What are my chances at Princeton University?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Prerequisite Information: I’m a Junior, I want to study economics/finance

SAT I: 2300
ACT: Not Taken
SAT II: US History (780), Chemistry (770), World History (800)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.67
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Unranked
AP (expected score in parentheses): AP English (5), AP Chemistry (3), APUSH (5), AP Microeconomics (Self-Taught, 4), will take AP Biology, AP Macroeconomics, AP English Lit. and AP Statistics Senior Year
Major Awards: American Foreign Service Association (AFSA) High School Essay Competition Honorable Mention, National Catholic Forensics League National Qualifier

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Politics Club (President), Student Body Representative, National Speech and Debate (3 years, 2x Tournament winner, National Qualifier), Saxophonist (4 years)
Job/Work Experience:Intern at a small Hedge Fund in Utah (over the summer) , Intern at Law firm in Egypt (1 month)
Volunteer/Community service: Volunteer at Kidney Transplant Hospital in Egypt (1 month)
Summer Activities: Yale Young Global Scholars (YYGS)
Essays: REALLY Good in general

Other

State (if domestic applicant): Utah
School Type: College Preparatory Private School (rated hardest in the state)
Ethnicity: African American
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: $50,000-$150,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM, First-Generation, Parents were refugees, spent first 2 years of high school in Egypt, I’m a Day Trader for my Parents.

I have also gained an internship at Goldman Sachs (through personal connections) for this upcoming summer, so I won’t be headed to the Hedge Fund and will instead intern with Sachs.

Colleges: Princeton, Harvard, NYU-Stern, Columbia, Swarthmore, Boston University-Questrom,

Notes: I know my GPA is low, but do the other tenets of my application cover for it or am I done for?

2

You’re on the right track! Keep on raising that gpa though

3

DAYUM! i don’t know how you already know your essays are good (unless you decided to start your application super early AND get multiple people to read them multiple times) ; looks like you have lots of hooks to get in, so it is highly likely you will get into princeton or another school like harvard.

4

Princeton, Harvard and Columbia are crapshoots but I like your chances (DO work on that GPA though even though your other stuff is pretty fantastic). Given your interests and overall profile, would you consider adding a few schools that would be great places for you? I’m thinking UPenn–Wharton, UMich, UVA, Johns Hopkins, Georgetown?

5

Agreed^ Wharton would be a perfect fit

6

@mayorshinn, I never knew of UVA, and I’m loving its programs! It looks extraordinary, thank you for the advice. About my GPA, I can bump it up to a 3.72 by the end of this (spring) term, but I can go no further before I send EDs, do I still have a shot at UVA, Wharton, UMich, John Hopkins, GTown, or NYU-Stern?

7

@belleizzy Thanks for the advice, but I heard Wharton was a very “Graduate” Experience, with little focus on Undergraduates - do you believe otherwise?

8

Bump for other chances, I’ll certainly chance back if necessary.

9

You look pretty solid already, and if you work very hard senior year your GPA could certainly go up

10

What do you all think of Cornell, if I sent ED there?

11

Your work experience (hedge fund, personal connections at Goldman Sachs, etc.) and school type indicate a wealthy/privileged upbringing, which I think a lot of universities are trying to shy away from. However, Princeton is more welcoming of this than many others, and the fact that you’re first generation/URM/child of refugees definitely helps. Princeton is also big on ORFE/econ, and you obviously have demonstrated interest and experience in that area. Your GPA is a little bit low, but I don’t think that it’s low enough to have much of an impact on your chances of acceptance - I’d say that you have a relatively high chance of acceptance.

12

Thanks @Eisgruber, do you think (or does anyone here think) that Cornell would be a good fit instead? It isn’t too hard to get into as far as I know.

13

@CanIntoIvy Can you please stop saying that about Cornell? “Oh I heard it’s not too hard to get into.” Please. Cornell is an Ivy League school. My school only gets 10% of its applicants (even less at times) to Cornell every year, and we are a top 100 high school (and I think top 10 in the state). Don’t count your chicks before they hatch, kid. Your GPA is lackluster at best, and at the moment, Princeton and Ivies of its calibre seem like pipe dreams at best. Honestly, I think your best shot is at NYU-Stern. It has exactly the programs you’re looking for. If the financials pull through, I honestly think you could make it into NYU-Stern ED 1, no problem.

14

@CanIntoIVY i have a 2350 sat, 36 act, tons of extracurricalrs, and internships, and I wasn’t surprised when I was rejected frmo Cornell.

15

You need to look at more matches. The only schools being suggested here are reaches for anyone, and a 3.67 is below average at these schools. Cornell is not impossible, but it’s still a big reach.

16

@thisisfine2020, thanks for the advice, sorry about the Cornell comment if you disagree.

17

Can someone please chance me for Duke ED? Thanks.

18

@CanIntoIvy Again, not likely. GPA is far too low for most Duke applicants/accepted students.Stop name hunting, and focus more on reasonable matches/low reaches. Not that there’s anything wrong with applying to a pipe dream or two, but having a list focused heavily on prestigious schools is going to end up in rejection letters. You don’t have to apply ED/EA, it’s not mandatory.

19

Hello - I’m a Duke alum. You stand a great chance if you apply ED to Trinity.

Your background is quite interesting, so I’m sure you’ll do fine with admissions.

However one note: Are you arabic Egyptian or black egyptian? Arabs are not considered african american, so be careful if you check that box on your applications.

20

@sgopal2, thank you - I’m African American and my parents are refugees from Somalia, I’m not Egyptian in any manner. Can you PM me tips on applying ED to trinity?