Do I have a shot at SCEA?

Colleges & Universities Princeton University
1

<p>Basically, my senior year /was/ last year and I am going to go abroad to Senegal to work with a sustainable forestry organization for the year and I am apply to schools while I am away. I want to improve my French and have experience with a different culture. </p>

<p>Objective:
•SAT I (breakdown): Not sending
•ACT: 35C (35E 31M 36R 36S)
•SAT II: 760 Math II 800 Biology
•Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.96
•Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 14/409
•AP (place score in parenthesis): Calculus AB (5), World (5), Psyics (4), U.S. History (5), English Lit (5), English Lang (5), Gov (5), Spanish Lang (5), Biology (5), Environmental Science (5)
•Senior Year Course Load: Public Speaking, International Relations, AP Environmental Science, Honors Band, IB HL Math, and an internship working with making sustinable forestry an economically viable option in the Pacific NW
•Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National AP Scholar, National Merit Commended, All-National Orchestra, Nationals Orchestra All-State Orchestra</p>

<p>Subjective:
•Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): JV Cross Country, Youth Symphony (Highest Division, principle), music competitions (All-State for solo, All-State for Orchestra, National for orchestra, etc.), video game youth panel, non-profit event founder, service club president, NAMI Speaker, Girl Scouts, etc.
•Job/Work Experience: 20 hours a week since Junior year
•Volunteer/Community service: 500+ hours mainly volunteering at Children’s Hospital, volunteering as a summer camp counselor, and performing at charity events
•Summer Activities:Work, volunteering, research
•Essays: Either I plan to write about my journey overcoming the eating disorder OR I will write about my decision to go to Senegal to work on my French
•Teacher Recommendation: THROUGH THE ROOF AMAZING
•Counselor Rec: Stellar
•Additional Rec: Not sure, maybe my boss who LOVES me?
•Interviews: I am very, very good at interviews. But I’m not sure that they count for much.</p>

<p>Other
•State (if domestic applicant): WA
•Country (if international applicant): N/A
•School Type: Public
•Ethnicity: Other
•Gender: Female
•Income Bracket: $65,000
•Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): going abroad?</p>

<p>Reflection
•Strengths:Standardized Testing, ACT anyway.
•Weaknesses:ECs</p>

2

<p>Everyone has a shot; how much of a shot is anyone’s guess, as so much of the applications process is subjective, and comes down to how an Admissions Director “feels” after reading your essays and teacher recommendations and compares them to all other students who are applying. You just have to send your applications out into the universe and hope for the best.</p>

3

<p>As gibby said, but I would recommend writing about Senegal and not your eating disorder.</p>

4

<p>Princeton encourages students to have international experiences. The current president, Shirley Tilghman taught for two years in Sierra Leone through the Canadian Peace Corp. In Sierra Leone she met her future husband, a Peace Corp volunteer. She started the Bridge Year program to increase cross cultural knowledge. [Bridge</a> Year Program](<a href=“http://www.princeton.edu/bridgeyear/]Bridge”>Novogratz Bridge Year Program | Office of International Programs) and [Cherry</a> Hill West graduate headed to Senegal before Princeton - Philly.com](<a href=“Inquirer.com: Philadelphia local news, sports, jobs, cars, homes”>Inquirer.com: Philadelphia local news, sports, jobs, cars, homes) </p>

<p>I believe that over half of all Princeton students have an international experience during their four years at Princeton. Princeton has a summer French program at Annecy France. Princeton operates the Mpala Research Center and Wildlife Foundation in Kenya. [Mpala</a> Research Centre -*Grand Challenges](<a href=“http://www.princeton.edu/grandchallenges/development/mpala/]Mpala”>Grand Challenges - High Meadows Environmental Institute) The department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology offers a Tropical Biology course in Kenya. [Tropical</a> Biology in Kenya](<a href=“http://www.princeton.edu/eeb/undergraduate-studies/programs-of-studies/tropical-biology-in-kenya/]Tropical”>http://www.princeton.edu/eeb/undergraduate-studies/programs-of-studies/tropical-biology-in-kenya/) </p>

<p>The Princeton in Africa Program places graduates in service jobs throughout Africa. [Princeton</a> in Africa « Service for a Year. Commitment for a Lifetime.](<a href=“http://www.princetoninafrica.org/]Princeton”>http://www.princetoninafrica.org/) </p>

<p>I agree that it would be difficult to make an essay about eating disorders uplifting and positive. If you write about your decision to work in Senegal you should be aware the adcoms maybe wondering why you choose to go to Senegal in lieu of the Bridge year program. Or would being an EEB major in Africa be better use of your time. Why did you choose Senegal instead of Quebec? Your reasons for a gap year must be authentic and not appear to be resume padding.</p>

