I currently have a 4.5 GPA (Salutatorian in my class) and a 33 on my ACT. I have a 790, 800, and 760 on my subject tests. I am currently debating whether to apply to Princeton or Dartmouth Early. My extra curriculars are pretty good and focused, in the world affairs and geography perspective. I have good recs and good essays.
What are your thoughts?
My AP Scores:
5: US History
5: Human Geo
5: AB Calc
5: English Language
5: European History
5: Psychology
4: Computer Science A
4: Spanish Language
4: Biology
Currently in: AP Gov, AP Envi Sci, AP Spanish Lit, AP World History, AP BC Calc and Multivariable, AP English, snd Honors Advanced Computer Science Topics
Two very different schools. What do you like about each? In general, I would only apply ED if a school is your clear top choice.
What are you asking? You probably know that Dartmouth is slightly less difficult to get into, especially being ED. t
That’s all any of us can say. We have no idea which school you’re better suited to apply to. We have no idea why you might like one school over the other.
You’re grades and test scores means you will be one of the thousands of applicants who are qualified on those metrics to be considered. The other things like ECs, essays and recs only you can make a judgement call about them and where you should apply. Without a hook, chances are probably no more than 10% for most competitive applicants when applying early so pick your poison and go for it. Good luck with everything!
I have sibling legacy at Dartmouth. I feel like I have much better odds of getting in, although I’d take Princeton over it.I am really just debating whether to take the good ED odds at Dartmouth or take a risk at Princeton.
I understand your dilemma. Unfortunately, no one here on CC can help you with that decision because all we see are a few stats that you posted. Best of luck with whatever you decide!
The Dartmouth ED acceptance rate is about 25%. The Princeton SCEA acceptance rate last year was 19.9%.
Your GPA/class rank places you in the top 1-2% of your class. Your SAT II scores are fine; your ACT is average for Princeton (31-35 25th-75th percentile range); your APs should make the case that this probably underestimates your academic ability. So overall you are a fairly strong SCEA candidate academically. You say that you have reasonably strong ECs, with some focus, and good essays/recs. So I think you are a solid SCEA candidate. Given that you prefer Princeton and that sibling “legacy” plus the slight ED advantage are your only reasons for considering Dartmouth ED, I would personally take a run a Princeton.
As @Falcon1 notes, more information would be helpful.
Thanks for the input, and I understand I did not reveal enough to provide for a holistic review. But I appreciate the responses.
I would have advised the opposite of @renaissancedad having seen how incredibly competitive Princeton has been in the last few years to get in early and knowing that you would be giving up two decent advantages at Dartmouth by not applying early there. Not knowing the rest of your profile, I could see you getting shut out of both schools if Princeton SCEA doesn’t work out. This past year, I saw a kid who was unbelievably strong get deferred and then rejected by Princeton even though he was an Intel Finalist. He was accepted by every other top school he applied to including Harvard, Stanford and MIT. The same goes for a girl with near perfect scores and really amazing ECs - deferred and rejected but accepted to Stanford, UPenn and Yale where she is attending. Hard to know exactly what Princeton is looking for these days. Both of those kids would have easily been accepted to Dartmouth ED though because the admissions process there is more straightforward.
Again though, @renaissancedad and I don’t have any important information on what you have achieved and what your essays and recs will look like. Also, it’s not clear how strongly you prefer Princeton over Dartmouth. Most kids your age are just basing their preferences on name recognition. As I’m sure your brother can tell you, the teaching at Dartmouth is superb and there are no postgraduate opportunities at Princeton that you couldn’t have access to at Dartmouth. I love both schools and think you can’t go wrong with either but the safer play would definitely be Dartmouth. That being said, you’re no shoo-in applying early to Dartmouth. They turn away lots of kids with good grades and decent test scores.
You’re just going to have make a decision and then close your eyes and hold your nose and dive in. Good luck!
Does having a sibling confer much advantage at Dartmouth? It’s been discussed a few times on CC, and I didn’t think that it conferred much of an advantage.
Hey! I go to Dartmouth. I think you should apply to Princeton ED (since it is your first choice) and then apply to Dartmouth Regular Decision if you get rejected or deferred from Princeton. Honestly, I would be surprised if you didn’t get into Dartmouth----you have awesome test scores and you’re a legacy----everyone here is a legacy! Best of luck!
It’s not the same as being a true legacy but it gives you a slight edge nevertheless. You will lose this if you don’t apply ED because the feeling is if Dartmouth isn’t your first choice after what you know about the school through your sibling, why should they give you any edge? A 33 is good but I don’t know if I would classify it as “awesome”. What are the subscores and how did you do on the writing section?
I got a 31 on English, 33 Reading, 34 Math, 35 Science. And my sister was Magna Cum Laude at Dartmouth, so that may help.
The Writing is still being processed.
I see. If you strongly prefer Princeton over Dartmouth then go for it as RD says. Your English score is bottom quartile but I don’t know if it matters much. The real question for you is how strong your ECs, recs and essays will be and if they will make you stand out enough to get the nod. As I said this is a decision that no one here can help you with. Princeton takes a lot of legacies, recruited athletes and other hooked kids early and the many of the remaining applicants are super strong, so don’t be fooled into thinking it’s any easier applying early. On the the other hand, a lot of of the tippy top kids don’t want to commit ED to a school so the early route is a bit easier at Dartmouth (especially given its remote locations). Sibling legacy will presumably help you with your essays since you should know the school better than the average applicant. Best of luck with whatever you decide.