The app count can sky rocket from here: message to Rapelye

Colleges and Universities A-Z Princeton University
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<p>Princeton has the ability to send the app count to another level (one not seen by any American college) if it will consider pumping up its anemic market effort. In my view all that is required is a simple plan that focuses on two fronts.</p>

<p>First, Princeton must make H.S. seniors understand that no other school at its level can offer students a TOTAL undergaduate focus. The benefits of such a focus are numerous. One need only to review the many student comments at the Prowl'r College Guide (a guide that is for students and written by students) to understand the value of such a focus. This will be an easy sell to the elite prep schools because, among the Ivys, Princeton most matches their current envionment, both physically (campus size, location and environment) and academically. Prep students are accustomed to small class, with lots of teacher contact and interaction. So the real challenge here will be to get this message across to public school students as well. </p>

<p>Second, Princeton needs to take advantage of the free marketing that already exists. No other school receives more #1 rankings in the Undergraduate category than Princeton. So Princeton needs to drive home its positon in rankings such as: U.S News, the Atlantic Monthly, the Princeton Review, the Prowl'r Guide, etc, etc.</p>

2

<p>I think thy've figured all this out, it's just the practice what you preach that needs to be established now. </p>

<p>I would add to their list:
*Greater promotional efforts, like free t-shirts and posters for all accepted students
*More international recruitment through tours
*Target a higher yield and a lower acceptance rate. Princeton can become the most competitive IVY; it already is the best. All they need is to beat Harvard off sharing our first place in the rankings, once and for all!</p>

<p>:p</p>

<p>Vivia Princetonia!!!!</p>

3

<p>why would they want to INCREASE their application numbers anymore than they are? as it stands, there's probably going to be a sub 7% acceptance rate, why compound that and perhaps go as low as 2-3% RD rates??? what need is there for that? That's like using a hammer to kill a fly, it's not necessary- everyone knows Princeton is the premiere university in the US for undergraduate study...and if you don't agree, "You betta ask somebody!" ;)</p>

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<p>Personally, I don't see why they need to keep advertising and raising app numbers. People who are qualified to be Ivy KNOW they are, and are already applying to it, so you're just inflating numbers of non-qualified applicants. And anyone applying to any school just for the free t-shirt they get is just pathetic. I think Princeton's app numbers, advertising, and class size are perfect the way they are, and I don't see the reasoning behind the big push to raise them all.</p>

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<p>


</p>

<p>Because it boosts Princeton's selectivity ranking.</p>

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<p>how much more selective can they possible be??? 20 years from now we're going to have 55,000 people apply to princeton with only 1500 spots to fill....750 of those spots will go to ED applicants to "increase yield"....thats just great....</p>

<p>Pardon me if I'm mistaken, but I think that Princeton has built it's reputation on the quality of the education provided to its undergraduates, not by its "selectivity" ranking or its "yield"....screw US NEWS for starting this crap :mad:</p>

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<p>I agree with slicmlic. Why would the adcoms want to generate more applications for themselves to read and more letters of rejection to send? This is insane. A better contribution is something like the Wellesley system where they give you some kind of hint as to your chances. Marketing to students who have no chance of admission helps no one not even the editors of USNWR.</p>

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<p>"Why would the adcoms want to generate more applications for themselves to read and more letters of rejection to send?"</p>

<p>Application fees.</p>

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<p>I must be too lazy. I picture them reading themselves into a stupor, unable to tell one student from another.</p>

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<p>they still make a profit, and they can use that to buy more application staff to throw out the bottom third.</p>

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<p>Ah well, you know what....let's just wait and see what happens. Selectivity is a HYP admissions "fact of life". If we get in, excellent; if we don't, tough luck. A 17% increase in apps looks bad, but it's not really that considerable when you consider that there are less than 600 places available. 13,000 applications for less than 600 places yields slim chances and 15,500 doesn't really affect them much more. I would guess that it will only make a difference in 50-75 of the decisions at the very most. </p>

<p>But--any worrying now won't affect our chances in April. Best of luck, but don't kill yourself over something you can't control.</p>

12

<p>You also have to remember that Princeton had a pretty big fall in the number of apps last year, so a 17% gain puts the numbers back at normal basically.</p>

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<p>Because of the huge surge 2 years ago, this increae has not brought the school to a "normal" level, but rather to another "high" (and with the on line and common apps being permanent fixtures, this level of activity should remain).</p>

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<p>As this is my 1000th-senior-member-post, I'm going to make it really count.

