Princeton class of 2027

[Anonymous]

cite diversity when you can fit enough diverse freshman into an entire dorm

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:I’ve heard anecdotes from professors there that there has been a decline in the quality I’d the student body and the tutoring halls are constantly filled.

I think the push to enroll non-privileged students has had consequences. The sad truth is that a privileged background (attentive parents with resources and excellent K-12 schools) tends to create strong students. So if you count “privilege” against an applicant and aggressively favor a lack thereof, you are not tilting your student body in the direction of academic preparedness.

There is no doubt this is true. My college roommate is now a professor at Princeton (and has been an Ivy professor for 12 years, across 3 schools). She says that many of the current kids are absolutely not as prepared as kids even 5 years ago. It's "shocking." However, they can (and do) catch most of these kids up. Isn't it a good thing that smart kids from diverse backgrounds are being given this opportunity?

I've heard this from profs at schools that are not nearly as selective too. I think the Covid dip is real and affected a large student population.

Hand and hand with test optional and holistic admissions.

Then you should have seen this phenomenon at CalTech and other test optional schools years ago. Obviously it didn’t happen.

Caltech is always a ridiculous argument for justifying quality in test-optional admissions. They hand pick a class of 200 kids and don't need an SAT score to find them. These kids have resumes way beyond an SAT score.

And yet Caltech also has the highest percentage of black and Hispanic students among elite schools. So clearly test scores aren’t the key to identifying such students.

Caltech has 5% black or 10 black kids in an entire entering class.

Guess they aren't on the basketball team?

their winning percentage is less than the diversity numbers cited thus far

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ve heard anecdotes from professors there that there has been a decline in the quality I’d the student body and the tutoring halls are constantly filled.

I think the push to enroll non-privileged students has had consequences. The sad truth is that a privileged background (attentive parents with resources and excellent K-12 schools) tends to create strong students. So if you count “privilege” against an applicant and aggressively favor a lack thereof, you are not tilting your student body in the direction of academic preparedness.

There is no doubt this is true. My college roommate is now a professor at Princeton (and has been an Ivy professor for 12 years, across 3 schools). She says that many of the current kids are absolutely not as prepared as kids even 5 years ago. It's "shocking." However, they can (and do) catch most of these kids up. Isn't it a good thing that smart kids from diverse backgrounds are being given this opportunity?

I've heard this from profs at schools that are not nearly as selective too. I think the Covid dip is real and affected a large student population.

Hand and hand with test optional and holistic admissions.

Then you should have seen this phenomenon at CalTech and other test optional schools years ago. Obviously it didn’t happen.

Caltech is always a ridiculous argument for justifying quality in test-optional admissions. They hand pick a class of 200 kids and don't need an SAT score to find them. These kids have resumes way beyond an SAT score.

And yet Caltech also has the highest percentage of black and Hispanic students among elite schools. So clearly test scores aren’t the key to identifying such students.

Caltech has 5% black or 10 black kids in an entire entering class.

Caltech is 34 percent black, hispanic or Native American. Highest percentage of any elite school.

34 percent equates to about 65 people based on their 250 large freshman class size. Is that actually impressive? no

🤔 yes, it is actually. Having the most diverse class of any elite institution is an accomplishment. Data comes from the Washington Post article on diversity at Hopkins with its own thread.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ve heard anecdotes from professors there that there has been a decline in the quality I’d the student body and the tutoring halls are constantly filled.

I think the push to enroll non-privileged students has had consequences. The sad truth is that a privileged background (attentive parents with resources and excellent K-12 schools) tends to create strong students. So if you count “privilege” against an applicant and aggressively favor a lack thereof, you are not tilting your student body in the direction of academic preparedness.

There is no doubt this is true. My college roommate is now a professor at Princeton (and has been an Ivy professor for 12 years, across 3 schools). She says that many of the current kids are absolutely not as prepared as kids even 5 years ago. It's "shocking." However, they can (and do) catch most of these kids up. Isn't it a good thing that smart kids from diverse backgrounds are being given this opportunity?

I've heard this from profs at schools that are not nearly as selective too. I think the Covid dip is real and affected a large student population.

Hand and hand with test optional and holistic admissions.

Then you should have seen this phenomenon at CalTech and other test optional schools years ago. Obviously it didn’t happen.

Caltech is always a ridiculous argument for justifying quality in test-optional admissions. They hand pick a class of 200 kids and don't need an SAT score to find them. These kids have resumes way beyond an SAT score.

