@GettingRekt Academic rigor is taking as many AP classes as your schools offers unless they offer 8 or more, then just do your best for your grades and mental health while fitting as many in as possible. Make sure you don’t have off blocks unless you HAVE to have them. If you have to work to support your family, let Princeton know because they won’t penalize your rigor for that. My school offers 17 AP classes, and when I graduate I will have taken 11. That is rigor considering I can only take about 6 a year and I am taking yearbook staff and debate which are classes taking up room in my schedule. The neighboring district’s high school offers 7 AP classes. If someone takes 6 of those and does dual enrollment or band/choir/press/debate then that is relatively rigorous. It is all relative.
The cutoff system for SATs w/o essays is not that big of a deal, they learn more from your writing with your essays that you send and they can get a good feel of your critical thinking skills from that.
As for hooks, it depends on the college. Princeton cares about its sports, legacies, donors, and URM’s. They will get some priorities. Like brownie points kind of. If two people with the exact same qualifications come up and one has more hooks, then they are more likely to get a little boost. Not a definite thing, just a slight boost.
Do you think that if Princeton didn’t ask for your first quarter grades then it means that it was an easy decision for them? They didn’t ask for mine as far as I know and I’m on the less likely side so I’m anxious about it lol
@Jdumes007 No, just don’t think anything of what they’re e-mailing other people. There’s literally no answer that will be accurate — because people simply don’t know. One thing people do know however is that if you have a semester grading system, there would be little reason for them to ask for your unofficial quarter grades unless you skipped a year of high school or something.
i told my parents when the decision date was and they were like “it’s okay, we’ll buy you ice-cream” so over break imma just cry and eat ice cream … although an early christmas present from Princeton would be nice
I’ll be on a plane to China soon after decisions are released. I was born there but haven’t been back since I left (I’m adopted) and have always wanted to see where I’m from… it’s kinda like me and my parent’s last trip before I leave for college so
I understand the overall philosophy around the importance of test scores and grades, however I think it’s important to set a realistic understanding of both the type of applicants Princeton receives as well as its academic rigor.
First of all, it is not necessary to have 800’s across all SAT/SATII’s or 4.0’s to be admitted. Having said that, consider that Princeton has upwards of 27,000 applicants per year for roughly 1,300 spots and they can afford to be choosy. Therefore it’s reasonable for otherwise unhooked applicants to expect that unless your scores/grades are at the higher end of the spectrum, it is unlikely for your application to get really in depth consideration. Should you have scores/grades in the upper range, then things like EC’s, awards, LoR’s and essays become significant in the process.
Although Princeton could choose its admits based entirely on academic merit, there are also other factors that come into play. Excellence in a variety of areas beyond the classroom is highly sought. This may include things such as music, theatre, writing, research, athletics, debate and so on. Bringing these factors into consideration creates a much more diverse and interesting class than admission based on stats alone.
As a result the academic experience is quite challenging and intended to push the very accomplished even further. Within the application process, admissions carefully considers whether the applicant in question will not only be successful, but also be able to contribute meaningfully to the environment of the university. And yet Janet Rapelye states every year that they could fill their class 5 or 6 times over and be happy with the result. There are always far more phenomenal applicants than there are spots.
So what does all of this mean to those of you awaiting decisions this week? Primarily I think it means gauging your expectations around admission decisions accordingly. Many of you have poured your heart and soul into this process and are worthy of an offer of admission but may or may not receive it. Whether or not you get that orange tiger this week, I want to say that all the work you invested thus far and having the courage to apply are the primary attributes that will carry you far in life. You will do well wherever you land.
@mackyg same lol. I was actually a QB Finalist but didn’t do the match because I don’t have quite a 0 EFC since my mom JUST got married after being a single parent for 12 years (good and bad!) and because Gabriel Crouch suggested that I submit an arts supplement for classical soprano voice. So even if I don’t get in, I’m still grateful to even have done well enough to be competitive for an Ivy after what my family and I have been through.
Legacies actually don’t matter that much - most people have the correlation thing mixed up. Legacies don’t get in because they’re legacies, it’s just that legacies are the type of people that are statistically more likely to have a better education, be more accomplished, have a better environment for learning, etc
Okay fam but just think- most of us are high achieving individuals who have already done amazing things with out lives. I know we are all stressed and nervous, but just think of all that we have accomplished! If we do get into Princeton, that’s really cool! But if we don’t, that’s certainly not a reflection on what type of person we are! It’s not like a rejection or even a deferral will whisk away all the awards, friends, and good grades/memories that we have all made in the past! It’s a top level school that only has so many seats- and if pton doesn’t want you there, then you just get to go off and do amazing things somewhere else! Going to a new college doesn’t make you a different person- you’ll still be the same you no matter where you go, and you will still have all of your past accomplishments. If someone tries to sass you about not getting in (c’mon, we all have those sassy, braggy, stuck up high achieving classmates and you know it!), skrew them! It’s a top level college! It’s a toss up for many of us to get in! So just keep in mind that whatever goes down on Thursday, you all rock- and don’t forget it!
