SAT Subject tests low - scrap SCEA & just apply RD?

Cantiger
Tue, 28 Oct 2014 20:07:03 +0000

"@Falcon her SAT is M:800 CR:700 W:620 (which is ok for Princeton since they don’t consider Writing)"

I am curious as to where you got this information. My son is a sophomore at Princeton and to my knowledge writing was definitely considered. If an applicant wants to submit the ACT it should be with writing where it is offered as well. I tend to agree with Falcon1 on the recommendation not to apply SCEA at Princeton…instead, take the tests again and see if she can bring up her test scores significantly. If she applies early now and is rejected she cannot re-apply again for the regular round so it would be to her benefit to put forward her strongest application later if she can improve her scores.

It seems there is an overarching belief out there that applying SCEA drastically increases the odds of acceptance. Most people forget that at Princeton (and likely many other very selective schools), nearly one in five undergraduates is a varsity athlete and most are recruited if they are skilled enough to play at the D1 level. It’s probably safe to say that the number hovers somewhere around 200 per class. Essentially all of these apply through the early round and if they have a coaches’ recommendation, a good application and fall within the academic index, they are most likely to be accepted in that round.

It’s also likely that legacies apply during the early round - they made up 11.3% of the class of 2018 or about 150 students. I don’t know if Princeton has any other forms of “recruiting” (music/arts etc) but even with the examples I’ve given the number of people accepted in the early round who are entirely unhooked in these ways is likely not much different as a percentage than in the regular pool.

All that is to say don’t make too much of the posted acceptance rate for SCEA.