independent study), AP Gov, English (DE), SUPA/AP Biology (DE, independent study), Physics (DE), SUPA Calculus (DE)
[ *] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.): Top 10 Public Speaking New York DECA (2x), Junior Science Award
[ /list]

[ b]Subjective:**
[ *] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): DECA (chapter positions, Regional President, Stave VP of Finance), horseback riding, Irish Dance, guitar, math team, tutoring, NHS
[ *] Job/Work Experience: lawn care
[ *] Volunteer/Community service: Participating in a community wide dialogue to address racism, packing food baskets for the underprivileged for Christmas, rasing nearly $5,000 for the American Cancer Society
[ *] Summer Activities: Traveled to Europe, work, attended a phyics lecture by Dr. Stephon Alexander
[ *] Essays: Common App (7/10), Princeton Supplement (5/10), Princeton Engineering (NA/10)
[ *] Teacher Recommendations: AP World History Teacher (amazing recommendation), Pre-Calculus Teacher (renowned for her letters of recommendation)
[ *] Counselor Rec: I have little faith if I’m being honest
[ *] Additional Rec: My school district Superintendent, he’s come to know me very well
[ *] Interview: I’d say it went fairly average
[ /list]

[ b]Other**
[ *] Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
[ *] Intended Major: Physics
[ *] State (if domestic applicant): New York (Upstate)
[ *] Country (if international applicant):
[ *] School Type: Public, rural
[ *] Ethnicity (Hispanic Y/N/not reported): No
[ *] Race(s) (AI/AN, Asian, AA, NH/PI, White, not reported): White
[ *] Gender: Male
[ *] Income Bracket: ~$105,000
[ *] Hooks/tips (URM, athlete, legacy, 1st gen, etc.): first generation college student (to actually earn a degree, my mother attended a college)
[ /list]

[ b]Reflection**
[ *] Strengths: My work with DECA and other extracurriculars
[ *] Weaknesses: My SAT II tests (I honestly don’t know what happened)
[ *] Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Probably to an extent my test scores
[ *] Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: N/A
[ *] Where else are you applying for RD:
[ /list] Harvard, Stanford, Cornell, Brown, Caltech, Dartmouth, UPenn, UT Austin, Rice, University of Chicago

Status: Accepted!

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): R 780 M 800 W 750
ACT: nope
SAT II: Physics 800 Math 2 800
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.95
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/1
AP (place score in parenthesis): AB Calc (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis): nope
Senior Year Course Load: Chem 1&2, Logic (both at community college)
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.): USAJMO HM, USAMO, Siemens National Semifinalist, BMT 3rd place in Discrete test, USACO Gold, CMIMC 1st place team, USAMTS Silver, NMSF

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): PRIMES-USA 10h/wk, choir at local church 2h/wk, local shotgun team 2h/wk (got 9th in trap at state once), co-founded local math competition for middle schoolers with a friend
Job/Work Experience: kumon tutoring center 3 years 16h/wk minimum wage
Volunteer/Community service: volunteer at local church running sound booth 4h/wk, volunteer camp counselor at sleepover math camp out of state 1 week for 2 summers, middle school homeschool math team coach 2h/wk
Summer Activities: HCSSiM, Canada/USA Mathcamp
Essays: Common App (7/10), Princeton Supplement (7/10), Princeton Engineering (nope/10)
Teacher Recommendations: physics and logic teachers at community college
Counselor Rec: my mom oops
Additional Rec: my PRIMES mentor, works at mit
Interview: went really bad oops it was my first one and i was v uncomposed

Other
Applied for Financial Aid?: yup
Intended Major: quick maths
State (if domestic applicant): AZ
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Charter 9th, Homeschool 10th-12th
Ethnicity (Hispanic Y/N/not reported): white
Race(s) (AI/AN, Asian, AA, NH/PI, White, not reported): really heccin white
Gender: male
Income Bracket:120-130k
Hooks/tips (URM, athlete, legacy, 1st gen, etc.): nope

Reflection
Strengths: im kind of okay at math, also i feel like making a competition was a good thing, my additional rec letter was by someone pretty op, job, community college
Weaknesses: i left school to stay home and do math which seems bad socially, never made mop which is like the official standard of being good at math
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: im v weird (homeschool, arizona) but i still have some decent stuff
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: nowhere yet
Where else are you applying for RD: harvard mit

