Princeton University Class of 2022 SCEA Results

Colleges and Universities A-Z Princeton University
21

**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, Journalism, Drama
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 (7/10), Princeton Supplement (8/10), 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 people already say it a lot 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 it’s a universal test in colleges’ eyes that helps compare you to everyone else. 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.

22

My son was accepted on Wednesday. He had a 33 ACT and 1370 SAT, numerous EC’s, leadership posts (sports captain, executive/elected to school-wide positions), community service hours/volunteerism, excellent LOC’s, well-written essays, and an application that would not have been overlooked on its own merit. Having said that, he was a recruited athlete and we are under no delusion that he ultimately got in on account of his sport, which he will play at Princeton. He is super excited to be a Tiger in the class of '22! Looking to major in ORFE or CBE. Good luck to all of you who will be attending with him, and those of you still waiting to hear or weighing your options.

23

b]Objective: DENIED
[ *] SAT I (breakdown):
[ *] ACT: 32
[ *] SAT II: N/A
[ *] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.0
[ *] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/1
[ *] AP (place score in parenthesis):
[ *] IB (place score in parenthesis):
[ *] Senior Year Course Load: Calc/Phys/History/English/
[ *] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.):
[ /list]

[ b]Subjective:** NONE
[ *] 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** NONE
[ *] 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: Nothing
[ *] Weaknesses: Everything
[ *] 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:**

24

I GOT ACCEPTED!!!:
Major: Gender and Sexuality Studies
GPA: 4.69 (W)
ACT: 34
EC: Marching band, LGBTQ club, the abstinence club, and anime club

25

Accepted!!!?!

[ b]Objective:
[ *] SAT I (breakdown): 1510 (760 M 750 E)
[ *] ACT: 35
[ *] SAT II:Bio 800 Math II 730 Physics 750
[ *] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.98
[ *] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):NR
[ *] AP (place score in parenthesis): Bio (5) Calc AB (5) Euro (5) US History (5) French (4)

[ *] IB (place score in parenthesis):
[ *] Senior Year Course Load: AP Calc BC, AP World AP Enviro AP Eng Lit AP Physics B Music Intensive
[ *] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.):
[ /list]

[ b]Subjective:**
[ *] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): NHS (President) LGBTQ (class leader) Varsity Soccer, Music - numerous auditionned choirs
[ *] Job/Work Experience:Teaching
[ *] Volunteer/Community service:
[ *] Summer Activities:Music, Robotics, Engineering and science camps, Arabic language Start Talk
[ *] Essays: Common App (9/10), Princeton Supplement (9/10), Princeton Engineering (10/10)
[ *] Teacher Recommendations: Likely excellent
[ *] Counselor Rec:Know her well - likely really good
[ *] Additional Rec:Excellent - from FIRST Robotics Mentor
[ *] Interview: Good - alittle dull
[ /list]

[ b]Other**
[ *] Applied for Financial Aid?:Y
[ *] Intended Major:Engineering - not sure
[ *] State (if domestic applicant):PA
[ *] Country (if international applicant):
[ *] School Type:Private Boarding
[ *] Ethnicity (Hispanic Y/N/not reported):
[ *] Race(s) (AI/AN, Asian, AA, NH/PI, White, not reported):
[ *] Gender: white female
[ *] Income Bracket:>$100,000
[ *] Hooks/tips (URM, athlete, legacy, 1st gen, etc.): legacy , woman in engineering
[ /list]

[ b]Reflection**
[ *] Strengths:Want to change the world and help others to do the same
[ *] Weaknesses:Not perfect grades
[ *] Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected :excellent student, ROBOTICS, legacy, LOVE orange and black
[ *] Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Accepted :Penn State
[ *] Where else are you applying for RD:Carnegie Mellon, Olin, Yale
[ /list]

