SCEA Princeton or EA MIT?

College Search & Lists
1

I’m having a hard time choosing which school to apply early to: Princeton or MIT. Both are my dream schools and I really can’t seem to make a decision. Please tell me which school you think matches my application more!

PROFILE
Gender: Female
Ethnicity: Asian
Household Income: $200k+
Financial Aid: None
Intended Major: Computer Science

STATS
IB Diploma: Anticipated
GPA: 4.0 Unweighted, 4.97 Weighted
Class Rank: 1/365
ACT: 34C (35E, 35M, 32R, 35S, 11 Essay)
SAT II: Taking Math II and Chemistry next month

GRADES
Straight A’s in all honors, AP, and IB classes

SENIOR YEAR COURSE LOAD
IBHL English IV
IBHL History of the Americas
IBHL Physics
IBSL Mathematics
IBSL Spanish B
IB Theory of Knowledge
AP Calculus BC

EXAMS
AP: US History (5), English Lit & Comp (5), European History (4)
IB: Chemistry SL (6)

HONORS
US National Chemistry Olympiad National Finalist
Regional Science Fair (1st Place)
AP Scholar with Honor
National Honor Society

EXTRACURRICULARS
School
Academic Team (4 years / Varsity / President)
— HiQ Competitions, National Academic Quiz Tournaments, Commissioner’s Academic Challenge
— 1st Place Regional & County (HiQ), NAQT Semifinalists
School Newspaper (Founder / Editor-in-Chief)
Spoken Word Poetry Club (4 years / Vice President)
Student Government (4 years / Secretary)
— Plan proms, homecomings, Adopt-a-Family, March of Dimes
Robotics Team (4 years / Robot Programmer)
— FIRST Competition, TOPSoccer (interact with young athletes with special needs using robots
Jazz Band (4 years / Piano Accompanist)
— Superior and Excellent ratings in country competitions
Out-of-School
Theatre Productions (2 years / Lead Actress)
— Performed in about 8 plays

VOLUNTEERING
Down Syndrome Association (4 years)
— Participate in the Buddy Walk and attend conference where volunteers spend time with Down Syndrome advocates and learn about the campaign “Spread the Word to End the Word”
Church Piano Accompanist (4 years)
— Play piano on weekly Sunday services
Arnette House (4 years)
— Celebrate Christmas with troubled youth
Children’s Theatre (2 years / Assistant Director and Choreographer)
Youth United Way (2 years / Vice President)
— Plan 5Ks and fundraisers to assist local non-profit organizations

INTERNSHIPS/PROGRAMS
IT Internship (11th Grade Summer in Korea)
— Designed database software for Korean Police Department and Food & Drug Administration
University of Florida Student Science Training Program (10th Grade Summer)
— Soil & Water Science Research (soil property modeling computer research & analysis)

SUPPLEMENT
Princeton
Visual Arts: Drawing (probably strongest supplement)
Creative Writing: Poetry (slam poems)
Piano: Sonata in C Major, Mozart (not 100% sure on this)
MIT
Visual Arts: Drawing
Research: Soil Property Modeling computer research (UF Professor recommendation letter also)

2

Asking which one ‘matches your application’ is the wrong question because there is no answer to that - there is no reason, for example, why MIT wouldn’t be interested in poetry or the piano, or why Princeton wouldn’t want to know about your research on soil property modeling. (If the idea is trying to appear more well-rounded for Princeton and more angular for MIT, that’s a stereotype without validity. Many MIT students are amazingly multi-talented. And many Princeton students can be very angular.)

The better question is which one is a better fit with your goal and interests and for you personally. Do you want to be at a tech school studying with other STEM students or do you want to be at a school with students in every discipline? Do you want to be in a big city or in the suburbs? These two schools are different enough that you should be able to differentiate between them - and make a compelling case to that school as to why they are the best choice for someone with your particular interests.