General Comments: dont forget guys whatever happens during admissions process college is one of the best times of your life wherever you go; make the most of it! find yourself and have a great time! <3

b]Objective: Deferred
[ *] SAT I (breakdown): 1520 (720 English 800 Math)
[ *] ACT: did not take
[ *] SAT II: 800 US History, 750 Chemistry, 750 Math II(didn’t want to retake since I got a 5 on BC)
[ *] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.8 (lazy bum freshman year and first semester sophomore year)
[ *] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): NA but somewhere in top 5%
[ *] AP (place score in parenthesis): 5x5 1x4 1x3
[ *] IB (place score in parenthesis):
[ *] Senior Year Course Load: 6 AP
[ *] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.): nothing major
[ /list]

[ b]Subjective:**
[ *] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): had some business internships and work experience
and some general school activities like some honor societies and varsity tennis
[ *] Job/Work Experience: volunteered for some republican candidates running for office
[ *] Volunteer/Community service: 250 service hours
[ *] Summer Activities: some decent activities
[ *] Essays: Common App (X/10), Princeton Supplement (X/10), Princeton Engineering (X/10)
Average?
[ *] Teacher Recommendations: Mediocre
[ *] Counselor Rec: Mediocre
[ *] Additional Rec: Pretty decent
[ *] Interview: Went Alright
[ /list]

[ b]Other**
[ *] Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes(my brother is in college)
[ *] Intended Major: Statistics
[ *] State (if domestic applicant): prefer not to state
[ *] Country (if international applicant): USA
[ *] School Type: mediocre public
[ *] Ethnicity (Hispanic Y/N/not reported):
[ *] Race(s) (AI/AN, Asian, AA, NH/PI, White, not reported): Asian
[ *] Gender: Male
[ *] Income Bracket: 200k+
[ *] Hooks/tips (URM, athlete, legacy, 1st gen, etc.): LOL
[ /list]

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

[ b]General Comments:**

Just extremely thankful for the opportunity and everything I have been blessed in life. I worked as hard as I could to the best of my mental capacity, and at the end of the day there are just so many goddam great applicants out there. Just reading this thread makes me so insecure and inferior. I have nothing to be sad nor disappointed in. #TrustTheProcess

**Decision: Accepted **

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1440, Math - 710, ERW - 730
ACT (breakdown): Didn’t take
SAT II: Math 2 - 730 Physics - 690
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.69
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
AP (place score in parenthesis): 2 lazy 2 type
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: Calculus AB, English 12 HN, AP Stat, AP Gov, Physics HN, Econ, Band
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): All AB Honor Roll

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Marching Band
Job/Work Experience: Giant Cashier
Volunteer/Community service: Didn’t really do any
Summer Activities: Work
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 7.5/10 I’m not the best writer but I really put my strongest foot forward here
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: I think my science teacher liked me. Might have been a little generic
Teacher Rec #2: My band teacher defiantly loved me.
Counselor Rec: She didn’t even know who I was
Additional Rec: N/A
Interview: N/A

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major and College: College of Engineering
State (if domestic applicant): Georgia
School Type: Not competitive
Ethnicity: Black
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: ~40,000

Reflection: I’m really happy I got in. I didn’t think I would get in at all. My stats weren’t very competitive but I think my personal essay shined through. For everyone else, better luck next time! :slight_smile:

Strengths: Personal essay
Weaknesses: Scores and GPA
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: A little part of me thinks it’s because of my background but I think it was mainly due to my stellar personal essay.
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Nothing else has come out yet.

