| From what I've seen, ceebee's quote shows what Princeton truly does look for. While your scores and extracurriculars are impressive, there needs to be a special reason. They're not just interested in nice pampered lists of ECs: they want to see unique hobbies and passions, a deep motivation for you to pursue something intellectual or fulfilling that your school does not offer. If you score an 800 on the Sat Math II on your first try (fantastic job, by the way!), I can easily see you excelling at a very high level at math competitions. Have you ever thought of that? Since you're good at snowboarding, I might add, I feel you should include that in your application, as these schools tend to want to know what you enjoy doing on a personal level. I think ceebee's recommendation is fantastic: something like that shows an intellectual initiative toward something you're passionate about.
Almost everyone at Princeton either has a very unique or highly refined special talent or ability, or they do remarkably well given their family background and what their environment offers them. If your environment offers you more, you're expected to do even more: it's all a matter of how far beyond the typical maximum curriculum you're willing to go.
I might add that a ton of clubs doesn't help. They prefer to see a couple of things you're deeply devoted to than a list (though I'd imagine being president does show dedication!) I had a similar experience to ceebee, though I did not try nearly as many clubs: my senior year I practically quit everything, including National Honor Society, and as such my ECs seemed rather bare compared to many other people, yet I felt that each EC on my list I explained very fully why it was so significant to me as a person. After thinking about my application, the EC section, for the most part, simply came down to music and tutoring.
Good luck! (And with a school like Princeton, luck tends to unfortunately be a factor, I believe!) |