I think I would have more consideration at UPenn. Their earlier acceptance rate is 24% and since I’m a legacy I would have approximately double the chances. Princeton is my dream school, but I know how tough it’s to get into. Should I blow my chance on Princeton and risk nothing or go for U Penn and not take a risk?
In practice Penn selects more than 1/2 the freshman class during ED. Legacy is a factor during the ED round. Your chances for Penn at the ED round are statistically much better than at Princeton during EA or RD. That said both Penn and Princeton are very selective, and admission decisions are often unpredictable.
I second the notion that “admission decisions are often unpredictable.” Last year my son, a DOUBLE legacy at UChicago, got waitlisted and then rejected from that school, but got accepted to two Ivies! You can’t make this stuff up!
Consequently, if you’re going to apply ED to either of the schools, apply to the one that’s your first choice and not worry too much about how the legacy may (or may not) help you. It’s never a guarantee of admittance.
What are your stats and proposed major?
You said yesterday that you are scoring 29-31 on ACT practice tests but hope to do much better on Oct 24th when you take actual exam. Do you have any current scores for the SATs and ACT? It’s a pretty risky strategy to apply early to Princeton without having a solid test score in hand.
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Their earlier acceptance rate is 24% and since I’m a legacy I would have approximately double the chances.
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I doubt being a legacy doubles your chances.
And, I hope you realize that the 24% rate isn’t for “any ole candidate.”. There are ED applicants with stellar stats and applications who may have a 40% chance of being accepted. And there may be ED applicants with ACT 29-31 who only have a 5% chance of being admitted.
Only you can answer this. Certainly you will have a somewhat better shot at Penn ED with the legacy (and I believe Penn only looks at legacy for ED applicants), but if you are going to spend the rest of your life wondering “what if I applied to Princeton” then it may not be worth it.
I’m a Penn alum and loved the school so I’d vote for Penn, but I am admittedly biased!
There’s your answer.
Princeton is the dream school of thousands of applicants. That doesn’t mean OP has their answer. If you have the stats and ECs to compete in a brutally competitive applicant pool for Princeton than by all means give it a shot. But (and I am basing this on your comments about the ACT test in another thread), if you are only an average applicant, you run the risk of being shut out of both schools. Right now, you don’t even know if you’ll break 31 on the upcoming ACT test. What does the rest of your stats look like? If you share them with us, we’ll be able to give you better (albeit only slightly) better advice.