And yet Caltech also has the highest percentage of black and Hispanic students among elite schools. So clearly test scores aren’t the key to identifying such students.

Caltech has 5% black or 10 black kids in an entire entering class.

Caltech is 34 percent black, hispanic or Native American. Highest percentage of any elite school.

Which means it is 25-30 pct Hispanic which is no biggie in California. Practically everyone has a little Hispanic blood and they check it off, maybe some of them make it up. Stanford has super high Hispanic too. California used to be Mexico.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:https://www.princeton.edu/news/2023/09/06/class-2027-arrives-midst-four-year-undergraduate-expansion

2/3 are receiving financial aid (70k on average)

Almost a quarter are Pell Grant recipients (basically poverty line)

It’s nice that Princeton is spending its insane endowment on poor kids who no doubt have a lot of potential but I struggle to believe the school really represents the best of the best still. When you factor in athletes who tend to receive less aid, what percentage is left for extremely bright upper middle class kids who represented the majority of the school a generation ago? 15 percent?

I don't know why we care about the extremely bright upper middle class kids who represented the majority a generation ago.

I mean, what do they bring to the table that first gen or just plain middle class don't? Are you saying the peer group was stronger? I doubt that. Classroom discussions more productive? I doubt that? Opportunities to learn and grow in a residential setting limited? I really doubt that.

I submit that Princeton has FU money and now, finally, can accept the kids they want.

There are a hundred schools happy to take your UMC kid.

Op here, speaking from experience, yes I think the kids who had “privileged” upbringings in the sense of parents being very dedicated to their development from day one and exceptional schools are in a sense the best and the brightest. But schools with FU money (who are they saying FU to btw, the very people who built the schools into what they are now?) are deliberately viewing this form of “privilege” as a negative variable when they make admissions decisions. It’s quite counterintuitive. They specifically don’t want kids who are coming to them having been extremely nurtured and well prepared to excel academically. It’s like a Major League Baseball team avoiding the best high school programs when they scout players and just looking for the worst. My contention is, if your selection process entails avoiding the circumstances that produce exceptional kids, you will probably have fewer exceptional kids.

BS---they are searching for (and likely finding) kids who are equally smart and set to make a difference in the world, only difference is those kids did not grow up with all the privileges that you are describing. Instead they forged their way with much less opportunities and many more obstacles. Kudos to them for giving those kids a chance.
Never understood the mentality you have---that those who grew up with privilege and involved parents are somehow "better"

Your comments would suggest that environment is irrelevant to the development of intellect and therefore everything is purely genetic. Is that your position?

No, everything is not purely genetic. But kids who grew up in a poor environment may be extremely smart and just not had the opportunity to "shine" like a rich kid has. So that really smart kid is still really smart, despite the fact they haven't had every opportunity known to mankind while growing up. Princeton is choosing to find those kids and give them an opportunity for college and beyond.

I grew up poor, ate free/reduced lunch many years when there was no income in the family. I worked my ass off with what I had (decent schools, but not the UMC/rich kid schools), but my school did not have as many opportunities as even the other High schools in our district where the "UMC/Rich kids" attended. I had to push to take Algebra 1 in time to be on path for Calc in 12th grade---initially my MS did not offer it and I had to find a way, but thankfully my dad got a job and we moved to a new district where I was able to take it. Otherwise, I was a great math student who might not have made it past pre-calc in HS due to where I lived (don't worry---I was prepared to switch MS if we hadn't moved in order to take the math I needed). Yet even at my new school, there were 600 kids in my senior class and only 13 of us were in Calculus. Meanwhile the two "rich kid's public HS" in our district had 20+ seniors each in "2nd year calculus".

I got lucky and made my way to a T10 school with great aide and loans and did well in life. But I struggled in school and was bored and never had the opportunities to shine like some of my peers 15 miles away. I would have loved to have had the more advanced opportunities while growing up. But my parents couldn't afford them

I totally agree, making college affordable to talented kids who didn't have the opportunity to shine in high school, largely due to finances, is a great thing. I think the risk is they take it too far and these kids actually aren't as talented as you were. Especially if they start dismissing all the potential markers of talent, like test scores. If a kid from a low income background has lousy test scores, spotty grades, writes kinda poorly, etc., it may be lack of finances getting in the way there, or it may just be lack of inherent talent. You can't just assume they would otherwise be a superstar if only daddy were an investment banker.