[quote]
...anyone applying to any school just for the free t-shirt they get is just pathetic.

[/quote]
You've completely missed the point. This is not to encourage people to apply for a free t-shirt, it is to raise awareness that the university exists at all. Y'all may think Princeton has no need for more promotion, but let me tell you this: on a global scale, Princeton-awareness lags way behind Yale, Harvard, MIT and Stanford. There are thousands of brilliant qualified students around the world who have the strong qualities that Princeton is looking for, yet because an adcom never visits their region, because they couldn't apply using the common application (until recently), because the few students who do get in to Princeton from their area have little publicity (unlike their fellow-student who is accepted into Yale and who gets to walk around Kazhakistan in their "Yale Rocks" t-shirt), because of all these lack-of-promotion effects, Princeton's true potential is somewhat undermined.</p>

<p>
[quote]
People who are qualified to be Ivy KNOW they are, and are already applying to it, so you're just inflating numbers of non-qualified applicants.

[/quote]
Is it really true that anyone who has the slightest chance of getting into Princeton KNOWs they have that chance? Really? All the inner city minorities? The music virtuosos from villages in Venezuela? Even the small-town guy who loves caring for the elderly in his community, and saves drowning cats from the town river? All these kids KNOW they have a shot at Princeton? They KNOW they've got what it takes to get into the "upper-crust bastion of legacy"? They KNOW the breakdown of Princeton's admission statistics, have calculated their chances to a .009% differential, and have the absolute confidence to decide to apply?</p>

<p>Somehow, I don't think so.</p>

<p>These are the great kids that are overlooked by sweeping generalisations like: "People who are qualified to be Ivy KNOW they are, and are already applying to it, so you're just inflating numbers of non-qualified applicants."
Beleive it or not, there are people out there who just don't KNOW they have what it takes; a little recruitment, a little money spent on encouraging these well-deserving kids to apply is a step in the right direction.</p>

<p>If you are worried that Princeton is competitive enough already because you have your own RD acceptance chance to consider, then think again. There happen to be other people out there in the world, and they deserve the same chance to learn about Princeton as you do. Not everything revolves around "yield" and "selectivity", you know. There are larger global implications to be considered here.</p>

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<p>Gianievve:
Amen to that--I wouldn't have applied to Princeton if I hadn't known an '08 admit who loves the school (one of very few Princetonians in my town). I wasn't even considering Ivies until last summer and decided on Princeton ED when I visited in August 2004. It's sort of embarrassing to admit this now, but before last summer I honestly thought that Ivies were for prep school/elite kids, etc.</p>

<p>:) :) :) Oh, and happy 1000th post! :) :) :)</p>

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<p>Wow Gianievve like millions of props to you =D that was a worthy 1000th post hehe.</p>

<p>But it is true, on a global scale, Princeton is no way close to Harvar/Yale/Stanford/MIT. Princeton just does not advertise as much, does not get its name out there. Though it does carry prestige its hardly heard of internationally, even nationally. I know many people after i tell them im going to Princeton they are like ummm oh. is that in arizona? lol =D</p>

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<p>Wait .... you mean its NOT in Arizona??</p>

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<p>Well, I would venture a guess--a safe one--and say that it's probably not in Kentucky.</p>

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<p>"Well, I would venture a guess--a safe one--and say that it's probably not in Kentucky."</p>

<p>YOU LOSE.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.uky.edu/KentuckyAtlas/ky-princeton.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.uky.edu/KentuckyAtlas/ky-princeton.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

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<p>Oh, lol. Good one. :) I'll now venture a truly safe guess: I would probably not do too well in betting at my state's famed horse races.</p>

<p>I had seen that earlier when I was searching for my local ASC website. Maybe it's a sign? ;)</p>