<p>Interviews for SCEA candidates are conducted in December. Will you be in Africa or in the States during that period?</p>

<p>You have a strong application. Your essay must convey your serious well thought out reasons for taking a gap year.</p>

5

<p>The picture you provided is certainly adequate to be considered in the admission pool. As others have reiterated, essays will be very important and the consistency together with your EC’s should create a clear picture to admissions of who you are as a person. As gibby wisely advised, apply across a broad spectrum of schools - “safeties” and “reach” schools that fit your vision. The most selective schools are a reach for pretty much everyone. Apply to those you are truly interested in but know that many, many very qualified students are turned away every year.</p>

6

<p>You will have to clearly explain why Princeton over other highly selective schools.</p>

7

<p>PtonAlumnus,thank you for your response. I choose Senegal over Quebec because I found a sustainable forestry organization there that I will be interning at - I am very interested in environmental issues and I have background with sustainable forestry in my area. Since I am from WA, both are just as foreign (its not like Quebec is closer in a meaningful day-to-day or week-to-week kind if way) and the cost if living is lower in Senegal. I am also interested in living in an area that will challenge the many western beliefs that I probably don’t even recognize I hold. In terms if the essay, I’m struggling with how to discuss these reasons genuinely; I don’t want to sound “fake.” And Princeton’s commitment to service and serving is a major factor for me choosing Princeton. </p>

<p>Is there any reason for me not to apply SCEA when Princeton is clearly my top choice a bad idea?</p>

8

<p>My response was not to challenge the wisdom of a service project in Senegal but to raise questions that an adcom reading your essays may have. The more common route is for students to apply to college their senior year and defer their acceptance to take a gap year. Your reasons are valid. Your essay should convey your heart felt reasons for taking a gap year before you apply for admission. </p>

<p>Living overseas is a great opportunity to look at American culture from a foreign perspective. For example, even the police do not carry guns in England or Japan. Imagine trying to explain to a Brit or a Japanese friend the Trayvon Martin/Zimmerman trial. </p>

<p>By 2020, the University plans to reduce CO2 emissions to 1990 levels, or 95,000 metric tons per year. If the university took no action to reduce emissions, the university would produce 176,000 metric tons of CO2 by 2020 driven by its expanding operations. The university has installed a 5.4-megawatt solar collector field on 27 acres near the campus. The system, comprising 16,500 photovoltaic panels, is expected to be one of the largest single installations at a U.S. college or university. The collector field should generate 8 million kilowatt-hours per year See: [Home</a> « Princeton University Office of Sustainability](<a href=“http://www.princeton.edu/sustainability/]Home”>Office of Sustainability) </p>

<p>Professor of Ecology Stephen Pacala’s concept of a stabilization wedges is the organizing principle in the PBS Nova video on how we can stop global warming. [NOVA</a> | Power Surge](<a href=“http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/tech/power-surge.html]NOVA”>Power Surge | NOVA | PBS)
Princeton University scientists are leaders in the study of global warming. Recent research has showed the need to improve the climate models. [Princeton</a> University - Link between warming and past droughts questioned](<a href=“http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S35/72/30Q24/]Princeton”>Link between warming and past droughts questioned)
For students interested in climate change research an advocacy group for informing the public about climate change research is located in Princeton N.J. [Climate</a> Change | Climate Central](<a href=“http://www.climatecentral.org/]Climate”>http://www.climatecentral.org/) </p>

<p>Student service projects are coordinated through the Pace Center. [Home</a> | Pace](<a href=“http://pace.princeton.edu/]Home”>http://pace.princeton.edu/) </p>

<p>In public service the House of Representatives, has had a Princeton alumnus every year since it first met in 1789. Princeton has produced a higher number of U.S. Senators, Governors and U.S. Representatives per capita than any other school in the country. </p>

<p>Applying SCEA is a good idea for students that have decided that Princeton is their first choice, recruited athletes, legacies, and students that submit the Optional Arts Form. When do you plan to go to Senegal? If you arrive in Senegal in October and submit your application in November you will not have a substantial foreign experience. If you write about your internship in Senegal you should show that experience is a continuation of your Washington forestry internship. Become familiar with the Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment and how attending Princeton would enable you to continue your environmental interests. [Andlinger</a> Center for Energy and the Environment](<a href=“http://acee.princeton.edu/]Andlinger”>http://acee.princeton.edu/) </p>

<p>Good Luck!</p>

9

<p>Sure apply SCEA your app looks good</p>