<p>@ 93Tiger16, Hasty wording makes for awkward observations</p>
<p>@xochellexo </p>
<ol>
<li><p>Princeton has a very rigorous program as well. All top schools, of course, are rigorous, but Princeton has a few added challenges. The grade deflation policy there, which has been in place for several years, means that to get an A, a student really has to do excellent work. (don’t let this worry you, btw, the effect of deflation on STEM majors was apparently insignificant, since STEM is already hard)</p></li>
<li><p>At top colleges, most undergrads do research (many pride themselves on this fact and display the statistic in pamphlets an info sessions). If you want to do research in college, you will certainly get the opportunity. I applied for PPPL as well this year, and was rejected, along with everyone else at my school. Very few opportunities for internships are available to high school students, even fewer in areas as exciting as the PPPL, so the competition is incredibly tough. Also, my test scores are some of my strengths, and the PPPL app, I think, didn’t ask for them. You might fare better in that your EC’s and schedule are excellent, and your test scores don’t matter since the app doesn’t consider them.</p></li>
<li><p>While Princeton’s grad schools may be below some other schools in rankings, that is mainly because it focuses on an undergrad experience. The grad school presence there is small, especially compared to schools like Harvard where the college is, arguably, overshadowed by the HLS and HBS.</p></li>
<li><p>I’m applying to both Pton and MIT too, this year. Visit both campuses if you haven’t already. Learn about their culture. You can’t go wrong, but if you get the golden opportunity of being able to choose between the two, you want to be well researched for your decision.</p></li>
</ol>