Princeton Class of 2021 SCEA Deferred Thread :(

derpro
Fri, 16 Dec 2016 08:03:33 +0000

@nikuedu
I got deferred y’day.

My stats:-

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown): 2120 (640 CR 800M 680W); 2200 (640CR 800M 760W); 1550 (750R 800M) [New SAT]
ACT (breakdown): 35C (36E 35M 34R 36S) [one sitting]
SAT II: 800 Chemistry; 800 Physics; 800 Mathematics Level II
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): N/A [Indian educational system - CBSE - hence percentage: 96.8%: ultra-high for CBSE student]
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/200
AP (place score in parenthesis): None taken. AP courses not offered. Plan to take 4 AP exams next year.
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: English, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Computer Science (CBSE system - Indian educational system)
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Winner of national science competition (30 students out of 50,000); Environmental Agency Energy Challenge (national environmental competition - wastage tracking and analysis using Geographic Information System) winner; Silver Lead School Award by Environmental Agency Abu Dhabi (with cash prize of approx. $8000)-won this prize for my school; community/govt. awards/certificates for academics

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):

1. Events Coordinator for Prakriti Environmental Club
Mentioned in Additional Information section of Common App: I head components of Green Audit – my job involves allocation of resources for the audit, optimization of audit procedures and most importantly, keeping track of trends in resource consumption and designing a plan of action based on the issues discovered through audit data analysis. During the years I have been involved, there has been a significant drop of 5 grams of waste items per capita.I was a designer and analyst for the team that developed the solar films project. Using monetary incentive received by Environmental Agency for pioneering environmental work, the solar films project was implemented indigenously and has reduced electricity consumption by 15% in the school. I have attended one international and many environmental summits. I worked on a project as Lead Student Project Coordinator for the Zayed Future Energy Prize international environmental contest as well.

2. Robotics: Club member, finalist at World Robot Olympiad UAE

3. Debate/Speech: President, Moderator for Verbatim Debating Club; In-charge of meetings; recruiting, mentoring members; conducting club competitions; taking care of administrative matters; served as vice president

4. Karate: Black Belt (Shodan) holder, Oriental Karate Club; Learning Shorin-ryu Seibukan karate for eight years, assisting sensei in teaching children; won medals in inter-club kata contest

5. Prefect (2016), Spring House Vice Captain (2015): Responsible for maintaining discipline, developing house spirit, selecting students for competitions

6. Distinguished Speaker, Inner Universe TM Club: Participation in Toastmasters meetings taking up roles of Speaker, Evaluator, Chairperson. 15+ trophies in UAE Division H Conference (DTAC)

7. Batsman & Wicketkeeper, Zayed Cricket Academy

Job/Work Experience: Internships/jobs not legally allowed for under 18 persons.

Volunteer/Community service: Volunteer for an NGO and in an anti-smoking campaign.

Summer Activities: Visited a nuclear reactor in India and some labs, was a speaker for a youth leadership program for juniors

Essays (rating 1-10, details):
Common App essay: 8/10 - talked about how taking a different perspective in a trivial situation changed me and talked about my intellectual development in high school; it was somewhat unique
Princeton Supplement: 8/10 - talked about my first experience in an interview and how it went badly and what I learnt from it: to delve into fearful experiences to develop as a person. I’d say the matter was a bit generic but revealed an important aspect of me, in a very strong manner.
Princeton BSE: 9/10 - wrote about my experience visiting a nuclear reactor and associated labs, talked about what I wanted to achieve with a Princeton education and how I fit into it

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
Teacher Rec #1: By CS teacher for 2 years - I’m sure it’s very good.
Teacher Rec #2: By English teacher who has known me for 4 years and taught me for 2 years - she considers me her best student so I am sure the rec is excellent.
Counselor Rec: Knows me kinda well and feels I am a competitive applicant, so I think she wrote a good recommendation.
Additional Rec: By environmental club coordinator - she said she wrote a really good one for me.
Interview: Went pretty well. Discussion was smooth; interviewer really liked my questions regarding Princeton; he appreciated my fine qualities and talents. So I guess it was pretty good.

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes, but not expecting any
Intended Major: Computer Science B.S.E.
State (if domestic applicant): N/A
Country (if international applicant): United Arab Emirates (I am an Indian though)
School Type: Private charter high school
Ethnicity: N/A
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: $150,000-$160,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Not sure if it’s a hook but those accepted from my place are usually from IB/IGCSE schools which are more expensive and offer more opportunities for their students. So I am a ‘different’ applicant in the eyes of Princeton, maybe? (very few apply to Ivies from Indian community schools in the UAE)

Thoughts:
I expected a deferral, but I am must say I am pretty bummed. My scores and recommendation letters were top notch for sure. And my ECs are well-rounded (and the environmental work was a tad bit unique) and quite justified for a person studying in the Indian system which is completely academics-based. I am quite disappointed, as I performed exceptionally well under my circumstances and put together a good application.

Anyway, I am thinking of sending in an LOCI, and I have already sent my Mid Year Report.

A question: Is there any way that I could mention that I used all opportunities available to me under my circumstances without sounding negative?

The reason I want to say this is because the few students accepted to Princeton from UAE are from A Level/IB schools where the students are offered special opportunities for internships and other activities in school itself. (I sent an e-mail to Princeton regarding this way back in August and they said they do consider differences in educational environment but I am not sure how far this is true.)