Classics major applying REA to princeton [NY resident, 3.92 GPA, 1560 SAT, NMSF]

Chance Me / Match Me
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White Male attending public high school in NYC

Intended major: Classics/Classical civilizations

UW GPA: 3.92
SAT: 1560
8 APS taken (5s on all 4 AP tests taken)
AP Euro, AP Eng Lang, AP Eng Lit, AP Calc BC, AP Stats, APUSH, AP Macro, AP Gov, AP Latin
Currently taking 4 APs + Multivariable Calculus

Awards
3 Gold medals on National Latin Exam (grades 9-11)
AP Scholar with Honor
National Merit Semifinalist
Certificate of Distinction for Perfect Score on National Latin Exam 2024
New York Classical Club Sight Translation Exam - 2nd place

Extracurriculars
Compete in Certamen (Classics Competitions) at schools like Princeton, Yale, Harvard with leadership role
Leadership role in school Classics Club
President of Gaming Club
Studied Abroad in Rome (mythology)
Did SYEP twice after 9th and 10th grade summers
Volunteer at New York Cares mostly in the Bronx ~40 hours total
Volunteer as a tutor of English for Ukrainian kids stuck in the warzone ~30 hours
Used to be on math team and debate team in freshman/sophomore years
Used to be part of student govt in the Finance department for 2 years

  • some other brief activities

List of Schools
REA: Princeton
RD: Yale, Brown, Vassar, Vanderbilt, Binghamton, Emory, Duke, Boston College, NYU

I’m especially curious about my REA chances with Princeton. If anyone has any opinions/advice, please let me know.

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Where does your 3.92 GPA stack up against the rest of your class?

Do you have financial need? Have you run the NPC for Princeton? Do you have a budget limit?

Is this your complete list of schools or do you have others you haven’t listed?

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The average GPA is around 3.6 if I had to guess. This is my complete list, not including UChicago, which I’m not sure if I’m applying to yet.

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So if you’re near the top of your class, you’ll be competitive. Of course, schools like Princeton are a very high reach.

That concerns me a lot. All the schools you’ve listed have low to very-low acceptance rates, which means they are unpredictable. You run the risk of being shut out from all these schools. I would strongly advise adding at least one school that you’re likely to get into and would be happy to attend and maybe a few others that are easier admits than the schools you’ve listed.

Can you also tell us your budget? Check with your parents if you aren’t sure.

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Wouldn’t Binghamton be a likely?

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They said they’ll pay with my 529 plan.
As @MMRose said, Binghamton is meant to be my likely/safety, especially as I have legacy there.

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So your list was not the complete list then.
Good to know you have Binghamton on it.

Repeating my questions (so we can all advise you better):

  • what budget have they provided you? Or did they say they can pay up to $90k/year over 4 years?
  • do you have financial need? Have you had your parents run the NPC for Princeton?
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I don’t believe we have financial need. Putting cost aside, what would you estimate my chances to be for each school (particularly Princeton)?

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Impossible to say. An actual chance, but a lot (most?) of REA acceptances are driven by institutional priorities. The fact that you have ECs tied to Classics will be a positive.

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You are a competitive candidate with relevant ECs. Hopefully you write great essays and have strong recommendation letters. But beyond that we can’t provide you an exact estimate. It’s still likely going to be less than a 10% chance.

Ok, but then make sure your parents are willing to pay full cost. There’s no point in getting admitted REA to Princeton if your parents aren’t able to afford more than (say) $60k per year. So make sure you get a budget from them.

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If you’re ok with Bing, then great. You could get into many affordable schools. I suspect you’ll have more than one acceptance but certainly Bing. No idea on Princeton. Take your shot and see.

I always throw out this article - maybe another safety to research.

Good luck.

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