Kids with lousy test scores and sporty grades aren’t being admitted to Princeton.

They generally are not, but it's a question of degree. A lot of not so extraordinary kids are potentially getting in under the cover of lack of privilege while many extraordinary kids are getting rejected because they came from loving well-resourced homes, which is a bad thing nowadays, almost a mark of evil.

100%

If you came from a loving home and are well-adjusted, we don't want you. We want trauma and tragedy. If you had the benefit of a rigorous education due to your privilege, we don't want you.

We are really do a psychological number on kids.

no, you as a "parent" have chosen to do a psychological number on your kids if they really believe what you wrote.

These T25-30 schools have acceptance rates in the single digits. The reason your Larlo did not get admitted is not because some first gen/low income/non-white or asian kid with low scores and low gpa took their spot. It's simply not the case. Those "non UMC/Rich kids" who get in are just as smart if not smarter than your Larlo---you just have to realize that SAT scores are not the be all/end all for "smarts testing".

However, if you truly believe this then you could have chosen to ditch your well paying job(s) and go live on $60K/year with a family of 4 in the DC area. Give your kid the advantage of that lifestyle so they get into a T25 school. But I'm willing to guess you wouldn't want to do that, you just want your kid to have every benefit of a privileged lifestyle and are shocked when you cannot simply purchase what you want for the first time in your life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ve heard anecdotes from professors there that there has been a decline in the quality I’d the student body and the tutoring halls are constantly filled.

I think the push to enroll non-privileged students has had consequences. The sad truth is that a privileged background (attentive parents with resources and excellent K-12 schools) tends to create strong students. So if you count “privilege” against an applicant and aggressively favor a lack thereof, you are not tilting your student body in the direction of academic preparedness.

There is no doubt this is true. My college roommate is now a professor at Princeton (and has been an Ivy professor for 12 years, across 3 schools). She says that many of the current kids are absolutely not as prepared as kids even 5 years ago. It's "shocking." However, they can (and do) catch most of these kids up. Isn't it a good thing that smart kids from diverse backgrounds are being given this opportunity?

I've heard this from profs at schools that are not nearly as selective too. I think the Covid dip is real and affected a large student population.

Hand and hand with test optional and holistic admissions.

Then you should have seen this phenomenon at CalTech and other test optional schools years ago. Obviously it didn’t happen.

Caltech is always a ridiculous argument for justifying quality in test-optional admissions. They hand pick a class of 200 kids and don't need an SAT score to find them. These kids have resumes way beyond an SAT score.

And yet Caltech also has the highest percentage of black and Hispanic students among elite schools. So clearly test scores aren’t the key to identifying such students.

Caltech has 5% black or 10 black kids in an entire entering class.

Caltech is 34 percent black, hispanic or Native American. Highest percentage of any elite school.

34 percent equates to about 65 people based on their 250 large freshman class size. Is that actually impressive? no

🤔 yes, it is actually. Having the most diverse class of any elite institution is an accomplishment. Data comes from the Washington Post article on diversity at Hopkins with its own thread.

Most diverse when your entire freshman class can fit in a chuck e cheese is not impressive

[Anonymous]

I would love to know what the average SAT score is for a Pell Grant student, a need based aid recipient and a full pay student

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://www.princeton.edu/news/2023/09/06/class-2027-arrives-midst-four-year-undergraduate-expansion

2/3 are receiving financial aid (70k on average)

Almost a quarter are Pell Grant recipients (basically poverty line)

It’s nice that Princeton is spending its insane endowment on poor kids who no doubt have a lot of potential but I struggle to believe the school really represents the best of the best still. When you factor in athletes who tend to receive less aid, what percentage is left for extremely bright upper middle class kids who represented the majority of the school a generation ago? 15 percent?

I don't know why we care about the extremely bright upper middle class kids who represented the majority a generation ago.

I mean, what do they bring to the table that first gen or just plain middle class don't? Are you saying the peer group was stronger? I doubt that. Classroom discussions more productive? I doubt that? Opportunities to learn and grow in a residential setting limited? I really doubt that.

I submit that Princeton has FU money and now, finally, can accept the kids they want.

There are a hundred schools happy to take your UMC kid.

