Hey all,
I know it’s still months to college application season, but I am looking to apply for Princeton’s SCEA this fall, and I was wondering how much emphasis Princeton places on grades in the middle of high school. Assuming SAT scores in the mid to high 700s (from practice tests), as well as strong extracurriculars in a few different areas, will Princeton admission officers immediately throw my application into the reject pile if they see a couple of Bs and a C (in math, not something I plan to study) without looking at the rest of the application?
Will it be helpful to account for the dip in my grades through the Common App additional sectionm? I was focusing a lot on my music ECs then, joining competition after competition and practicing for 4 hours a day on average (as much as 6-7 hours on days where I had more time). Or will admission officers see this as a lame excuse?
Thanks in advance!
You don’t want to make excuses. A few Bs won’t hurt, but the C won’t look good. Rather than you trying to explain it, which would come off as “making excuses”, you should have your guidance counselor mention that you struggled in a time you were earning high awards for your music, but you got yourself back on track.
You should definitely apply to match and safety options, as Princeton is neither, for anyone.
Thanks Groundwork2022 for the advice! This clears things up a bit for me
I will definitely apply for match and safety schools 
This is a minor point, but Princeton just announced that it won’t be doing SCEA this year. So you’ve got a couple of extra months to work on your application.
Ah thanks TigerinWinter for the information! I do wonder how much this will affect admissions at Princeton and other Ivy League unis. Will Princeton’s admission rate rise and the others fall because of this decision I wonder?