juliamarie13

Hello, and welcome to princeton's island of misfit toys!!

Post your decision/comments/whether or not you downed a pint of ice cream/anything you plan to do now that the decision wasn't what you wanted

what other colleges/programs are you applying to?? intended majors/concentrations?

i'll start

i was deferred and i am irate. i thought i was right in the thick of things but err guess not lol. thinking back on it my writing score for the SAT was a little low (690) so i'm going to try and bump that up at the january SAT. i also mayy ship off another letter of recommendation, but i'm going to call admissions and make sure that won't just annoy them.

i actually got my decision in my schools library. didn't freak out, just kind of called my parents and went to kickline practice. did not down a pint of ice cream, but i did eat like 5 gingerbread cookies...before i even ate dinner 0

i plan on being a literature major with a conc. in creative writing...i've wanted to be an author since i was 6, been published a couple of times and would kill for a chance to work with joyce carol oates...but if that doesn't work out i will probs head to loyola in maryland, yale, or fordham.

also, question: what percent of apps got deferred? rejected?

what are the chances of someone deferred actually managing to bs their way in?

primatology

Julia, sorry to hear that!But you are right in the thick of things. That you weren't rejected indicates you're competitive for the regular pool. Don't give up hope! (I'd advise against another recommendation letter, though, unless it's absolutely stellar and reveals something new.)

Some basic statistics here:
Princeton University - Princeton offers early action admission to 726 students for Class of 2016

Not sure what the deferral/rejection percentages are, or how many deferred applicants are eventually accepted. Last time Princeton had an early program was five years ago, so those stats are uselessly outdated.

Evazan

Not only are they outdated, it was ED back then.

Anyway, I was deferred too. I plan on studying political science and public policy, and really want to study at the Woodrow Wilson School.

juliamarie13

hey thanks @primatology! that helped a lot-haha i keep looking for stats-also what would you say to submitting an updated resume? maybe underlining parts that are new?

juliamarie13

and evazaan so sorry to hear-we'll keep pushing-its all we can do

prepschoolnew

Deferred. Ugh, I am so mad...crossing my fingers for myself and everyone else for good news in April.

dancingjuicedesu

Deferred too. I never expected the deferred rate to be higher than the rejection rate but looks like that's the case o.O

All you deferred people: are you planning to send in any new things to enhance your application? I'm considering sending an additional LOR...

Saugus

Getting into Princeton was my dream, my only real goal. It had been for a very long time. Since I failed, I am thus a loser. A failure. A disappointment. But that's okay; it really is. I need to stop trying to be good enough for others. I need to be good enough for myself, something which I've never really done in my life. Because I always really did care about what others thought of me. I just tried to hide it. My biggest problem is that I don't set my own standards. I rely on those of others.

Still stuck in the denial/bargaining/grief stage. I skipped over anger for some reason. Maybe it's because I really can't be angry with anyone. Maybe not even myself. I gave as close to my best as was reasonable. Hopefully, I'll be over it soon.

So...

Harvard/Yale/Wharton/Stanford/Columbia/UChicago/NorthWestern/Duke in addition to Cal and UCLA, which I already applied to? Heck, maybe I'll even throw a few others into the mix. When I first saw the deferral, my immediate thought was: "I was a Valedictorian. I was a Governor. I had a 2340. I had passed ten AP exams. I had so much, and now I have nothing."

Those accomplishments are still valid until I get rejected from everywhere. Only then will they be devoid of all value to me. Only then I will have wasted my entire life. And hey, to be worrying about getting into the best and most prestigious university in the world? That's a great problem to have. 99% of people have worse problems. My real problem is learning to live with myself and conquering all of the unhappiness in my life. Maybe getting into Princeton would have solved that, but maybe the problem has a deeper root.

juliamarie13

hahhah yeahh i'm considering a letter of recommendation too...i got extra desperate actually, i even joined a quiz bowl at my school today, thinking it might look good....how spineless am i? plus taking sats again with a rush shipping to princeton and praying, praying, praying. i also want to send an updated resume

i know someone above said and extra LOR wouldn't help, does anyone else want to confirm/refute?

hey saugus: sounds like princeton would miss out on you if they don't let you in!!! you did everything you could and they'd be idiots to reject you-rock on man, you're farther along in figuring out who you are than i could hope to be.

Saugus

^
Nah, there are better applicants than me. It's like the old saying: "It's not enough to succeed; others must also fail."

I'm totally lost as to who I am, actually. This was defining for me.

starrynight509

@saugus...i totally hear you, and Im pretty upset too. i thought i did everything..2370, and so many extracurriculars and leadership roles. go to a school that gets at least 2 people into princeton every year. and i was deferred and i know i probably won't get in and thinking about it just makes me upset. i feel like i've failed....and i know it's wrong to put so much hope into such a thing and i totally understand the problems you have. and idk...everyone told me they thought i could get in and now i feel like i disappointed them too. and i just feel so crappy. i know i have to get on with everything but i just sucks.

juliamarie13

i'm like crying trying to fill out supplements for other schools...wahhh princeton you were/are still my top choice!

kameronsmith

Still don't understand my deferral. I think it might have had something to do with my counselor rec—everyone from my school was deferred, even though 15 were accepted last year.

sierrasunrise

saugus, I have the same feeling. Everybody told me I have real good chance with my ECs and almost perfect test scores and 4.0 gpa. I am losing my confidence now. But we have to keep going until it DONE.

maybirthday

Me too! Everyone thought I was going to get in. (2380, USAMO, girl, essays edited to death, teachers/counselor that told me they'll do what they can to get me in).

Question: what was everyone's deferral message on the application tracker? mine was "we have deferred you and want to see your senior year academic achievements". Anyone else got something that mentioned "senior year academic achievements"?