Question for Current Princeton students (or those in the know)

Colleges and Universities A-Z Princeton University
21

<p>You wanna hear my story? Ok - you can look up my previous posts to figure things out, for the most part, but I’ll sum it up for ya here.</p>

<p>For most of high school (9th-11th grade), I wanted to go to Dartmouth. Dream school. Would be the 13th member of my family to attend. Visited several times, loved it loved it.</p>

<p>Before high school, I had had this dream of going to Yale but thought I couldn’t get in. In 11th grade, while I thought I would apply ED to Dartmouth, I noticed that Dartmouth didn’t have the same name recognition/prestige as other Ivies. I also began realizing that my stats were pretty darn good, and that I should get into Dartmouth no problem, so why not aim higher? Why not aim for Yale? YALE YALE YALE… I visited, fell in love, still liked Dartmouth, but decided to apply SCEA to Yale. </p>

<p>And you know what? I was so stupid, I actually thought I would get in. I was like, how can they turn me down? I’m biracial, National Merit scholar, awesome GPA, tons of AP classes, captain of cross country team, editor-in-chief of school newspaper, on the debate team, on the school morning tv show, etc. On top of all that, I have a chronic illness - and have been very very active in the community regarding raising money/advocating/mentoring for this illness. I have spoken on Capitol Hill, at press conferences, and met with congressmen in order to push for more federal funding for stem cell research in the hopes for a cure for my disease. I have participated in clinical research trials at the NIH. I got an extra recommendation letter from the executive director of a national organization, attesting to all of my volunteering on that organization’s behalf. My part-time job for the past 2 years has been writing for a blog geared toward teens with this disease. And, running cross country while managing this disease at the same time is no easy feat. I thought this meant something. I thought this meant I was special, or whatever. I thought I had a good shot at Yale, and all the other schools I applied to. </p>

<p>On December 15th, I was deferred from Yale. Really really upset. Finished all my other applications to schools - including Colby, Bates, Bowdoin, Harvard, Williams, Swarthmore, Wesleyan, the University of Maryland, Lehigh, Colgate, and of course Dartmouth. Was not originally going to apply to Lehigh or Colgate, but decided I needed to cause they were a bit easier to get in. Also applied to Princeton at my Dad’s urging, although I had never wanted to go to Princeton (visited it during junior year of high school and hated it). </p>

<p>I expected “likely letters” from Dartmouth, Bates, Bowdoin and Colgate. Especially Dartmouth. Got an early write from Colby, which was nice, and an all-expenses paid trip to go visit the campus. But no news from other schools. Come April, I had been accepted to Bowdoin, Bates, Colby, and UMD. I was WAITLISTED at Princeton, Dartmouth, Swarthmore, Wesleyan, Colgate, and Lehigh. I enrolled at Bowdoin. </p>

<p>At the end of April, I decided that I absolutely needed to go to Dartmouth - kind of weird, since I had really abandoned it in a sense, and now knew that I should have applied ED. Sent Dartmouth a letter saying how badly I wanted to get off the waitlist. </p>

<p>May 7th- my college journey was finally over. I got into Dartmouth. Best day of my life. I know now that this is where Im supposed to go, and I could not be more happy about it. I only wish I had applied Early Decision, to save myself the trouble and stress that I went through with the college admissions process.</p>

<p>sorry I’ve sort of highjacked this thread, but there you go. The only reason I visit the Princeton forum is because I was waitlisted there, and now I like Princeton, if only for the reason that their admissions committee was smart enough to at least recognize my achievements and potential for success.</p>

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<p>Dude you’re depressing me. You had better ECs than Ghandi. What were your SATs and gpa? Please tell me you bombed the SAT or had a gpa < 3.0. If not then I know I’m DOA when I apply to the same schools you applied to. </p>

<p>But doesn’t your story say the same thing I was telling the OP? You wanted Yale as badly as she wants Princeton. Why should any of us invest so much hope into any of these top schools? As great as your background is you didn’t get in Harvard, Williams, Princeton, Yale, Swarthmore, Wesleyan, Colgate, or Lehigh. Lehigh?!?! TG Dartmouth came through but that’s probably because you’re a legacy right? Crap. I am depressed. </p>

<p>Dream schools, perfect fits, and similar crap are legends of days past. The only thing we can do now is play the odds.</p>

<p>I don’t think anyone should fail to apply ED to the non-HP Ivies. Screw them.</p>

23

<p>gee, thanks. My SAT scores weren’t great - 2160 - only took it once.
Unweighted GPA: 3.94
weighted gpa: 4.54
the only thing I can think of is that one of my teachers said something horrible about me in a recommendation, but I don’t really see how that could happen. I thought my teachers loved me. </p>

<p>Yea, thank god dartmouth came through. I’ve been depressed for the past two months.</p>

<p>perhaps the only thing we can do now is play the odds… :(</p>

<p>I do feel sorry for anyone who is just beginning this process</p>

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<p>Don’t do ED to boost your chances. I have friends who ED at Penn and many of them think “damn, i wonder what would have happened if I had done RD to Princeton or Harvard”. There is a sense of regret that will linger in your mind forever.</p>

25

<p>Warts, </p>

<p>I’d much rather go through life with a degree from Penn wondering if I could have gone to Harvard than go through life without a degree from Penn because I got dinged RD after failing to apply ED. </p>

<p>Ask Insulin. He went through Hell but the sting of that experience was lessened considerably by his acceptance to Dartmouth. Imagine how he’d feel if Dartmouth hadn’t accepted him. You friend was similar. Any pain he feels about not applying to Harvard is lessened by his acceptance to Penn.</p>