Op here, speaking from experience, yes I think the kids who had “privileged” upbringings in the sense of parents being very dedicated to their development from day one and exceptional schools are in a sense the best and the brightest. But schools with FU money (who are they saying FU to btw, the very people who built the schools into what they are now?) are deliberately viewing this form of “privilege” as a negative variable when they make admissions decisions. It’s quite counterintuitive. They specifically don’t want kids who are coming to them having been extremely nurtured and well prepared to excel academically. It’s like a Major League Baseball team avoiding the best high school programs when they scout players and just looking for the worst. My contention is, if your selection process entails avoiding the circumstances that produce exceptional kids, you will probably have fewer exceptional kids.

BS---they are searching for (and likely finding) kids who are equally smart and set to make a difference in the world, only difference is those kids did not grow up with all the privileges that you are describing. Instead they forged their way with much less opportunities and many more obstacles. Kudos to them for giving those kids a chance.
Never understood the mentality you have---that those who grew up with privilege and involved parents are somehow "better"

Your comments would suggest that environment is irrelevant to the development of intellect and therefore everything is purely genetic. Is that your position?

No, everything is not purely genetic. But kids who grew up in a poor environment may be extremely smart and just not had the opportunity to "shine" like a rich kid has. So that really smart kid is still really smart, despite the fact they haven't had every opportunity known to mankind while growing up. Princeton is choosing to find those kids and give them an opportunity for college and beyond.

I grew up poor, ate free/reduced lunch many years when there was no income in the family. I worked my ass off with what I had (decent schools, but not the UMC/rich kid schools), but my school did not have as many opportunities as even the other High schools in our district where the "UMC/Rich kids" attended. I had to push to take Algebra 1 in time to be on path for Calc in 12th grade---initially my MS did not offer it and I had to find a way, but thankfully my dad got a job and we moved to a new district where I was able to take it. Otherwise, I was a great math student who might not have made it past pre-calc in HS due to where I lived (don't worry---I was prepared to switch MS if we hadn't moved in order to take the math I needed). Yet even at my new school, there were 600 kids in my senior class and only 13 of us were in Calculus. Meanwhile the two "rich kid's public HS" in our district had 20+ seniors each in "2nd year calculus".

I got lucky and made my way to a T10 school with great aide and loans and did well in life. But I struggled in school and was bored and never had the opportunities to shine like some of my peers 15 miles away. I would have loved to have had the more advanced opportunities while growing up. But my parents couldn't afford them

I totally agree, making college affordable to talented kids who didn't have the opportunity to shine in high school, largely due to finances, is a great thing. I think the risk is they take it too far and these kids actually aren't as talented as you were. Especially if they start dismissing all the potential markers of talent, like test scores. If a kid from a low income background has lousy test scores, spotty grades, writes kinda poorly, etc., it may be lack of finances getting in the way there, or it may just be lack of inherent talent. You can't just assume they would otherwise be a superstar if only daddy were an investment banker.

Kids with lousy test scores and sporty grades aren’t being admitted to Princeton.

They generally are not, but it's a question of degree. A lot of not so extraordinary kids are potentially getting in under the cover of lack of privilege while many extraordinary kids are getting rejected because they came from loving well-resourced homes, which is a bad thing nowadays, almost a mark of evil.

100%

If you came from a loving home and are well-adjusted, we don't want you. We want trauma and tragedy. If you had the benefit of a rigorous education due to your privilege, we don't want you.

We are really do a psychological number on kids.

no, you as a "parent" have chosen to do a psychological number on your kids if they really believe what you wrote.

These T25-30 schools have acceptance rates in the single digits. The reason your Larlo did not get admitted is not because some first gen/low income/non-white or asian kid with low scores and low gpa took their spot. It's simply not the case. Those "non UMC/Rich kids" who get in are just as smart if not smarter than your Larlo---you just have to realize that SAT scores are not the be all/end all for "smarts testing".

However, if you truly believe this then you could have chosen to ditch your well paying job(s) and go live on $60K/year with a family of 4 in the DC area. Give your kid the advantage of that lifestyle so they get into a T25 school. But I'm willing to guess you wouldn't want to do that, you just want your kid to have every benefit of a privileged lifestyle and are shocked when you cannot simply purchase what you want for the first time in your life.

They just arent rich enough

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://www.princeton.edu/news/2023/09/06/class-2027-arrives-midst-four-year-undergraduate-expansion

2/3 are receiving financial aid (70k on average)

Almost a quarter are Pell Grant recipients (basically poverty line)

It’s nice that Princeton is spending its insane endowment on poor kids who no doubt have a lot of potential but I struggle to believe the school really represents the best of the best still. When you factor in athletes who tend to receive less aid, what percentage is left for extremely bright upper middle class kids who represented the majority of the school a generation ago? 15 percent?

