Made the cut for Princeton 2017

ub3rmike
Sun, 31 Mar 2013 15:06:11 +0000

The only reason I applied for Ivy League schools was to spite all of the people at my TAPS/TRS class who thought that I didn’t have a chance because I was a Marine. We are the demographic which really benefits from a holistic review process.

Just a breakdown of my stats, I was obviously not the most academically inclined individual several years ago. If the military isn’t a career thing for you (definitely isn’t for me), take off with the 4-5-6 years you have in and set yourself up for success down the road.

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown M/CR/W/Essay): 1970 (600/700/670)
SAT I superscore (breakdown M/CR/W/Essay): Same as regular score.
ACT (breakdown): Didn’t take this.
ACT superscore (breakdown): N/A
SAT II (subject, score): US History 730, Literature 670 Math II 590
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.6
Weighted GPA: 3.98
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 95 of 515
AP (place score in parentheses): US Government (5), European History (5), English Literature (4), English Language (4), US History (4), Calculus AB (4), French Language (3)
IB (place score in parentheses): NA
Senior Year Course Load: English Lit AP, Journalism, French Language AP, Calculus AB/AP, Physics, American Govt/Economics
Number of other EA applicants in your school: 0, everyone already finished/is finishing their undergrad studies this year.
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.): Marine Corps Association Leadership Award, USAA Outstanding Achievement Award, Naval Institute and Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association Enlisted Superior Performer Award, Meritorious Sergeant (Marine Corps Installations West), Meritorious Corporal (31st Marine Expeditionary Unit), Noncommissioned Officer of the Quarter (6), Marine of the Quarter (2), Navy and Marine Corps Achievment Medal, Humanitarian Service Medal
Common Awards (AP Scholar, honor roll, NM things, etc.):
AP Scholar with Distinction, Meritorious Mast for Academic Achievement at Comm School, 6 Certificates of Commendation and 2 Meritorious Masts

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (name, grade levels, leadership, description): Black Belt Instructor for the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program, Combat Conditioning instructor for my unit
Job/Work Experience: Sergeant, active duty in the United States Marine Corps for 5 yrs. Deployed and spent a tour at an experimental test squadron while involved in the systems acquisition process and doing R&D for new aviation/communication technology.
Volunteer/Community Service: Several hours to military schools, family deployment readiness centers and Ameriasian schools when I was in Okinawa.
Summer Activites: Corporals Leadership Course, Martial Arts Instructor Course, Basic Instructor Course (instructional design/systems approach to teaching), helped field and provide instruction on the use of new technology to other units.
Essays (1-10 rating, details):
Common App Essay: (Martial Arts Instructor Course) 8-9? Obvious bias.
Supplement Essay: (How I refused to let the military lobotomize me, I was very depressed when I wrote this one) 5
Additional Essay/Engineering Essay:
(My contributions to digitizing traditionally analog processes in the Marine Corps) 9
Recommendations (teacher’s subject, 1-10 rating, details):
Teacher Recommendation #1: Didn’t get a chance to read these, obviously flattering.
Teacher Recommendation #2: " " " " " " " " "
Counselor Rec: N/A, I’ve been out of high school for 5 years.
Additional Info/Rec:
Received a letter of recommendation from my commanding officer which said I was essentially a water-walker.
Interview: Went well, interviewer’s dad was a Marine too.
Art Supplement:
N/A

Other
Date Submitted App: December
U.S. State/Territory or Country: California
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Chinese
Gender: Male
Income Bracket Range: I make less than 30K for myself.
Hooks (URM, first generation, recruited athelete, development):
Sibling was PhD Alumni/his rendition of Cleveland Tower is on the Princeton Wikipedia page, military service

Reflection
Strengths: Strong essays, very strong recommendations, unique experiences in the Marine Corps, redeemed myself during my active duty time.
Weaknesses: Mediocre academic past.
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Princeton has the lowest veteran population of all Ivy Leagues (1 undergrad, 3 grads). I’ll probably be the only veteran in the undergraduate student body now that the only current one is graduating this year. Tried to convey in my essays that I aged probably 10 years from my 5 years in the Marines.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
In: UCLA, UCI, UCSB, UCSC. Waitlisted: UCSD, UCD. Out: Stanford, USC, UCB.

General Comments & Advice: My brother and dad, who got their PhDs from Princeton and Berkeley respectively say that 4.0 GPAs and 2400 SAT scores are a dime a dozen. Unique experiences, convincing personal statements, and good interviews are the money makers. I racked up a couple of Cs in high school but was very passionate about my writing. Apparently Princeton will take pity on those who undergo mental atrophy for 5 years while serving their country. I only wish more veterans would be more daring and realize they don’t have to settle for junior college. Tragic waste of their education benefits.