Chance me for Princeton REA- third gen legacy philosophy major from NC - 4.0, 1540, solid awards and ECs

Chance Me / Match Me
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Chance me for Princeton REA

  • State/Location of residency: North Carolina
  • Large public high school
  • third gen legacy (mother, grandfather)

Intended Major(s)

Philosophy

GPA, Rank, and Test Scores

  • Unweighted HS GPA: 4.0 (nothing below a 95)
  • Weighted HS GPA: 4.625/5
  • Class Rank: 24/753 (but the most rigorous course load in my class for junior and senior year)
  • SAT: 770 on both math and English

List your HS coursework

IB Lit HL, IB HL math analysis and approaches, IB HL physics, AP physics C, IB Mandarin SL, IB film SL, IB philosophy SL (scored a 7) and HL this year, AP Human geo (scored a 5), IB Theory of Knowledge, IB HOTA HL
*All of the classes with no scores, I haven’t tested in yet. My school does our IB exams at the end of senior year. All of the IB courses except for philosophy are two year courses (junior and senior)

Awards

13th Speaker in the Nation for Lincoln Douglas Debate at NSDA National Tournament
17th in the Nation for Lincoln Douglas Debate at NCFL Grand National Tournament
Ranked 1/60 LD Debaters in Carolina West District from 2022-2024, district champion, and a bunch more regional/state debate awards
Accepted to and graduated from NC Governors school (competitive program, especially from my area)
National Merit semifinalist

Extracurriculars

President and captain of a large speech and debate program at my school

NC Gov. School in social sciences

100+ hours volunteering at freedom school (non-profit helping underprivileged kids learn to read)

President of democrats and philosophy clubs at my school

Author of a philosophy blog subscribed to by some academic
philosophers/psychologists

Tutor for my physics the physics department at my school

Some local political volunteering

Essays/LORs/Other

Essays are very well written and interesting (mostly about the intersections of debate, moral philosophy and math).

LORs should be very strong (especially from philosophy teacher)

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You have a chance - can I say you’ll get in or have a great chance of getting in - no.

But you’ve been the best you that you can be - so take your best shot and Princeton will let you know.

Good luck.

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You certainly have a great resume and given the legacy status, your chances at Princeton are probably better than the published acceptance rate. Good luck to you!

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You certainly have a chance, but fair warning: the days of legacies with high numbers being very likely admits appear to be long gone. These colleges may also defer rather than accept/reject REA legacies–indeed, I don’t know for sure, but in your case I would guess a deferral is at least more likely than a flat rejection. And in fact some of those deferrees may be accepted eventually. In any event, you should be prepared for that possibility.

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You have a strong resume, but when the overall admit rate is under 5% – even if SCEA is in the low double-digits – it’s a reach for virtually everyone.

If you haven’t already, I would build a list of lesser reaches, matches, and at least a couple safeties that are similar to Princeton in the ways that make Princeton attractive to you.

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I’d put you at the top of the average excellent pool with a legacy hook. So I think your chances are much better than the published admit rate. Make sure some of your essays show some special connection to Princeton. If your essays can work for Harvard, Duke, etc… by changing the name of the college, you have not put yourself in the best position, especially as a legacy.

I assume you have some matches/safeties also tee’d up.

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What does average excellent pool mean?

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I know this is a hard question but what do you think “a chance” translates to in terms of percentages

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It means you are a great student based on academics and EC’s and are a serious contender to be admitted, but your competition is another 10,000 ± applicants with similar qualifications on paper vying for 1,900± spots for Princeton.

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10-20%? I really don’t know enough about you (or what Princeton will be looking for) to even guess that much, but I note it is consistent with what other people are saying in broad terms.

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OP- you are a great student and very smart.

So do the math- if you have a 95% chance of rejection vs. a 90% chance of rejection- how does it in any way change things for you? You need rock solid safety and match schools just like every other applicant. If you get in to Princeton REA- great. Belt and suspenders. And if you don’t- which is what the odds suggest is the outcome- you’ll have a bunch of schools you’re excited about.

Don’t bank on legacy. In the absence of something else extraordinary (the concerto you composed is being performed at Carnegie Hall; your novel is being turned into a movie starring Meryl Streep; mom is a United States Senator), it will be considered a tip factor (i.e. all things being equal, you’ll come out a skootch ahead of a similar applicant who is not a legacy). But in and of itself, it won’t get you in “just because” of third gen status.

Are either of the relatives active alums? Class chair, volunteer umpteen hours on various committees? It’s still not a guarantee but it moves you into a different category of legacy.

Any college would be lucky to have you. Take the time you are investing in calculating your odds ('cause it doesn’t matter) and invest in finding a few safety schools to love and you’ll be in great shape.

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OP, I think you’ve gotten some great advice above. I think your chances may be slightly greater than stated above - maybe 20 to 30% – and that you should apply REA and write some great princeton-targeted essays. You do have a great background, but highly selective colleges have so few slots and differing priorities year by year, so think about other schools that you’d like as much (or almost as much) as Princeton. Perhaps some other Ivies (or other T20 colleges, like Duke, whose campus was modeled on Princeton’s) or some top liberal arts colleges (Williams, Amherst, Swarthmore) would be good reaches to strive for. Also think about schools that you’d be more likely to be admitted to, based on the factors you like (think size, student body makeup, location, including weather, physical plant, access to city or country or activities, etc.). I’m guessing you have an idea of other schools to apply to at this point. So don’t give up hope for Princeton, but don’t bank on it – it is a great school but there are many others out there where you can thrive and have a great college experience.

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Princeton REA is notoriously difficult to earn an acceptance. You have a great background; if you are URM, I suspect you have an above-average chance. If not, and you lack an obvious different hook, such as varsity college athlete, first generation, uberwealthy contributor/celebrity child, you are very likely to be deferred to the regular pool. As others have said, you should apply to multiple schools, of different levels of selectivity.

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It really doesn’t matter if your odds of acceptance are 5%, 10%, 20%, etc. Princeton is a reach school AND it is your top choice so it makes sense to apply REA.

Focus on what you can control – crafting the best possible application. After that, all you can do it wait and see how things turn out. I wish you the best.

To echo other posters above, be sure to create a well balanced application list with reach, match, and safety schools that you would be excited to attend.

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