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How I got into Princeton (Interview 4)

Updated: Dec 30, 2019

Stats

  • SAT: 1540 (790 Math, 750 Reading)

  • ACT: 35 (34 English, 35 Math, 34 Reading, 36 Science)

  • GPA: 3.81

  • Rank in Class: 9

  • Size of Class: 192

  • AP's Taken: Chemistry, Physics Mechanics, Physics Electricity and Magnetism, AB Calculus, BC Calculus, Environmental Science, Biology, American History, Statistics, Computer Science, English Language, English Literature, European History, Macroeconomics, Microeconomics.


Extracurriculars

  • I played varsity soccer for my school for all four years and became captain after my sophomore year

  • I was the captain of my schools math league, engineering, and computer science clubs

  • I participated in my schools orchestra and became the leader of my school's orchestra group in my junior year.


Short Personal Story

"Wow. I'm not even sure where to start...


I was rejected by TCNJ which was something I was pretty surprised by because I thought of that as a safety school and that caused me to go into pretty much crisis mode for about 6 months as I wasn't sure that I would get into any school.


I almost didn't even apply to Princeton because I thought that after a couple early rejections it was waaaay too much of a reach and that I shouldn't even waste my time with it. But, then my dad convinced me that I might as well give it a go so I did.


When Ivy day rolled around I wanted to crawl in a hole an die because watching the clock tick from 9AM till 5PM was so painful. I felt every single second that day watching that clock crawl its way till five o'clock when I knew that it either be worth it, or soul crushingly not.


5pm rolls around and I start refreshing my computer like crazy trying to get into the portal to check to see if I got it. The portal, as expected, crashed, and then I took a breath and waited a couple minutes before coming back and trying again.


I stood there in utter disbelief reading those words that I was accepted to Princeton and I felt like I could just pass out and go to sleep. I was floored. I remember sitting on my kitchen floor shell shocked for pretty much half an hour wondering how I made it here but got rejected by a lot of my other schools.


Needless to say, it was pretty great! My parents came home later and they were so proud of me and we talked and pretty much had a pretty good day together afterward. But, overall, while I would have liked to avoid the anxiety of waiting, I don't think I would have changed anything about the situation."

Useful Advice

""I think the thing which really changed for me was realizing that smart kids need help too.


I didn't really have that much difficulty in school, but my parent's, I thank them for this, got me a tutor anyway to help me out with my classes and really reinforce the concepts learned in school.


If I were to give out any advice, I'd recommend a personal tutor to every single high school student who could serve as both a teacher and a mentor for the students so that they can help the student truly learn things at a much deeper level than they can in school.


For me, I realized that while I did great in class, I'd get A's and A-'s and could breeze through tests pretty easily, that didn't reflect in Ap Practice Tests and the SAT because I didn't really 'get' the material.


If I needed to I could figure it out while taking the test, but I didn't really understand the material at a deeper level because I had been studying my whole life to take tests, not to understand things.


After my Sophomore year my parents got me private tutoring to help me start to work through material at school and truly start to grasp it on a much deeper level and that's when things changed.


So, if they can, I'd recommend that students or parents of students find a tutor or mentor who is currently where the student wants to be and have that person coach the student into getting there."

Princeton Undergraduate, Class of 2023

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