I don't know why we care about the extremely bright upper middle class kids who represented the majority a generation ago.

I mean, what do they bring to the table that first gen or just plain middle class don't? Are you saying the peer group was stronger? I doubt that. Classroom discussions more productive? I doubt that? Opportunities to learn and grow in a residential setting limited? I really doubt that.

I submit that Princeton has FU money and now, finally, can accept the kids they want.

There are a hundred schools happy to take your UMC kid.

Op here, speaking from experience, yes I think the kids who had “privileged” upbringings in the sense of parents being very dedicated to their development from day one and exceptional schools are in a sense the best and the brightest. But schools with FU money (who are they saying FU to btw, the very people who built the schools into what they are now?) are deliberately viewing this form of “privilege” as a negative variable when they make admissions decisions. It’s quite counterintuitive. They specifically don’t want kids who are coming to them having been extremely nurtured and well prepared to excel academically. It’s like a Major League Baseball team avoiding the best high school programs when they scout players and just looking for the worst. My contention is, if your selection process entails avoiding the circumstances that produce exceptional kids, you will probably have fewer exceptional kids.

BS---they are searching for (and likely finding) kids who are equally smart and set to make a difference in the world, only difference is those kids did not grow up with all the privileges that you are describing. Instead they forged their way with much less opportunities and many more obstacles. Kudos to them for giving those kids a chance.
Never understood the mentality you have---that those who grew up with privilege and involved parents are somehow "better"

Your comments would suggest that environment is irrelevant to the development of intellect and therefore everything is purely genetic. Is that your position?

No, everything is not purely genetic. But kids who grew up in a poor environment may be extremely smart and just not had the opportunity to "shine" like a rich kid has. So that really smart kid is still really smart, despite the fact they haven't had every opportunity known to mankind while growing up. Princeton is choosing to find those kids and give them an opportunity for college and beyond.

I grew up poor, ate free/reduced lunch many years when there was no income in the family. I worked my ass off with what I had (decent schools, but not the UMC/rich kid schools), but my school did not have as many opportunities as even the other High schools in our district where the "UMC/Rich kids" attended. I had to push to take Algebra 1 in time to be on path for Calc in 12th grade---initially my MS did not offer it and I had to find a way, but thankfully my dad got a job and we moved to a new district where I was able to take it. Otherwise, I was a great math student who might not have made it past pre-calc in HS due to where I lived (don't worry---I was prepared to switch MS if we hadn't moved in order to take the math I needed). Yet even at my new school, there were 600 kids in my senior class and only 13 of us were in Calculus. Meanwhile the two "rich kid's public HS" in our district had 20+ seniors each in "2nd year calculus".

I got lucky and made my way to a T10 school with great aide and loans and did well in life. But I struggled in school and was bored and never had the opportunities to shine like some of my peers 15 miles away. I would have loved to have had the more advanced opportunities while growing up. But my parents couldn't afford them

I totally agree, making college affordable to talented kids who didn't have the opportunity to shine in high school, largely due to finances, is a great thing. I think the risk is they take it too far and these kids actually aren't as talented as you were. Especially if they start dismissing all the potential markers of talent, like test scores. If a kid from a low income background has lousy test scores, spotty grades, writes kinda poorly, etc., it may be lack of finances getting in the way there, or it may just be lack of inherent talent. You can't just assume they would otherwise be a superstar if only daddy were an investment banker.

Kids with lousy test scores and sporty grades aren’t being admitted to Princeton.

They generally are not, but it's a question of degree. A lot of not so extraordinary kids are potentially getting in under the cover of lack of privilege while many extraordinary kids are getting rejected because they came from loving well-resourced homes, which is a bad thing nowadays, almost a mark of evil.

Give it up---majority of kids are going to get rejected from a school that accepts only 4-6% of students. Your kid did not get rejected because they accept an inner city, poor kid with a 3.0 and 1200. Your kid got rejected because they accepted another UMC/Rich privileged kid who they consider better than your kid or because they accepted a first gen or low income student who has a 3.9 UW and has shined in a bad environment where they have had to overcome many struggles. to accomplish that.