Deferred

[ b]Objective:
[ *] SAT I (breakdown): 1450. 720 Math 730 Reading & Writing. 22/24 Essay
[ *] ACT: NONE
[ *] SAT II: NONE
[ *] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.7 UW ~3.9 W
[ *] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 4/350
[ *] AP (place score in parenthesis): ~12 classes, mostly 4s, few 3s, one 5. upward trend in scored over high school.
[ *] IB (place score in parenthesis): none, but did take pre-ib classes.
[ *] Senior Year Course Load: AB&BC, AP BIO (All year), APUSH, Ap Lit, Business management (DUAL Course),

[ *] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.): lol
[ /list]

[ b]Subjective:**
[ *] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):

  • In Marching Band, drumline (our band won superior at Musical Performance Assessments)
  • School Yearbook (9th and 10th)
  • Spring Track (11&12) Winter track (12th)
    -Varsity Cross Country (12th)
    -(President of Physics Club) (member in 11th, president in 12th) (did weekly experiments, and occasionally some interesting discussions with people that actually cared about the subject, and we attempted to make a drone from scratch, which took wayyyyyyyyy longer than expected.
  • Member of Math National Honor Society (had a cool pi day event, but other than that it just started at out school so we were experimenting what we were going to do.)
    -Chinese Club (9th and 10th) (also other Asian cultures, but mainly Chinese, dancing, ping pong, martial arts, cultural events, movie events, cultural festivals, calligraphy, did origami and donated our creations to the local proton therapy center) (Volunteered in Chinese festivals during a weekend long event in our City known as World of Nations, attracted thousands.) (Had like a Chinese version of an academic heptathlon, which we won state in)

[ *] Job/Work Experience: - Intern on weekends at Liberty Science Center (Currently a bit over 170 hours) (now is the biggest planetarium in the western hemisphere) (nominated volunteer/intern of the year from ~600, were a dozen nominees)
[ *] Volunteer/Community service: ~340 hours
[ *] Summer Activities: Cross Country, Working on the house we just moved into.
[ *] Essays: Common App (8.5/10), Princeton Supplement (9/10), Princeton Engineering (X/10)
[ *] Teacher Recommendations: Ap Lit teacher, really good friends, (10/10) Ap Calc Teacher, whom knew me second best. (waived ferpa rights, but I am sure she wrote a great essay nonetheless)
[ *] Counselor Rec: (Didn’t see)
[ *] Additional Rec: none, might send one now that I’m deferred.
[ *] Interview: 10/10, great, flowed well, longer than expected, we had a genuine conversation.
[ /list]

[ b]Other**
[ *] Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
[ *] Intended Major: Astrophysics or Theoretical physics
[ *] State (if domestic applicant): Graduated from NJ, in Pennsylvania, but I’m undocumented so International.
[ *] Country (if international applicant): Pakistan
[ *] School Type: Public school (around 5-8 people a year go to Ivies, so I guess it’s okay)
[ *] Ethnicity (Hispanic Y/N/not reported): Non-Hispanic
[ *] Race(s) (AI/AN, Asian, AA, NH/PI, White, not reported): Asian
[ *] Gender: Male
[ *] Income Bracket: <40K
[ *] Hooks/tips (URM, athlete, legacy, 1st gen, etc.): 1st gen, DACA recipient ?(it’s a political controversy at the moment)
[ /list]

[ b]Reflection**
[ *] Strengths: Rank, science related passion. good work experience.
[ *] Weaknesses: Sat 1 is weak, No SAT II, UW gpa, no major awards, horrible test taker so my Ap scores are trash.
[ *] Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Not enough spike as a student. no science research.
[ *] Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected:
[ *] Where else are you applying for RD:
Brown
Columbia
Harvard
Lehigh
NYU
Swartmore
Yale
Upenn
Franklin & Marshall
Haverford
Lafeyette
NJIT

[ /list]

[ b]General Comments:**

  • I was rejected last year from princeton, since I am currently on a gap year attempting to find a viable college option, so I’m hopeful they appreciated the growth in my SATs, since it use to be a 1330, and ended my Senior Year extremely well. Gap year doesn’t hurt too much either since I am still currently 16, so I think a gap year will decrease that gap,(the age difference is a lot more annoying than you think).

I know this was ambitious, but I have only bettered my candidacy for other colleges while chasing Princeton. I plan to send a deferment letter later, and my December Sat score if they are better, and maybe another letter of recommendation. I’m not a genius or state champion, and I understand it’s kinda a reach with someone like me and the ives, but as a DACA recipient I can’t really receive financial aid elsewhere. I also switched high school and states after 10th grade, wish I didn’t, took some time to adjust, Most ECs were dependent on me having public transport, since my parents were busy, and honestly my parents expected me to go to community college, and for most of high school so did I, had no intentions or worries or stress over my grades, they just ended up being good when all was said and done. I honestly wish I could go back to my freshmen year and work toward getting focused on science earlier.

