Do I have a shot at Princeton?

1Rubin
Thu, 20 Aug 2020 20:25:15 +0000

grapejuice149;d-2193947:

To give some background about my student profile, I am a middle class asian girl who’s a rising high school senior. After reviewing the resumes of other students with similar profiles as mine, I don’t feel very confident about my odds in being accepted into Princeton but I would like to get a second opinion on it.

Grades:
My school doesn’t do grades on a 4.0 scale (they do it on a 100.0 scale). Weighting works like this: CP’s are 1.0, AP’s are 1.15, and Honor classes are 1.10, leaving me with a weighted GPA of 106.5 and an unweighted GPA of 94.6. I have completed 9 AP’s so far and will be taking 5 senior year.

PSAT Score: 1500

SAT Superscore: 1570

Subject Test Scores: Math II - 800, Chemistry - 790

EC’s:

Here’s the part that I’m nervous about because I honestly haven’t done super spectacular stuff in this category (i.e. open a business, found a non-profit, hold executive leadership positions in a national organization, etc.).

Model Congress + Model UN School Clubs: Student Officer (1 year), Technology Committee Co-Chair (1 year).

Science Olympiad: Chemistry Specialist (1 year), Event Leader of X number of events (2 years). Won several medals at invitational and state level.

FIRST Robotics: mentor for middle school FLL team (2 years), one of four developers of an Scouting that led to the team winning the Charmain's Award (highest award possible in FIRST).

YouTube Channel where I occasionally publish music (I compose and produce music). After getting into the Vocaloid fandom a couple years back, I publish mostly originals and some covers on there as well as some more classical pieces. Currently, my channel is a year old and sits at 90 subscribers and around 20,000 views. Despite my relatively small audience, I've had people do fanart and covers of my stuff so yay.

Blender animations: Right now, I'm learning how to use the software blender to make 3D animations. So far, I've done one successfully, but it's a relatively new venture.

Extended Schoolyear Program: Every summer (except this summer due to quarantine), I volunteer at this program which is targeted to special needs students. One of the main reasons why I volunteer there is because I used to go to this program as a kid (was developmentally behind when I was younger and kind of bullied for it), so I try to be as welcoming and kind to the children I help when I'm there.

Other Accomplishments:

highest AMC10 Scorer of grade (didn’t qualify for AIME though … womp womp)

passed ABRSM 8 with distinction (a piano exam)

got 2nd place at Mid-Atlantic Regional Meeting Chemagination Competition

completed research for a DSAP clone that’s published on NCBI

participated in Morgan State University’s SAAMS program (extremely selective: only 30 chosen nationwide) and received several individual and team recognitions

Since I’m interested in becoming an actuary, I’m currently preparing to take Exam P in November and will add that if I pass (wish me luck ;-;).

In my opinion, I’m a relatively well-rounded applicant. Because I’ve exposed myself to multiple fields of interest, I think it’s definitely influenced how to view and approach the world. Still, from what I’ve seen, Princeton is looking more for ‘spiky’ individuals while I’m as round as a ball.

What are your thoughts?

An applicant’s race, athletic ability, fortune, adversity and legacy plays a huge role in Ivy admissions. You are lacking in those departments. You should focus on ivy peers like Hopkins, Berkeley, Rice, Amherst, CMU. If possible, use ED to your benefit.