Which of these got my DD into Princeton?

[Anonymous]

Is her IQ north of 150? She probably is just really smart.

[Anonymous]

Solid student, plus leadership (captain).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DD is a sophomore at Princeton majoring in chemistry.

Not a legacy, RD, not an athlete, not full pay. We pay about 50% of sticker price.

Gpa- 4.0 straight A’s, 10 AP, all 5s

35 ACT, 1550 SAT (790 math)

Volleyball for 4 years of HS, varsity captain

Essays about being bad at volleyball and working hard to become one of the best players in her HS

NOT in NHS

No awards other than the AP distinction ones

No research, no paid job

I’m curious to know what you think got her in because we know so many kids with better stats and other stuff that flat out got rejected.

I bolded the things I think probably mattered.

Economic/geographic diversity - if you don't like in a super chi-chi area (where you might be full pay), that helps. Colleges like to spread admissions around.

Everyone has straight As and grade inflation is real. But all 5s on 10 AP tests is solid.

I'm assuming she had a great teacher recommendation. If she had one from a teachers with over 20 years' experience, that will carry more weight than one who's just been teaching 5 years. "One of the finest students I've come across in my career" just means more when that career is a long one.

The bad at volleyball story + made captain in varsity is a big deal. Kids can manufacture pretend Extra Curriculars. But varsity captain shows commitment and that you were liked by teammates and coaches.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:#1 she is a female in a very male dominated subject
#2 her academics are spotless
#3 you're poor

Yep

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:bcs most private, feeder schools dont have NHS

Do people even include it on their college apps? Seems pretty meaningless.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Every year, a few applicants win the lottery.

Exactly.

Honestly, it sounds like a clerical error at the admissions office. Or, her name is very, very similar to a major donor kid, they accidentally identified your kid as the VIP and admitted her. (Don't worry about the VIP kid, if she wanted to attend I'm sure her parents made a call. And even in that nightmare admissions scenario, Princeton would ultimately come out ahead yet again--by rejecting and then admitting VIP kid, the parents feel reassured that their family office is really putting the donations where they count. They might even increase their donation amount next year, lol

you are an idiot

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Princeton is also a bit of a jerk to kids with single parents with their stricter CSS. Sounds like you have two functioning parents in your scenario.

Can you expand on this? Thank you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What race did she put on her application?

How is that relevant to anything. Or are you suggesting maybe she's Asian, who have a huge advantage in these Ivy League admissions?

Um, no. You've got it backwards.

Not from the proportion of Asians in these schools, I don't. They're wildly out of proportion with the general population. It's a HUGE advantage to be Asian.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What race did she put on her application?

How is that relevant to anything. Or are you suggesting maybe she's Asian, who have a huge advantage in these Ivy League admissions?

Maybe someone who identifies as a transgender kangaroo from North Dakota? Very relevant these days.

Whatever are you prattling on about. What a weird thought process.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What race did she put on her application?

Now this wins most rude post of the day. Congrats!

It is absolutely a consideration, along with: rural students, first gen, desired major, etc. Not only did the Supreme Court case show that this is a consideration by schools, but many high stats schools sent my kids brochures and letters before applications were due specifically mentioning how diversity could be mentioned in and considered from essays.

- New Poster

And these are all valid considerations, too. Important criterions.

Remember, everyone applying has the stats.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What race did she put on her application?

How is that relevant to anything. Or are you suggesting maybe she's Asian, who have a huge advantage in these Ivy League admissions?

It is very relevant. OP's daughter is a sophomore. So she is a class 2023 high school graduate, prior to the Supreme Court AA decision. Race was a very important factor for class 2023. In fact, very important because many colleges considered 2023 as the last year they can use the race factor in admission, so they put a heavy weight on it.

They still can -- and should -- use race as a factor. Most schools want racially diverse cohorts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:#1 she is a female in a very male dominated subject
#2 her academics are spotless
#3 you're poor

She is not poor if she pays half of the tuition. Princeton has the most affordable financial aid from the top 20.

[Anonymous]

It was her essays. If she is anything other than white or Asian, that also pushed her into the admit column, since this was pre-supreme court decision.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:All 5s on 10 APs with a VERY high ACT/SAT.

Tons of kids here take APs. Very few have 5s on all tests.

Mine had all 5's on 16 APs but got waitlisted, everything else was similar or better than OP so that can't be it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DD is a sophomore at Princeton majoring in chemistry.

Not a legacy, RD, not an athlete, not full pay. We pay about 50% of sticker price.

Gpa- 4.0 straight A’s, 10 AP, all 5s

35 ACT, 1550 SAT (790 math)

Volleyball for 4 years of HS, varsity captain

Essays about being bad at volleyball and working hard to become one of the best players in her HS

NOT in NHS

No awards other than the AP distinction ones

No research, no paid job

I’m curious to know what you think got her in because we know so many kids with better stats and other stuff that flat out got rejected.

Race? Diability?