I know there are thousands of threads like this, but I was wondering if I could even be close to Princeton ready.
I am going to be a junior this year and these are my current stats.
PSAT: 1150 out of 1520 (Would have been higher, but I was sick the day they gave out the practice packets and never knew them until the day before)
GPA: 3.75 Weighted (3.55 Freshman year and 3.95 Sophomore year) 3.67 Unweighted (3.55 Freshman year and 3.81 Sophomore year)
Classes: No honors Freshman year; Honors Biology and Honors Algebra II Sophomore year; Honors Chemistry, Honors Precalculus, Honors French IV, Honors Modern World Lit and Honors British Literature (They count as 0.5 credit each), and AP Biology for Junior year
EC: Varsity Tennis Freshman year; None because I had to drop nearly all clubs at the beginning due to the death of both of my grandmothers (Which explains why I fell short on some of my classes, specifically French III, during the beginning of the year) and I was sick for both days that tryouts were for Tennis (There is no JV Tennis); I plan to do Cross Country, Ski Team, DECA, and Tennis Junior year
Major: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Thank you very much for your feedback and good luck to anyone who tries to apply to any ivy leagues!
paul2752,
There are a few reasons, major and minor, of why I want to go.
I like the old fashion look of the school
Many people get to live on campus
Risky Business (No explanation needed and no guilt admitting it)
The mascot is one of my favorite animals
However, the major reason of why I want to go to Princeton is that I want to have a genuine challenge. I know hundreds of other colleges that would be considered challenging to most, including myself. However, it’s that thought of being given the opportunity that so little people have offered to them. I know for a fact that if I don’t apply, whether I become rich and famous or unknown and poor, I will always have that regret of not doing so.
I know getting into my dream school isn’t the end of my life, but why should I give up, especially on something that is still possible?
I’m sorry for your losses, I know how that can affect schooling.
For applicants with the best scores, 4.0 GPAs, many APs, and tons of ECs it is very unlikely. Have a good list of match and safety schools, from the above info, I don’t think you have any real chance.
Even if Princeton doesn’t happen, don’t stress, with your efforts, your going to get into some really good schools!
Muad_dib,
Except for the major reason, those I said were extremely minor and were more of a joke (Probably should have made it more clear).
Other major reasons include:
The variation in class (creative writing, as I am currently working on a novella/novel)
The low student to teacher ratio (Don’t want there too be too many students and too little teachers)
It is near family and friends
It is pretty safe
A great number of sports one can play (Tennis obviously interests me the most)
And probably hundreds more.
Once again, I apologize for not being specific enough earlier
psywar,
Absolutely! I just wanted to give it a shot and I wouldn’t really feel horrible if I didn’t get accepted, considering this person who went to out school got a 4.59 GPA, did many EC’s, and over a hundred community service hours still got rejected! (However, she did go to Yale, so there is a happy ending to the story). My “Target” schools include UMass Amherst, UConn, and Marquette University. My reach schools include College of the Holy Cross, Clemson University, and University of Illinois UC (Which I assume isn’t the one based on Risky Business, as that takes place in Chicago).
Also, I don’t know if this is true, but I heard they sometimes like to have variation (accepting students with 3.4’s and 3.5’s who probably did varsity, but weren’t really the best in state, if even the school). I am not counting on this, as like I said, it is just a rumor, but that still gives me some slight hope.
This probably doesn’t mean anything, but after choosing it as a college of interest (On one of those sites that matches you to college), I got one of those automatic “Thanks for your interest” emails from them. Like I said, probably doesn’t mean much, considering it did not even update my weighted GPA, but still.
Princeton isn’t the only school with old fashion look.
Princeton isn’t the only school where majority of people live on campus. In fact, i,e, Vanderbilt REQUIRES all students to live on campus(and that is in fact cheaper in many ways)
What risky business?
really,…a mascot?
Your reasons are shallow and don’t demonstrate what exactly Princeton and ONLY Princeton can offer you. Two of your reasons are entirely based on the school’s physical looks, and the your 2nd reason is entirely false.
I mean, go ahead if you want to. But you need way better and detailed motivations for the admins to choose you. What programs fascinate you?School vibe? any particular school division you are interested in?
paul2752,
I have a feeling you did not look at one of my more recent posts. And like I said earlier, most of them were a joke (If I really wanted a tiger mascot, I’d just apply to an easy college!).
Your Gpa is not their and doing ok in honors classes is just not gonna cut it. Considering people wiht 5+ AP’s and 4.0 unweighted Gpa’s get turned down all of the time. You can try but I dont think it will work out, let us know how it goes.
ryanroos,
I think people forget I just finish sophomore year and am currently going to be a junior, not a senior.
The only reason of why I can do one AP is that other classes conflicted with them (Like AP Computer sciences conflicting with French and AP Biology) and that any other AP classes I had wanted to do my parents wouldn’t allow it.
If I had to take a personal guess of what classes I am taking senior year, it would probably be AP Literature, AP Physics, AP Calculus, AP Computer Sciences, and Honors Mixed Choir (I’ve wanted to do it since Freshman year, but there is always some kind of confliction in my school schedule).
I probably should have added that before, but I felt it was a bit unnecessary.
Also, I feel that I should point out how our GPA system works
Unweighted and Weighted:
A+ = 4.33 (For unweighted, it is 4.00)
A = 4.00
A- = 3.67
B+ = 3.33
B = 3.00
B - = 2.67
Honors:
A+ = 4.67
A = 4.33
A - = 4.00
Etc.
