What are my chances? Princeton?

<p>Okay so I'm new to this but I'd really want to know what my chances are. Please help me out!(: </p>

<p>In September: a Junior in one of the country's top50 public high schools
GPA: 4.00 (i guess that's unweighted, all i know is that i got straight A's fresh&soph yr)
Ranking: 1st in a class of about 220 (freshman year) 1st or 2nd (sophmore yr)
Extracurriculars:
-- Key Club (member 1 year, secretary for 1, secretary/higher position for next 2 yrs)
-- Environmental Club (member 1 year, member for next 2)
-- Model UN (member 1 year, member for next 2)
--UMDNJ pre-med program for high school students
Future Extracurriculars: **--FEA (member 2 years)
--Student Council (member 2 years)
--Academic Decathalon (member 2 years...possibly? should i do it?)
**APs
:~ Freshman yr--USH (4)
~Sophomore yr--Gov & Pol (5), Physics B (5)
~Junior yr-- English Lang & Comp, Bio, Chem, European History
~Senior yr-- English Lit, Calc AB, French (perhaps?), Art History
PSAT: freshman yr=187, soph yr=201
***SAT:* haven't take yet
SAT Subject tests:** Physics=670 :/ might not send it &plan to take Math2, Bio, Chem
Race: Asian
Location: NJ</p>

<p>Am I missing anything important? Lemme know x)
Soo, what do you guys think my chances are for Princeton? don't sugar coat it(:
How about chances for NYU, Columbia, Harvard, Yale, Brown?
What do I have to do to improve? Especially in regard to those ECs?</p>

<p>Yeah, your focused on princeton, but so is a gazillion other asian kids. rather meciocre psat for a sophomore, and pretty weak ec’s. NYU chances are good, other schools are not, in all honesty.</p>

<p>it’s hard to accurately say that^^^</p>

<p>as far as i know, SAT I scores are much more heavily weighed for admission purposes than PSAT, which is more fore NMS qualifications and such</p>

<p>my SAT I score was hundreds of points higher than my PSAT and there are plenty of other subject tests to try</p>

<p>as above poster said, weakest point is ECs, work on those and develop some good relationships with teachers this year who you can ask for letters of rec</p>

<p>Thanks to both of you for your input (: My practice SAT scores have been in the 2000-2100 range but I’ve signed up for classes to improve. I’ll be sure to sign up for other clubs and sports. Will definitely work on relationships with my teachers (: Any ideas for what else I could do to stand out?</p>

<p>i think most people on these board would advise against just signing up for every club and sport.</p>

<p>you may find it helpful to read this thread <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/210497-those-ecs-weak-so-whats-good.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/210497-those-ecs-weak-so-whats-good.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>that thread can tend to be discouraging though</p>

<p>you should also check out the princeton board’s accepted students thread for inspiration/to get an idea of the applications of people they accept/wl/reject</p>

<p>People on this site don’t talk about essays enough. What are you passionate about? How are you not a typical asian? Princeton will reject hundreds of 2400’s, so how will you stand out? Nothing does right now, but you have time I guess.</p>

<p>“Princeton rejects hundreds of 2400’s”</p>

<p>I’ve heard HYPS take around 50% of 2400s.</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>In any given year there are between 300 and 400 perfect 2400 scorers on the SAT, plus perhaps 100 36’ers on the ACT (given that it is less popular). Presumably nearly all such people apply to top schools, and if 50% are rejected for various reasons, that means that roughly 200 perfect scorers will be rejected in any given year. </p>

<p>So is “hundreds” plural? Yes, but just barely.</p>

<p>Regarding the OP’s question, your biggest problem is your lack of strong dedication in ECs. Find something not stereotypically asian that you love, and beat it to death. Become state, or preferably nationally ranked in it. Then you will have a good chance. You need passion - it’s dumb to focus 100% on colleges when picking ECs, but similarly stupid to ignore it, given how high the stakes are.</p>

<p>Oh, and don’t worry about your PSAT. I went from a low-200 PSAT sophomore year to a 2400 on the SAT Junior year, without any preparation whatsoever. While SAT and PSAT scores do correlate, they are not your destiny. Still, for good chances of admission you need to be at 2200+.</p>

<p>@imasophomore: thanks for the link, that helped (: & i won’t be signing up for clubs randomly, just a few more that i’m interested in & focus on making an impact in the ones I am already a part of.
@zonis20: you’re right I should find something I’m really passionate about. I’m going to work on that junior year, because I may not have years of hard work like some of the applicants, but I’ll do my best in the time I have (:
@snipersas: I agree about choosing the right ECs and thanks for your encouragement about my PSAT/SAT scores, I know i can get 2200+ but of course i’ll be aiming for that 2400 (…like every other kid applying to Princeton) so I’ll be working on those ECs and i’ve got some volunteer work but i’ll be doing more of that as well.</p>

<p>Also, another question for all of you, assuming I get my act together with the ECs but still haven’t found anything to make me stand out amazingly, would applying early action help or hurt my chances?</p>

<p>They dont reject hundreds of 2400s. Not all 2400s apply to Harvard anyways. SO say 200 do. Then say most of those 200 do get accepted, but like 100 of those 200 also applied to Yale. And half of those guys go to Yale.
AKA if you get a 2400 you have a very good shot.</p>

<p>@darkwalrus77: thanks, that makes sense and i’ll do my best (:
@aalee1213: ughh i know about the asian thing >.< do you think being from NJ also affects my chances? &ok, noted, about the ECs and the applying early. Thank you!</p>

<p>update: Accepted to Princeton University through Single-Choice Early Action!(:</p>

<p>This is why you can’t chance sophomores.</p>

<p>congrats on the acceptance! could you give us an update on how you improved your stats and resum</p>

<p>I would also love to hear how you improved since you posted in 2011!</p>

<p>Objective:[ul]
[<em>] SAT I (breakdown): 2250 superscore (2sittings) 800CR, 730 M, 720 W
[</em>] ACT: n/a
[<em>] SAT II: Bio M 710, Math1 750, Lit 780, (didnt send physics 690)
[</em>] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.98
[<em>] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): top 5%
[</em>] AP (place score in parenthesis): USH (4) Gov&Pol (5) Physics B (5) Bio (5) Chem (4) EngLang&Comp (5) Euro (3) [to be taken: calc BC, Econ Micro&Macro, Eng Lit&Comp, French]
[<em>] IB (place score in parenthesis): n/a
[</em>] Senior Year Course Load: AP Calc BC, AP Econ Micro&Macro, AP Eng Lit&Comp, AP French, Computer Business Applications (required), Gym/Health (required) Anatomy & Physiology
[/ul] </p>

<p>Was going to fill out the rest but I got bored…ohwell(:</p>