[ b]General Comments:**

26

Decision: deferred

[ b]Objective:
[ *] SAT I (breakdown): 1440 (700 math, 740 english) (took once)
[ *] ACT: 34 (35 english, 34 reading, 34 science, 33 math)
[ *] SAT II: 630 chem, 680 math II (yikes!)
[ *] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0):3.95
[ *] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): top 5%
[ *] AP (place score in parenthesis): Chem (3), Lang (3) (yikes!) I have taken 4 college classes as well, and recieved As in all of them
[ *] IB (place score in parenthesis): n/a
[ *] Senior Year Course Load: AP Calc AB, AP Calc BC, AP Environmental Science, AP United States History, Honors English 4, Honors Theatre 3
[ *] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.): I don’t have many major awards; I was a finalist for governor’s school in North Carolina and won a state award for an essay I wrote for Optimist International
[ /list]

[ b]Subjective:**
[ *] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): NHS (junior representative, then secretary), Executive Student Council (Representative), Theatre Club (Vice President of Communications), member of the youth leadership team at my church, Science Olympiad, Lead in school musical productions, praise band leader at camp
[ *] Job/Work Experience: I worked as a waitress at a local deli for a year
[ *] Volunteer/Community service: about 160 hours at christian service camp over 4 years- mostly with hospice or working at elementary schools in the mountains, VBS every summer at my church, I helped establish the Little Free Library project in my community through NHS, tutoring at a local elementary school twice a week. I have about 600 hours that I can definitively account for (I know I’ve done more), mostly involving youth outreach.
[ *] Summer Activities: Senior year: biofuels research camp at an engineering camp with NC State’s department of Biological and Agricultural engineering, Christian service camp, VBS, various volunteer activities
Junior year: worked at deli a lot, Christian service camp, VBS, various volunteer activities
[ *] Essays: Common App (10/10), Princeton Supplement (9/10), Princeton Engineering (10/10)
[ *] Teacher Recommendations: The first one was from my AP Chem teacher who I know wrote me a stellar recommendation. The second one was from my AP Lang Teacher and I know it was most likely good, but not outstanding.
[ *] Counselor Rec: Probably generalized and vague; she was a terrible counselor and didn’t care to learn too much about her students. I’m sure it wasn’t bad, but I know she wasn’t able to speak for me on any extracurricular level.
[ *] Additional Rec: This one was from my theatre teacher and I know it was fantastic (she showed it to me)! she was able to speak for my work ethic, leadership, and dedication to theatre and volunteering.
[ *] Interview: I feel as if it went pretty well, but I don’t think it was outstanding. My interviewer was also avidly into musical theatre, so we talked about that for a bit.
[ /list]

[ b]Other**
[ *] Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
[ *] Intended Major: Chemical Engineering
[ *] State (if domestic applicant): NC
[ *] Country (if international applicant): US
[ *] School Type: rural public
[ *] Ethnicity (Hispanic Y/N/not reported): No
[ *] 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.): I am from a rural farming county in North Carolina, so very few students even apply to prestigous schools; most go to big public state schools if lucky.
[ /list]

[ b]Reflection**
[ *] Strengths: Extracurriculars; Volunteer work; some of my recommendations; essays
[ *] Weaknesses: definitely test scores- my ACT was definitely competitive, but everything else was subpar; no big awards
[ *] Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I think I was deferred because I didn’t have excellent test scores and awards, and I didn’t have any extremely unique (IMO) extracurriculars.
[ *] Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: nowhere officially; I am a semifinalist for the Park Scholarship at NC State though so I assume I got in?
[ *] Where else are you applying for RD: NC State, UNC Chapel Hill
[ /list]

[ b]General Comments:**
Honestly, I’m happy I was even deferred from Princeton. I recieved backlash from some of my peers for even applying in the first place, especially considering the caliber of some of the other applicants. I’m glad I did though! I probably should’ve retaken my ACT/SAT, but so few people in my area even take the SAT IIs or pass the AP tests that it can be really hard to gauge how prepared you are for tests and find the right test prep materials. For anyone reading this who hasn’t started the application process yet, definitely start taking your tests early! Also everything is worth a shot, including your dream school. The only way your guaranteed rejection is by not applying, and even a deferral is a second chance. Also, my extracurriculars and community service have made me extremely competitive for local scholarships- so don’t ignore your public state schools! best of luck to everyone, and feel free to message me with any personal/direct questions :slight_smile:

27

ACCEPTED

**Objective:
[ *] SAT I (breakdown): 1530 (760 V, 770 M)
[ *] ACT: 35
[ *] SAT II: Chinese (790), Math II (780), World History (740), US History (750), Physics (730),
[ *] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
[ *] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 2/624
[ *] AP (place score in parenthesis): 5 (Chinese, World History, US History, BC Calc), 4 (Eng Lang), 3 (Spanish, Chemistry, Music Theory, Physics I, Physics II)
[ *] IB (place score in parenthesis): none
[ *] Senior Year Course Load: Orchestra, AP Eng Lit, AP Psych, AP US gov, AP Macro, AP Bio, APES, AP Euro, AP Stats)
[ *] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.): National Merit Semifinalist, FBLA nationals qualifier twice (state qualifier 3 times), a bunch of Academic Decathlon awards, 2 President’s Awards gold medal, All-Region and All-Area Orchestra, miscellaneous regional tennis awards
[ /list]

Subjective:
[ *] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): FBLA (president), Spanish NHS (president), Science NHS (president), Key Club (VP), Orchestra (VP), NHS, HOSA, Tennis
[ *] Job/Work Experience: Intern at insurance company
[ *] Volunteer/Community service: Teen Court Advisory Board and Attorney, miscellaneous school/community events
[ *] Summer Activities: Lots of volunteering, summer research program, international conferences for Buddhist youth
[ *] Essays: Common App (10/10) Rewrote this three times, about a very personal family tragedy, cried while writing it, it’s my favorite piece of writing I have ever done; Princeton Supplement (7/10) About my mom’s influence on me, hated it but I guess it was good enough?
[ *] Teacher Recommendations: AP English teacher (10/10) She loves me and the letter was very well written; AP Chem teacher (10/10) Also very good. I cried the first time reading it (I guess I’m an emotional person LOL)
[ *] Counselor Rec: (6.5/10) Don’t know her that well but she wouldn’t write anything negative about me.
[ *] Additional Rec: Research advisor (10/10) I was the first high school student he ever mentored and he asked me to return to his lab in the future to work.
[ *] Interview: Decent. Not outstanding, but not terrible either. More of me asking questions about Princeton than my interviewer grilling me.
[ /list]

Other
[ *] Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
[ *] Intended Major: Molecular Biology (premed)
[ *] State (if domestic applicant): TX
[ *] Country (if international applicant):
[ *] School Type: Public, uncompetitive (the last Ivy student was accepted four years ago)
[ *] Ethnicity (Hispanic Y/N/not reported): N
[ *] Race(s) (AI/AN, Asian, AA, NH/PI, White, not reported): Asian
[ *] Gender: F
[ *] Income Bracket: low low low
[ *] Hooks/tips (URM, athlete, legacy, 1st gen, etc.):
[ /list]

Reflection
[ *] Strengths: My essays, leadership, and community service. I am extremely passionate about volunteering, and I think it really shown through my ECs and essays.
[ *] Weaknesses: Mediocre ECs and awards (comparatively), average test scores
[ *] Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Overall, my application reflected my personality very well. I have a wide range of interests but also a deep commitment to service. I think this balance of breadth and depth helped me a lot. Also, Princeton is a very service-oriented school, so I tweaked my essays to fit the school culture.
[ *] Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: UTD (accepted), UT Austin Polymath Honors (accepted)
[ *] Where else are you applying for RD: withdrew the rest of my applications (Rice, Yale, Columbia, Vanderbilt, Cornell, Duke) Some schools I applied to were not a good fit for me, but I did it anyways because of outside encouragement and insecurity. If I could redo the college app process, I would have not applied to so many schools.

General Comments: Reflecting back on high school, I do not regret anything. Any club I wanted to join or thing I wanted to learn, I just went for it, but I was dedicated. Once I commit to something, I stick with it and I don’t quit. While it is important to plan your future, I feel like some people are getting too caught up in building a “perfect” resume rather than doing things they really enjoy. After all, college is not the end of the world, and you wouldn’t want a university to accept a visage of you that is not real. Looking at all the outstanding students on CC, I never thought I would be accepted into my dream school, but it is possible to be a normal high school student and still get into Princeton. My advice to underclassmen would be to stay true to yourself and to seize any opportunity you get.

