I’m a senior in high school, I’m a private school student although I do most of my classes at home due to my school’s independent study program. I’ve taken a total of 8 community college classes throughout high school at two different community colleges in my area, I’ve gotten A’s in all of those classes except precalc where I got a B+ (the only B i’ve gotten in high school-all high school A’s). My GPA is 4.4. I’ve taken the SAT twice and I’m taking it a third time, my overall score right now is a 2030 and I feel confident that I can push it into the 2100’s at least, hopefully the 2200’s or 2300’s if I can have a good test day. I’ve taken the SAT subject tests for Lit and World History, I scored a 760 on Lit and a 780 on World History, I’m taking the U.S. History subject test this fall and I’ve gotten an 800 on my last practice test so I think I should be able to get an 800 for that test. I have competed in speech and debate for the third largest forensics association for high schoolers in the country, and was the 2014 National Parliamentary debate champion for that league, I’ve also been a 7-time first or second place holder at other national tournaments through high school. I was also the 2013 Stanford Forensics Institute debate parliamentary champion for Stanford’s debate camp. I have been for three years (and this will be my fourth year) captain of the debate team in my area. I also have been in a local music group for four years, and I’ve gone to music camps and such. I’ve done community service for three years and have enough hours to where I can now receive the Congressional gold award for community service. I also won a local writing competition in sophmore year.
I have fantastic recommendations from two college professors at my local community college whose classes I both received A’s in.
I have three questions
Should I take the Math 2 subject test to boost my chances of getting into Princeton? I’m applying as a history major but if taking a Math subject test would considerably help my chances i’d be willing to do it. I would rather not though if it would have a minimal impact on my resume.
What specifically does the Princeton admissions office want to see on the essays? Please don’t give the generic “be yourself.” Princeton, like other top notch universities, looks for a specific kind of student. What can I say on my essays to be sure and attract their attention?
What are my realistic chances of getting into Princeton (assuming I score at least in the 2100’s or above on the SAT this fall)?
My home state is California-I’m in the top percentile of students for my school in terms of grades. Ethnicity is white although I have a little Native American as well. As far as hooks-well I was mostly homeschooled which is a rather unique feature, that allowed me to take college classes along with my high school courses, additionally I have been on four community service project trips throughout high school, including one to Puerto Rico and one to Mexico, both of those experiences really helped shape me into the person I am. I’m also a published author because my writing piece for a writing competition was published in a local magazine, and another one of my research papers was published in an online magazine. As I said earlier, debate has been a big feature of my high school life, I had the privilege to actually be on staff for a highly touted national debate camp my senior year where I gave lectures to younger students.
Evidence that you can write well. Topic can be anything really.
2120 would place you at the 25th percentile. You really need to have higher scores to be competitive. Since you are not URM, shoot for at least the 50th percentile.
Why are you all so concerned about my race? I’m not the one who brought that up anyways-I’m aware race is a factor in admissions for some schools but that’s really quite irrelevant to me in terms of my overall application-I don’t plan on getting in or being rejected based upon a factor I cannot control.
You’ve gotten some good beginning advice…on the subject tests, its’ recommended that you take 2 but it’s not mandatory. In general, take the subject tests where you would receive the strongest score.
On the essay topic, here’s what Princeton recommends:
Instead of worrying about meeting a specific set of criteria, try to create an application that will help us see your achievements — inside the classroom and out — in their true context, so we can understand your potential to take advantage of the resources at Princeton and the kind of contribution you would make to the Princeton community. Show us what kind of student you are. Show us that you have taken advantage of what your high school has to offer, how you have achieved and contributed in your own particular context.
We look for students who make a difference in their schools and communities, so tell us about your leadership activities, interests, special skills and other extracurricular involvements. Tell us if you’ve had a job or a responsibility in your home. Most Princeton students were academic standouts in high school. Most of them also invested their energy and talents in significant ways outside the classroom. We want to know what you care about, what commitments you have made and what you’ve done to act on those commitments.
The OP responded to a question about his heritage and in doing so mentioned a fact, probably in the interest of honesty and completeness. He never said nor implied that he thought it was a factor in his admission strategy, or that he was going to claim to be of Native heritage. So let’s move on from that now and answer the questions he actually asked.
I tend to agree that without a 2200+ SAT, the odds are slim for Princeton no matter what else you do or have done. You might try taking the ACT; many in your situation do much better on that test. There is an October 24 test date that you have to register for by September 18. There is also a test this Saturday, but I think it is too late to get into that even paying a late fee. But you could check.
As far as the essay, which is a moot point if you cannot get the test scores up, I am afraid the generic answer is the best answer. What is key is that whoever “yourself” is, that person is interesting, distinctive somehow, and comes across as the kind of student that will give as much to Princeton and their fellow students as he gets from both of those entities. There are dozens of ways to grab the attention of an admissions person and have them think “OK, this person is smart, can write, and brings something a little more than the average applicant to the personality of the incoming class”.
Not to distract from your goal here, but what are the other schools on your list, @KantFail?
I do believe I’m the kind of student Princeton is looking for. People who know me tell me I’m driven, smart, ambitious, and a capable leader. That being said, i’m doing my essay on the prompt concerning Woodrow Wilson’s “Princeton In The Nation’s Service” speech. Any ideas on what direction I should take this? Is this more an essay to use the prompt to lay out my vision for society or more demonstrating my character traits? Thanks.
I would say character traits. I don’t think most universities/colleges really expect high school seniors to have a fully formed vision for society, or to be honest much more than a nascent one. That’s a big reason why, in the “old days”, a college education had a heavy dose of philosophic studies, not just on the nature of human existence but also the philosophy of government, leadership, etc. For most adults having a “vision of society” can come across as arrogant at least, and maybe loony or dangerous in some cases. Personally I would think for most students it would sound ridiculous, or at the least naive, to say you have a vision for society.
I have not read the speech (I will take some time to do so), but I suspect from the title it is more along the lines of “how do we as Princeton play a role in moving society in a commonly agreed (mostly) direction and to the extent we can lead, where should we choose to do that?” The university experience, especially at a top school like Princeton, should be the first really serious step most people are taking in their lives to figure out that role, especially if they possess leadership qualities.
On another note, all those schools you mention have the risk of denying you admission for one reason or another, not because you are not qualified for any of them (although Princeton and Stanford are especially difficult with your current SAT score) but because their admission rates are just low, and there are more applicants qualified for these schools each year than they have space, by a fair margin. Put another way, it looks to me you have listed only highly competitive admission schools. You need a few schools that are a bit more likely I think. You haven’t mentioned if finances are an issue, although since you haven’t coupled with the fact that you are in private school now I am going to guess that finances are not a problem. That might help you at some of these schools (not Princeton or Stanford though).
@fallenchemist sorry if I sounded arrogant when I said “my vision for society.” I simply meant more of outlining what I think is important, kind of showing how I care about communities. I didn’t mean as in I know what has to be done in society at large-thanks for the input though.
Finances fortunately aren’t an issue due to my background.
I didn’t mean for you to take that personally. I was quite confident you weren’t trying to say you had all the answers. I was trying to make the point that you have to be careful of the tone involved in all these essays. I am very sure you will do well, you sound like a thoughtful student and person.