**Decision: Accepted/b

Objective:
SAT I: 1560, 790M & 770ERW
ACT: n/a
SAT II: 800 Math II, 770 Lit, 760 World History
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Weighted GPA: 102.56/100 (my school is different)
Rank: 1/37
AP: Calculus AB (5), Physics C: Mechanics (5), Literature (5), World History (5)
IB: n/a
Senior Year Course Load: AP Language & Comp, DE Macroeconomics, DE Spanish II, Bible 4
Major Awards: National Merit Semifinalist, AP Scholar w/ Honors, Georgia Certificate of Merit, many Debate awards w/ state (qualified for national championships)

Subjective:
Extracurriculars: Student Government Association (Class Pres for 2 yrs, SGA Pres for last 2 yrs), Debate (Captain last year, Assistant Coach this year), Beekeeping (Certified Beekeeper through Georgia Master Beekeeping Program), Homesteading, Teacher’s Assistant for AP Calculus
Job/Work Experience: Key Holder at bookstore for 1.5 yrs, 13hrs/wk for 50 wks/yr
Volunteer/Community service: 100+ hrs at local nonprofit that helps victims of domestic violence, 30+ hrs in church nursery
Summer Activities: n/a
Essays: Common App (10/10) Wrote about my grandmother’s death and the guilt I had surrounding my selfishness during that time, how that guilt has changed me. Supplement (10/10) wrote about queer culture, discussed Pulse nightclub shooting, talked about being persistent through persecution, also was very humorous (even with awful events)

Recommendations:
Teacher Rec #1: (11/10) I was able to read this rec letter, and it was simply outstanding. I know for a fact that it had to play a huge part in my acceptance. She was my teacher and debate coach for 4 years; we were incredibly close.
Teacher Rec #2: (9/10) I also read this one. It was fantastic, but it still wasn’t as strong as the other. She focused mostly on me in class whereas #1 talked about me as a person more.
Counselor Rec: (8/10) Since I go to a small school, my counselor knows me very well. She is also the sponsor of the SGA, so I work close with her there too. I’m sure she said awesome things about me, but I know that it couldn’t compare to #1. She probably just restated a lot of things from my application too.
Additional Rec (if any): n/a
Interview: (10/10) My interview was amazing! He had several earlier that day, and I was his last one. We were supposed to only talk for ~45 minutes, but we talked for 90 minutes. It went great; it was more of a conversation than an interview. He later emailed me saying that he gave me the strongest recommendation he could and that I was his favorite interview this year. It was great!

Other:
Applied for Financial Aid?: absolutely yes
Intended Major: WOODY WOO (Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs)
State: Sweet ole’ Georgia
Country: n/a
School Type: Very small parochial school (private Christian school, but not the bougie kind)
Ethnicity/Race: whitie
Gender: male
Income Bracket: ~80K
Hooks: The only hooks I can think of are these: I am from a very rural area, my dad never went to college and my mom didn’t graduate, and I am queer.

Reflections:
Strengths: My strengths, I would say, were my scores, my essays, my recommendations, and my deep involvement in my ECs.
Weaknesses: I still feel that my lack of opportunities is what would have prevented me from being accepted. As shown by my lackluster senior courseload and non-unique ECs (minus beekeeping), there aren’t many things around me. I felt that that would be what held me back.
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I honestly have no clue. All I can say is that I put all my efforts into getting into my dream school. I put my best foot forward and waited. I am so lucky to have won the golden ticket.
Where else were you accepted: University of Alabama, University of Georgia
Where else are you applying for RD: (just finished deleting other colleges from my Common App lol) already applied to UChicago and Vanderbilt, will withdraw my application from Northeastern and University of Richmond

General Comments: It is absolutely insane to me that I got accepted. I worked my butt off to get here, sure, but I never thought it would happen.Little ole’ me from Podunk, Georgia was accepted to the #1 school in America. For posterity, I did receive the Q1 grade request.