28

Decision: Deferred

=====================================================
Objective:

ACT (breakdown): 35 Composite: 36E, 36R, 35M, 35S + 9 Writing
SAT II: U.S. History (790), Math II (760)

Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.85, 4.129 (w)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A

AP (place score in parenthesis): 6 5’s (APUSH, Microeconomics, Macroeconomics, CompGov, US Lang, U.S. Government), 4 4’s (Calculus AB, US Lit, European History, Statistics).

Senior Year Course Load: AP Physics C: Mechanics, AP Computer Science A, AP World Literature, Online Gym, Student Prep, AP French, AP Calc BC, AP Human Geography

Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Commended, National AP Scholar

======================================================
Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):

→ Model UN: Leadership Team- help run one of the largest student-run MUN conferences in the state w/ 400+ students, Position Paper awards at numerous local conferences, Honorable Mention at national-level conference (BOSMUN)
->Debate: Public Forum, obtained one bid to the TOC + made it to the double-octafinals at a nationally-ranked debate tournament + was competitive in regional tournaments
->Tennis: played 3rd doubles/extra singles, team placed 3rd (2016) and 1st (2017)
→ Was on City’s Transportation Committee, made recommendations to City on transportation issues

Job/Work Experience:

->Taught kids tennis throughout the summer (2016 + 2017)

Volunteer/Community service:

→ Participated in tutoring, was part of the Treasury, Community Service Letter
→ Helped at assortment of places (Senior Center, Art Center, City Hall)

Summer Activities:

->Tennis
->Model UN preparation for student-led conference
->Read in my spare time

========================================================

Essays (rating 1-10, details):

->Common App: 8/10 (I’m not a very good writer so I’m pretty much not confident in any of my essays. I thought I showed my personality, but I wish I talked more about my future passions/what I want to do in life. Also wish I spent more time on it.)
->Supplementals: 7/10 (I just didn’t give myself enough time to write good supplementals for the “What did you do this summer” and “Meaningful Extracurricular” prompt.

========================================================
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

->Teacher Rec #1: (7/10) APUSH teacher, she was really awesome + I think it showed more of my academic side, so (7/10)

->Teacher Rec #2: (6/10) APULL teacher, I struggled with finding a second rec letter but I think he did the best with what he knew about me

->Counselor Rec: (7/10) I didn’t really know her at the time (although I think we’ve grown closer after I talked to her about my worries about all of my regular decision applications).

Additional Rec: (8/10) From my AP French Teacher who talked about my work ethic + other information.

Interview: (7/10) Decent interview, but I wish I had prepared better. If I could re-do it, I would look at Princeton’s course offerings in the major I was interested in, and start from there to build my answer to “Why Princeton”?

=========================================================
Applied for Financial Aid?:
→ No.

Intended Major:
→ Economics.

State (if domestic applicant):
→ MN

School Type:
→ Public

Ethnicity:
→ Chinese/Asian

Gender:
→ Female

Income Bracket:
→ 100k+

Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):
→ Nope.

===========================================================
Reflection:

→ Wish I took my grades more seriously. I think I focused too much on my extracurriculars, thinking that they would be the factors that would get me into a good college. I now realize that even if kids with 4.0’s and 36’s get rejected, the chances of getting accepted with those statistics (esp. if you had a rigorous course load) is significantly higher. Would I have killed myself to get a 4.0? No. Would I have worked harder to elevate my GPA to at least a 3.925 or higher? Yes.

→ Wish I stopped comparing myself to other people and let myself develop at my own pace.

→ Wish I started writing my essay earlier.

→ Would have still taken the same rigorous classes (even though they were stressful) + done the same extracurriculars.

→ Overall, thankful that high school helped me to find my passion and pointed me towards knowing what to major in and what to do with (potentially) the rest of my life (Economics/Public Policy).