Hint: your kid is not that extraordinary in the pool of 50K applicants for each T25 school. If you truly look at kids who get into these school, majority have some "it" factor that just shows drive and determination a few steps above most kids with 1500+/3.99+UW/10Ap+ resumes

lol my lazy ass privileged dc didn't even apply, despite having the scores. I am all for leveling the playing field--and for them to admit students from rougher backgrounds who are genuinely on par with the kids from more affluent backgrounds whose applications are perfect. I just question if they are getting it right or if they are giving the disadvantaged kids the benefit of the doubt. 22% getting pell grants (45k max income, basically poverty line) feels really high.

So you don't think "poor kids" can be smart?

And no, you really are not all for "leveling the playing field".

Not every "poor kid" applies to T25 schools, in fact very few do---most are heading towards CC and then onto a 4 years college because that's all their family can even fathom affording. So the "poor kids" who are applying to T25 colleges are already most likely some of the most talented kids in their schools/area and a HS counselor has recognized their abilities and pushed them to look beyond local State U (and heck really even to just look at college in many cases). Basically those first gen/poor kids who are actually applying to T25 have already been "self selected" and only the "good ones" are applying. where as every privileged UMC/rich kid thinks they are entitled to an elite college education because they scored 1500+/3.9UW/10AP+/with ECs to support this---they haven't self selected, everyone thinks they have a shot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would love to know what the average SAT score is for a Pell Grant student, a need based aid recipient and a full pay student

Who cares? SAT scores do not indicate intelligence. They indicate who has the best means to prep for them.

[Anonymous]

Guessing their score is higher than your kids was before the thousands of dollars of tutoring to ‘learn the tricks’

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://www.princeton.edu/news/2023/09/06/class-2027-arrives-midst-four-year-undergraduate-expansion

2/3 are receiving financial aid (70k on average)

Almost a quarter are Pell Grant recipients (basically poverty line)

It’s nice that Princeton is spending its insane endowment on poor kids who no doubt have a lot of potential but I struggle to believe the school really represents the best of the best still. When you factor in athletes who tend to receive less aid, what percentage is left for extremely bright upper middle class kids who represented the majority of the school a generation ago? 15 percent?

I don't know why we care about the extremely bright upper middle class kids who represented the majority a generation ago.

I mean, what do they bring to the table that first gen or just plain middle class don't? Are you saying the peer group was stronger? I doubt that. Classroom discussions more productive? I doubt that? Opportunities to learn and grow in a residential setting limited? I really doubt that.

I submit that Princeton has FU money and now, finally, can accept the kids they want.

There are a hundred schools happy to take your UMC kid.

Op here, speaking from experience, yes I think the kids who had “privileged” upbringings in the sense of parents being very dedicated to their development from day one and exceptional schools are in a sense the best and the brightest. But schools with FU money (who are they saying FU to btw, the very people who built the schools into what they are now?) are deliberately viewing this form of “privilege” as a negative variable when they make admissions decisions. It’s quite counterintuitive. They specifically don’t want kids who are coming to them having been extremely nurtured and well prepared to excel academically. It’s like a Major League Baseball team avoiding the best high school programs when they scout players and just looking for the worst. My contention is, if your selection process entails avoiding the circumstances that produce exceptional kids, you will probably have fewer exceptional kids.

BS---they are searching for (and likely finding) kids who are equally smart and set to make a difference in the world, only difference is those kids did not grow up with all the privileges that you are describing. Instead they forged their way with much less opportunities and many more obstacles. Kudos to them for giving those kids a chance.
Never understood the mentality you have---that those who grew up with privilege and involved parents are somehow "better"

Your comments would suggest that environment is irrelevant to the development of intellect and therefore everything is purely genetic. Is that your position?

No, everything is not purely genetic. But kids who grew up in a poor environment may be extremely smart and just not had the opportunity to "shine" like a rich kid has. So that really smart kid is still really smart, despite the fact they haven't had every opportunity known to mankind while growing up. Princeton is choosing to find those kids and give them an opportunity for college and beyond.

I grew up poor, ate free/reduced lunch many years when there was no income in the family. I worked my ass off with what I had (decent schools, but not the UMC/rich kid schools), but my school did not have as many opportunities as even the other High schools in our district where the "UMC/Rich kids" attended. I had to push to take Algebra 1 in time to be on path for Calc in 12th grade---initially my MS did not offer it and I had to find a way, but thankfully my dad got a job and we moved to a new district where I was able to take it. Otherwise, I was a great math student who might not have made it past pre-calc in HS due to where I lived (don't worry---I was prepared to switch MS if we hadn't moved in order to take the math I needed). Yet even at my new school, there were 600 kids in my senior class and only 13 of us were in Calculus. Meanwhile the two "rich kid's public HS" in our district had 20+ seniors each in "2nd year calculus".

