Princeton is known to attract more STEM students, especially compared to a school like Brown. Around the time when my older daughter was applying (2007):
Princeton became more interested in applicants with performing arts ECs. If you have such EC, you may want to accentuate it. That being said, I don’t think they would be interested unless you are at the pre-professional level or won some awards.
OP. Do your due diligence and you’ll have a much more solid idea whose advice makes sense. Until you have your own bearings, all this is getting more and more fruitless. When you want a tippy top college, rise to that level. No I’m not a student. But I work for a most selective.
@lookingforward OK I will take your advice. Apologies for sounding abusive.
Hi @abhonsley00
It may be a little late for my response to be relevant but I figure that it would be great for me to chime in anyways. Princeton, in my first semester here, really, even more so than other top universities, seems to focus itself particularly on bringing out “intellectual curiosity” and inevitably, truly seems to be a place for students who love learning, simply for the sake of learning. As cliche as it may sound, it is very academics focused, even more so than some other universities that may be bigger in name. You can check on Quora to see more into this. Application/essay-wise, I concur with the notion that you should present yourself as authentically as possible, and if it is genuinely the correct fit for you, than you may stand a strong chance for coming over to Nassau Street this September. Of course, it may also be that everything I have just said is absolutely pointless and incorrect, but this is just what I feel. I hope I may have helped provide some insight and that your journey takes you somewhere that you indeed feel is the right place for you.
Good for all interested in a competitive college: https://mitadmissions.org/blogs/entry/applying_sideways/
I guess the deadline has passed, but I think it’s a question worth more an of answer than has been given. I think you need to think about the culture of Princeton. They seem to value civility–the president, imho, goes to great lengths to keep the lines of communication open to avoid the kinds of bitter eruptions that have occurred at Yale or Oberlin in recent years. Princetonians seem to have a very strong sense of community–exemplified by the thousands that return for reunions every year. Finally, this is very subjective, but Princeton seem to value a kind of quirkiness that is overlooked or even discouraged at other schools—an odd combination of interests or EC’s, and/or a record of excelling in something unique or unusual, not something that attracts a lot of fans but something that you love. Obviously there are plenty of exceptions to this, but I think it’s real. So in essays or answers to questions you might think about how who you are intersects with those qualities, especially the first two.
I asked this question to a retired admission consultant, his answer was not very encouraging.
“Just like all other top colleges,Princeton looks for applicants who are more likely to succeed in future AND in present able to bring in large donations, strengthen legacy relations, are already accomplished or related to some one who is, can play sports amazingly well, can help school finish its puzzle of 23 minorities, 50 states, … . Once all puzzle pieces are arranged, some lucky excellent unhooked applicants are thrown in to balance rigor and to keep masses engaged in lowering the acceptance rate.”
…and yet when you show up at one of those elite schools, the vast majority of your classmates seem to be mere mortals. Go ahead and apply and write some good, sincere (non bragging) essays and get a recommendation from at least one person who has something to say about how tenacious you are in the face of some kind of adversity and hope for the best. And as has been mentioned all over this site, don’t take the standardized tests over and over and OVER again. That time can be better spent in so many other ways.
Just give it a shot, if stars aligned you’ll get accepted, if you are an awesome applicant then you’ll be successful at any school. It’s not as big of a deal to attend an Ivy as magnifiers of myths make it to be, at least not for top level applicants. If you are a sticker price EFC family, probably not getting selected would be a blessing in disguise for your parents.