@psywar in the RD round, does Princeton not consider that you applied Restrictive Early Action? Obviously, they don’t care too much about yield, but Princeton was still our first choice.
@fluteloops4 The way that helped me the most was thinking about a defining characteristic of yourself (preferably a good characteristic haha) and then think about anything, literally anything, that sparked that way of thinking, moral, belief or whatever inside of you. To me, the goal is to communicate personality, fit, good characteristics, potential campus role, writing talent, and whatever else you feel is important to you. Worry about the quote later in my opinion. That was the least of my worries, because when I tried to find a good quote first the only thing I got out of it was staring at a blank screen with a blinking cursor.
@h99999 they will know, and I bet it counts a little, but will it make a difference? Best to focus on other options. If it happens, great, anemic know wherever you end up, it was meant to be. 
What do you guys think about including specific income information in the personal essays (In the case that the student’s income is harshly low). I have a situation where I believe this information is important to the context of the story I want to tell. Is it “appropriate” to include it? Bad idea? Thoughts?
Can any one tell…if we have sent resume hardcopy to princeton…will it be prudent to upload the soft copy also
@ManaManaWegi This kind of question is best answered by a trusted teacher or counsellor who can assess the information and context better than an online opinion.
@usug21 You don’t need to do that. Every doc that gets mailed in gets scanned and appended to your file for readers to access.
Guys there probably isn’t much else you can do to enhance your application. Your best bet is to ask your GC to see if s/he can find out if there is anything you might be able to do. Otherwise move on and hope.
Like I told my D you can’t focus on the decision of 1 extremely selective school and it’s the reason you have a college application strategy that involves multiple schools at different levels of selectivity. You may be exactly what another school is looking for but not Princeton this year.
I just wanted to say that I got in with a 32 ACT, and 740 math level 2. I was told by many people not to apply because this score was at the 25th percentile. If you have a low test score, do not let others bring you down. If the rest of your application is perfectly fine, apply! Princeton and other top schools look at the application as a whole, not only your test score. I got in and was awarded a great deal of financial aid.
Good luck to everyone applying RD!
@oplurobha I strongly agree with your advice. Last week, I was accepted to Princeton with a full ride despite having acquired a 26 on the ACT and a 1290 on the SAT. This gives me a lot of hope that the admissions officers truly care more about the applicant’s personality than just test scores and grades. I feel what really got me accepted were my essays and how powerfully I portrayed my life story. Congratulations to anyone else who was accepted REA and good luck to those applying RD. GO CLASS OF 2021!!!
@eventhorizon8756 congratulations!! I don’t have amazing test scores but I feel that I have a strong essay, and my grades are good. May I ask what your gpa is and what your essay was generally about? you don’t have to share if you don’t want to.
@eventhorizon8756 Congrats on your acceptance. May I point something out? Your “full ride” is based on your family’s financial situation-- and nothing to do with your stats/application. You will receive a Pell grant each of your four years (a gift of the US Govt and its taxpayers). Princeton is RICH and that’s why you have a full ride. You and the other guy with the 35ACT who rec’d a “full ride” were viewed the same – without regard to your stats.
Princeton does not give merit awards. By all means, be grateful – who wouldn’t be? But don’t imply that their “full ride” for you is related to your achievement. They met full financial need for EVERY accepted student.
I and my family rec’d almost 2/3 off of our Ivy bill many years ago (which included a Pell grant component) – and for that I’m eternally grateful. But I also know that’s nothing to brag about in terms of who I was – it was a function of the generosity of the university and the US Govt.
@decemberbaby12 I had a 4.32 GPA. In my essay I wrote about my mother’s mental illness and how my passion in science helped me overcome this obstacle.
Frankly, nearly everyone at this level of academia is nearly equal in some form of merit. For those accepted and on financial aid, it is need based as T26E4 said. Of course it sounds great to boast to those who don’t know about PU’s financial aid, but making a big deal about a “full ride” from PU aid to someone who knows about it makes it seem a tad petty because everyone gets full need covered. I think it is okay to imply that your full ride is due to achievement when talking to those who aren’t familiar with Ivies because it is often confusing (if not shocking) to bring up need based aid being so great (and because your merit based acceptance does guarantee this coverage it is indirectly because of your merit). This is the case in my public school where I am the first person in my school’s hundred year history to go to Princeton and none of the faculty really understand that need based aid exists and its capabilities. But when talking to those with more knowledge, just explain that you’re going to Princeton because you’re acceptance is indicative of your merit and your financial aid is mildly irrelevant. Does that make sense?
Yes. Test scores really don’t matter anymore. Apply anyways, write good essays, and you’ll probably get in. Helps if you are a URM or first-generation. Pton has a holistic admissions so they take everything into account.
At this point, it should be obvious that test scores are just an aid to the holistic admissions, not some barrier or important factor. Maybe in India or China, but not in the US of A.
I may be misunderstanding, but I believe that those replying to their comment may be reading a little too much into what @eventhorizon8756 said. I can sort of see why it could be read that way, based on the structure of the sentence, but I don’t believe they were bragging about their full ride in terms of merit. I think that what they were saying was that you shouldn’t let something like low test scores or low income alone keep you from applying, because your test scores and lack of money/resources don’t define you-- saying they got a full ride was more an indication of the fact that they weren’t super privileged necessarily and less boasting superior academic achievement. Feel free to correct me if I’m wrong, but if this is what you meant, I understood. If not, congrats anyway, meet you there
@Pumpkin99 I understand!
I think the fact that you got into Princeton should be enough if all you want to do is boast
I have a question. If all of my application materials (except for my transcript) are in by January 1st, but my transcript isn’t sent to Princeton until January 5th or so, is my application still considered? Does Princeton have a grace period to get application materials turned in?
@darnedcarrot you’re cooooolllll