Strengths:
→ Test Scores
→ EC’s (kind of)

Weaknesses:
→ Grades
→ Recommendations
→ Essays

Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
→ Grades: somewhat low for Princeton
→ EC’s mediocre
→ Essays mediocre-bad
→ Recommendations decent, but I don’t think I made a strong connection with my teachers to the point where they could genuinely write a 10/10 rec letter so it’s mostly on me

Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
→ Accepted:

  • University of Minnesota (Twin Cities)
  • University of Wisconsin (Madison)

General Comments:

Just a bit disappointed. I guess I had hoped against hope that I would be accepted, but I guess to no avail. :confused: However, I 'm glad that I applied at least and gave it all I could at the time. :slight_smile: Still waiting on my Regular Decisions to come out, so I’m really crossing my fingers for those!

29

**Decision: Accepted **

I know this is really late, but I’ve heard back from a few more schools now and I’ve had time to process all this. I figured I would post this before regular decisions came out!

Objective:
SAT I: didn’t take
ACT: 36 C, 36E, 36R, 36M, 35S
SAT II: Math II - 800 Physics - 800
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.97
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 2/~320
AP (place score in parenthesis): English and Comp (5), APUSH (5), BC Calc (5), Physics 1 (4)
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: AP English Lit, AP Chem, AP Enviro, AP Spanish, AP Econ (Micro and Macro), Dual Enrollment Multivariable calc, honors bio II
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Commended, Girls Nation delegate, some state awards in music and robotics, nothing big really

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):

  • I play 3 instruments, and have received awards in state competitions for 2 of them, and I’ve performed concertos with a few major orchestras
  • Mock Trial 9-12 (Captain)
  • FRC Robotics Team 10-12 (Business Lead)
  • Jazz Band
  • Chamber Orchestra
  • Tri-M Music Honors Society (Treasurer)
    Job/Work Experience:
  • teach music lessons
  • summer camp counselor
  • museum intern
    Volunteer/Community service:
  • volunteered and interned at a science museum for over 2 years
  • part of several music service groups
  • interned for state representative
  • interned for an environmental organization
    Summer Activities:
  • attended a few selective international music festivals, environmental internship (lots and lots of canvassing), girls state and girls nation, volunteered for my robotics team’s summer camp, teaching music lessons, working at the museum, camp counselor
    Essays (rating 1-10, details): Common App: 9, it wasn’t particulary beatifully or eloquently written but everyone I showed it to said it really reflected my personality, it was a funny essay and I didn’t try to take myself too seriously. Princeton Supplements: 10, I spent so much time on these, and I also did the engineering essay and I was just really proud of the way they came out. I think these showed a more serious side of me
    Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
    Teacher Rec #1: English teacher: 10, I didn’t read it, but I had her for two years and we’re extremely close
    Teacher Rec #2: Physics teacher: 10, He let me read it a month or so after I got into Princeton and it was amazing, best of his career type thing, and just extremely personal
    Counselor Rec: 7, she likes me a lot but she has to write a lot of recs and doesn’t know me as well as my teachers do
    Additional Rec: piano teacher 10, I’ve known her for 8 years and I’m sure it was great
    Interview: 7, it was my first interview, and it was a solid interview but nothing spectacular

Other
Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Mechanical Engineering
State (if domestic applicant): very competitive state
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: F
Income Bracket: $150k+
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none

Reflection
I am still surprised. I have solid stats and solid ECs but nothing really spectacular in my opinion. I’ve heard that colleges typically like pointy applicants, but I had a diverse amount of interests. Even though I didn’t have significant awards like ISEF or USAMO, I had solid accomplishments in multiple areas (music, science, and politics). I think that my essays were my greatest strength, as I spent a lot of time on them and they were an honest reflection of who I truly am.
Strengths: GPA, test scores, essays
Weaknesses: ECs not too special, no major awards
Why you think you were accepted: good essays, good recs, 2 strong music supplements, I’m not really sure tbh
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Accepted: University of Michigan w/ large scholarship, Northeastern University (Honors College), likely letter from Harvard (!!!), waiting to hear back from MIT, Stanford, Yale, UC Berkeley

General Comments : I didn’t have any hooks or major awards. I just did what I loved throughout high school and wrote honest essays. I also think that teacher recs are extremely important and I’ve always had good relationships with all my teachers. At the end of the day, I think a lot of this is just luck. Good luck to all the RD applicants!!