AP: A+ = 5.00
A = 4.67
A- = 4.33
Etc.
I wanted to point this out as usually for other schools honors is +0.5 and AP is +1.00, not +0.33 and +0.67 (or 0.66).
OP, what do you mean you wanted to take more APs your upcoming year but your parents wouldn’t let you? Here’s the thing. Your junior year is the most important. If you have the academic ability and desire to take APs, then meet with a HS counselor and change your schedule. You really must take the most rigoruos classes possible to have any shot of an Ivy. Your grades and GPA after junior year are key in the application process. If you have a great upward trend, that will help.
But, my best advice is for you to DO things that actually make a difference. A lot of people study study study, and they have great grades, but have they really made an impact? So, if medicine is your passion, them find a way to be involved now. Yes, I know you are under 18. But there may be ways to volunteer. Think outside the box.
Teacher and GC recs play an important part in the college admissions process. Help tutor other students. Be active in and out of school. Give your recommenders great reasons to recommend you.
Btw, this advice on rigor of curriculum and doing real meaningful activities are applicable wherever you apply, not just the Ivies.
Speaking of your options, you need to research other colleges and be realistic. There are approximately 26,400 high schools across America. That means 26,400 valedictorians and 234,000 top ten students who think they are shoe-ins, are also applying to Princeton and the other Ivies.
Materof2,
What I really meant was that for most of the classes that I took, a lot of them conflicted with others. I was going to go into the ring and take AP Lang, but it conflicted with another class, Honors French IV. And if we know ivies, they love seeing four years of the same language (Senior year I am interning for French I or II, which still counts as a year). The ones they stopped me from was AP Music Theory and AP Stats because they felt it was nothing of my interest, which they were kind of right about.
Also, what I don’t truly get is why I should be focusing on other classes if it is not my major. As I am majoring in Medicine, or Biology, that means I should be taking a ton of hard science classes, which I am doing. In fact, by senior year, I will have around 7 credits of science (I am taking AP Chemistry, AP Physics I, and Anatomy & Physiology senior year). I will also have around 5 credits of math, as I took Geometry and Honors Algebra II during sophomore year. In fact, this is the major reason why I did not take any AP history classes, as I felt that it is a bit ridiculous to focus on a subject that will mean absolutely nothing in my major. One could argue that it shows the high dedication one has for academics, but I feel that would be like telling a doctor to improve his literature because he misspelled a certain word (assuming it had nothing to do with a specific type of disease or medicine).
I should mention that probably next year and senior year that I am going to see if I can tutor kids for math and science, as those are my two strong points (I got an A- in Honors Algebra II and in Honors Biology, but those were my first honors and most people got B’s in the class if they did not do an honors the year before).
I am also planning on mathletes and doing the marine biology club, both of which would show my specific interest towards.
I am pretty sure I can get a recommendation from my biology teacher and hopefully my chemistry and physics teacher as well. I could get one from my sophomore english teacher as well, but I would assume they would not care about a CP teacher (The class is known as one of the most difficult CP classes though).
My dad went to Princeton. Played tennis all through high school, majored in Molecular Biology, did pre-med. Now he’s one of the best ENT surgeons in the state. He’s an extremely intelligent, hardworking man and I would do anything to be anything like him. However, he has told me in all sincerity that at the end of the day, his life would have turned out just as great if he had gone to a state school. In fact, he says he wished he hadn’t been so concerned about the prestige of schools when applying. That said, I think you’ll be perfectly happy wherever you end up.
The reasons you listed for liking Princeton can be applied to MANY schools, and you don’t need to go to an Ivy to prove anything or look good. You seem like a very intelligent person, so let that speak for you instead. I know you didn’t mention this specifically, but obviously a huge part of the Ivies’ appeal is their level of prestige. But at the end of the day, is it really going to matter what school appears on your diploma? No. What matters is how much you learn, and you will learn plenty at whatever school ends up being the right fit for you. And trust me, you will learn so much wherever you end up.
I should also add this (and don’t take this the wrong way). Colleges do not care what other kids got in your class, especially if it’s CP or honors. For AP scores, they’ll compare you to national averages and other applicants. But they aren’t going to see that you got an A- in an honors class that everyone else got B’s in, unless everyone in your class applies, the same admissions counselor reviews your applications and notices the trend in school, etc. Very unlikely. Regardless, just focus on yourself. It doesn’t matter what courses other kids are taking. As long as what you’re doing is the right fit for you, then you have nothing to worry about.
Don’t pile on a ton of AP courses and extracurriculars your junior and senior years. That will make your life so unnecessarily difficult, and it never turns out well. Going into my junior year (I’m a senior now), I was dead set on going to Columbia. However after looking at admissions rates and comparing my stats to those who have been accepted, I realized that I can’t put all of my eggs into one basket when it comes to colleges. Hold on to your dreams, but don’t let them hold you back from looking into other options. Go ahead and apply, but be sure to have other schools you feel good about.
@sophtob
I’ve honestly reconsidered Princeton, as I found out that Boston College does in fact do alumni (I have two cousins, which are technically alumni, but they said they would both write recommendations for me, providing a slight boost).
Also, are you considering Princeton? I’ve heard that there is around a 10% increase in chance of getting into Princeton if you are alumni.