I got lucky and made my way to a T10 school with great aide and loans and did well in life. But I struggled in school and was bored and never had the opportunities to shine like some of my peers 15 miles away. I would have loved to have had the more advanced opportunities while growing up. But my parents couldn't afford them

I totally agree, making college affordable to talented kids who didn't have the opportunity to shine in high school, largely due to finances, is a great thing. I think the risk is they take it too far and these kids actually aren't as talented as you were. Especially if they start dismissing all the potential markers of talent, like test scores. If a kid from a low income background has lousy test scores, spotty grades, writes kinda poorly, etc., it may be lack of finances getting in the way there, or it may just be lack of inherent talent. You can't just assume they would otherwise be a superstar if only daddy were an investment banker.

Kids with lousy test scores and sporty grades aren’t being admitted to Princeton.

They generally are not, but it's a question of degree. A lot of not so extraordinary kids are potentially getting in under the cover of lack of privilege while many extraordinary kids are getting rejected because they came from loving well-resourced homes, which is a bad thing nowadays, almost a mark of evil.

Give it up---majority of kids are going to get rejected from a school that accepts only 4-6% of students. Your kid did not get rejected because they accept an inner city, poor kid with a 3.0 and 1200. Your kid got rejected because they accepted another UMC/Rich privileged kid who they consider better than your kid or because they accepted a first gen or low income student who has a 3.9 UW and has shined in a bad environment where they have had to overcome many struggles. to accomplish that.

Hint: your kid is not that extraordinary in the pool of 50K applicants for each T25 school. If you truly look at kids who get into these school, majority have some "it" factor that just shows drive and determination a few steps above most kids with 1500+/3.99+UW/10Ap+ resumes

lol my lazy ass privileged dc didn't even apply, despite having the scores. I am all for leveling the playing field--and for them to admit students from rougher backgrounds who are genuinely on par with the kids from more affluent backgrounds whose applications are perfect. I just question if they are getting it right or if they are giving the disadvantaged kids the benefit of the doubt. 22% getting pell grants (45k max income, basically poverty line) feels really high.

So you don't think "poor kids" can be smart?

And no, you really are not all for "leveling the playing field".

Not every "poor kid" applies to T25 schools, in fact very few do---most are heading towards CC and then onto a 4 years college because that's all their family can even fathom affording. So the "poor kids" who are applying to T25 colleges are already most likely some of the most talented kids in their schools/area and a HS counselor has recognized their abilities and pushed them to look beyond local State U (and heck really even to just look at college in many cases). Basically those first gen/poor kids who are actually applying to T25 have already been "self selected" and only the "good ones" are applying. where as every privileged UMC/rich kid thinks they are entitled to an elite college education because they scored 1500+/3.9UW/10AP+/with ECs to support this---they haven't self selected, everyone thinks they have a shot.

Agree, the number of kids applying to H/Y/S/P from Bethesda high schools published in Bethesda Magazine confirms this.

[Anonymous]

the rich shaming happening on here lmao

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would love to know what the average SAT score is for a Pell Grant student, a need based aid recipient and a full pay student

Who cares? SAT scores do not indicate intelligence. They indicate who has the best means to prep for them.

So how do you know these poor kids are every bit as smart and have just as much potential as the valedictorian of a leading American high school who got 1570 but was rejected, because, you know, they are privileged, they didn't really earn it, as Obama might say (RIP Joe the Plumber)? How does the admissions officer know this kid with 1310 and strong grades from a non-competitive high school is indeed just as strong as the best kids from the best high schools?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would love to know what the average SAT score is for a Pell Grant student, a need based aid recipient and a full pay student

Who cares? SAT scores do not indicate intelligence. They indicate who has the best means to prep for them.

So how do you know these poor kids are every bit as smart and have just as much potential as the valedictorian of a leading American high school who got 1570 but was rejected, because, you know, they are privileged, they didn't really earn it, as Obama might say (RIP Joe the Plumber)? How does the admissions officer know this kid with 1310 and strong grades from a non-competitive high school is indeed just as strong as the best kids from the best high schools?

where are these 1310 kids? They certainly arent at Princeton in any meaningful numbers. Stop the hyperbole