26

<p>Insulin, did you really apply to 13 schools? Maybe I’m just weird, but I thought me applying to 10 schools was out there. It’s people like us that contribute to the admission rates getting into the single digits.</p>

<p>Anyway, Princeton’s been my top school for a few years and because I was applying to HYP, everybody said not to do ED at Penn. If you see yourself happy at the school you do ED at, even if you get into Princeton, do it. If you can be happy at three or four selective RD schools, like HYP, then don’t do ED. It’s not about getting into an Ivy, it’s about going somewhere you really want to be.</p>

27

<p>I’m more confused than ever. I feel that no matter what path I pursue, I will be giving up opportunties. What a lovely system.</p>

<p>I suppose Old College Try is correct. How do I really know that Princeton is right for me? I am just 17, after all. Well, I have many dreams, and attending Princeton is just one of those dreams. I honestly could not explain why any of my dreams make sense, but I do know that they remain my dreams nonetheless. I suppose it’s possible I would love another school as much as I love Princeton, but I am going to continue to embrace my dream . . . even though I am just 17.</p>

28

<p>I was once like you Hope Full, when I was 16 haha and discovered the awesomeness of Yale…and their even more awesome advertising. Before my junior year I hadnt even heard of Yale if it were not for a college project requiring us to research 5 different colleges. I figured I “knew” too much about Princeton (In 8th and 9th grade Princeton was my “dream school” and I spend eons on their websites looking at their student profiles) so I chose Yale b/c out of all the ivies (read: HYP…haha) it was the one I knew nothing about it. Needless to say, I fell in love with it and skipped out on questbridge scholarship program to apply EA to it. I figured the Yale questbridge scholarship, which was only given to 17-20 students out of at least 700 who applied would be FAR more impossible for me to get than Yale EA. I, like ironinsulin, (is ur “disease” diabetes?) thought I’d be a shoo-in for Yale EA but I did not expect admissions to be sooooo competitive and for them to actually LOWER the admit rate. I also got deferred and rejected but I’m going to Princeton haha!!! </p>

<p>Anyways, my point isnt to brag about my P-ton achievement but to show you how IMPORTANT it is not to be too extremely connected with one specific school just b/c it APPEARS to be “perfect” and “your dream school.” I mean, when I found out about Princeton (ironically, it was the first ivy on march 31st that i’d seen an acceptance from. when i clicked on the others, harvard and yale, i wasnt that lucky hehe) I couldnt believe it. It felt so thrilling to be accepted that i didnt fret over the rejections (which is another reason to apply RD to all your schools. If you are truly qualified, you WILL get into at least one ivy and/or top school.)</p>

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<p>Old College Try: I’m a “she,” by the way :)</p>

<p>Vicky Sky - yup, I have Type 1 diabetes</p>

30

<p>'Anyways, my point isnt to brag about my P-ton achievement but to show you how IMPORTANT it is not to be too extremely connected with one specific school just b/c it APPEARS to be “perfect” and “your dream school.” ’ </p>

<p>This is spot on. I was the same way. Freshman year, I was MIT, Sophomore I was CalTech, Junior and Senior I was Stanford. I thought it was perfect for me. I loved everything about it - the campus, the student life, the weather. It seemed like the ultimate college. Until I didn’t get in.</p>

<p>Never in my life did I think I’d be going to Princeton. I didn’t think I had a shot getting in, and I didn’t think it was right for me. I only applied because my dad and my 2 favorite teachers and my grade-level principal urged me to. And getting my acceptance letter really did soften the blow of getting waitlisted at Stanford.
Every day now, I read more about Princeton and talk to students and professors, to make up for the 3 years that I didn’t care about it. And it’s grown on me. I know that it’s where I’m meant to be. And I’m super excited about going there. Don’t limit your options, keep them open. Because if I hadn’t been accepted to Princeton, I’d be either going to Cornell on no financial aid, or UT Austin. Both great, awesome schools, but not what I see as my ‘fit’.</p>

31

<p>Thanks for the additional thoughts. I guess I’m in for an exciting time – a real emotional roller coaster. I enjoy reading stories like those told by Vicky and t-san. It’s funny how people’s stories fall into place. As A-type personalities, I suppose each of us expects predictable results. We want to feel that if we work hard enough, we will achieve a specific goal. We want to feel some sort of control over our destinies. But we don’t have much control when it comes to college acceptances. That’s a scary proposition, for me at least. In fact, it may be the first experience in my life where I do not feel that I have much control over the outcome. Given the importance of college acceptances, this is not a pleasant feeling. I hope I can write a message on this board 12 months from now that parallels those written by Vicy and t-san. I hope I have the feeling 12 months from now that I am heading to the college that is best for me. And I still hope that is Princeton for me. :)</p>

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<p>HopeFull- you show a lot of insight in your comment about not having much control of the college apps process, and it’s scariness. You are right- this is when the ‘real world’ doles out some of it’s first and harshest lessons on our young 18 year-olds.</p>

<p>Parents can’t influence the outcome much (without 7+ digit donations anyway), there is inherent unfairness (perfect stats can go unrewarded), recalcitrant teachers can dictate final grades and recommendations, and an applicant’s heartfelt passion and dreams can be squashed without notice.</p>

<p>Yet it is always a process that makes the student grow emotionally, rewarding flexibility and resilience. Good luck in your coming year, and take to heart the great advice on these boards: Prepare for the worst, but hope for the best…&… Love Thy Safety!</p>

33

<p>Saccolicious, you are weird!</p>