Chances for Princeton ED

cookiemom
Wed, 03 Nov 2004 22:34:09 +0000

All kidding aside, you pose an interesting question. What could keep an applicant with very high stats and good EC’s from getting admitted to a school like Princeton? We know that those with very high stats do get into top schools at higher rates then those who may be more average in the applicant pool. When we hear about stellar applicants getting rejected it seems like the process is somewhat random.

However, the more I learn about the college admission process (I’m an alumni interviewer at a top 25 school), the less random it appears. It also seems that the kids at the local high schools who apply to top schools tend to either get into all or most of them, or get rejected at all or most of them. This suggests that adcoms at different schools are using similar criteria to judge applicants.

For a student such as you with great stats and good EC’s, the question is how is your character and personality reflected in your essays, interview, and recommendations? Are you the kind of student who is going to share your knowledge and talents and enrich the college community, or will you cloister yourself in your room and worry about your GPA?