**Decision: Accepted **

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1480 (740 M, 740 R)
ACT: 28 (did not submit)
SAT II: 660 (Lit, US History) & 610 (Math 1- did not send)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.94
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 3/150
AP (place score in parenthesis): World History (4), English Literature (3), US History (3)
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP Calculus AB, AP Environmental Science, AP English Language, AP United States Government and Politics
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.): N/A

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Black Student Union (3 years), Earth Club (3 years), Student Council (2 years), Senior Committee President (1 year), M.E.Ch.A. (1 year), Tutoring every year for multiple classes
Job/Work Experience: N/A
Volunteer/Community service: Beach clean-ups with Earth Club
Summer Activities: Two-week immersion program at Harvard in 2016; California college tour; vacationing
Essays: Common App (8/10), Princeton Supplement (9/10), Princeton Engineering (N/A)
Teacher Recommendations: English teacher (9/10)- I’ve known her all 4 years and she says I’m one of the best students she has ever had the privilege to teach; Science teacher (7/10)- I’ve only known her since 10th grade & don’t have a super close relationship with her, but we are very friendly with each other. Like my other rec, I’ve been taught by her in a regular and an AP class, so I think she was able to vouch for my academic prowess over 2 years
Counselor Rec: (9/10)- She’s amazing. I’m super close to her and always seem to be in her office to talk about, well, anything! She knows my mom very well and really likes me.
Additional Rec: (7/10)- My college counselor from my CBO wrote it. I’ve known him for over half a year. I imagine it was good but nothing special.
Interview: (7/10)- Nothing special. I had a polite man, but I was really nervous and it showed. I stuttered and wasn’t as smooth as I normally am in a regular conversation.

Other
Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Psychology
State (if domestic applicant): California
Country (if international applicant): N/A
School Type: Public (Charter)
Ethnicity (Hispanic Y/N/not reported): No
Race(s) (AI/AN, Asian, AA, NH/PI, White, not reported): African-American
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: < $25,000
Hooks/tips (URM, athlete, legacy, 1st gen, etc.): URM, poor, inner-city high school

Reflection
Strengths: ESSAYS definitely- I cried while I was working on them to get the emotion just right. Also had the highest SAT score at my school (1480). The second highest was 70-100 points below me, and they didn’t even apply. Maybe mentioning that I was a Gates Semifinalist helped me too.
Weaknesses: Subject Test scores. Kind of low for an Ivy, not gonna lie. My AP Scores suck as well, but the other parts of my application make up for that.
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Diversity, SAT score (in relation to my race), personality in essays.
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: N/A
Where else are you applying for RD: I applied to UCs (Berkeley, LA, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz), CSUs (Long Beach, Pomona, San Diego, San Jose), and Harvard already. I plan on applying to Columbia and Yale as well. Hoping I can find a way to retract my applications from my CSUs. Gonna keep my UCs.

General Comments:
I’m also part of a CBO that takes only the top 15% of certain high schools in my area. They supplied me with SAT prep, flew me out to the east coast for free, and took me on a road trip around California to look at colleges. The counselors are so helpful and helped me polish my essays. I couldn’t be more thankful.

Tips: Shoot your shot! A guy I knew from my school (first gen, low income, interested in STEM) last year got a 1570 (the highest ever at my school) and was still rejected from Harvard, Princeton, Stanford, Brown, and many other places. He was, fortunately, accepted to UPenn, but opted to stay in-state for personal reasons. My scores are lower than his, I didn’t take summer classes for credit like him, and somehow I was still able to get into Princeton!

Pour your heart out in these essays. Try not to sound robotic. Sometimes it’s okay to be colloquial or talk about things that are generally uncomfortable. My essay was about being called a racial slur by a group of older white men while I was in Texas (not passing any judgment here, just describing my essay lol). I imagine it may have been slightly uncomfortable for anyone to read that. But perhaps taking that risk- being unafraid to go there and put myself out there for Princeton to see- was something that distinguished me from other applicants.

Also, I know this sub already says it but work on your scores. I know the SAT/ACT isn’t a very accurate way to demonstrate one’s abilities given all of the limitations, but you want to be in a good position to where you aren’t worried about that factor of your application holding you back. They aren’t the most important thing but they do help a lot.

I wish the best of luck to current and future applicants! If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.