Anonymous
Post 12/13/2024 15:40     Subject: Re:Princeton scea
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Yes, that is my observation as well, lots of legacies with the bare minimum stats for Princeton who end up in STEM majors and subsequently get crushed by material they can barely handle and end up pretty unhappy. Behind the scenes is typically some over-bearing (legacy) parent who pushed the kid into an institution and place he didn’t really belong. Heartbreaking to watch actually.


I don't think this is true of legacies necessarily. Legacies are, after all, children of smart people and are generally privileged. Because of that privilege, they are disproportionately likely to major in the humanities or social sciences. I think it's a toxic combination of grade deflation, immense pressure on many to major in STEM, minorities/low-income folks who have potential but are coming in with less preparation than UMC/UC students, and many (not all) athletes who are academically overmatched.


It’s not as if some kids are sailing by with 100s on every test because they are not legacies or urm. In general chemistry and calc 1, it is common for the class average on a test to be well below 50 percent. It’s curved upward, but this can be most devastating to the kids who were valedictorians and never struggled before coming to college.
Anonymous
Post 12/13/2024 15:26     Subject: Re:Princeton scea
Anonymous wrote:Yes, that is my observation as well, lots of legacies with the bare minimum stats for Princeton who end up in STEM majors and subsequently get crushed by material they can barely handle and end up pretty unhappy. Behind the scenes is typically some over-bearing (legacy) parent who pushed the kid into an institution and place he didn’t really belong. Heartbreaking to watch actually.


I don't think this is true of legacies necessarily. Legacies are, after all, children of smart people and are generally privileged. Because of that privilege, they are disproportionately likely to major in the humanities or social sciences. I think it's a toxic combination of grade deflation, immense pressure on many to major in STEM, minorities/low-income folks who have potential but are coming in with less preparation than UMC/UC students, and many (not all) athletes who are academically overmatched.
Anonymous
Post 12/13/2024 14:13     Subject: Princeton scea
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Admissions officers now admit kids who can't do the work but expect them to survive. Then reject kids who would excel. It's messed up and results in mental health issues on campus.


I don’t think any of the students who committed suicide were hooked, most were Asian.


Well two were faculty kids, so yeah I’d say they were hooked.
Anonymous
Post 12/13/2024 14:06     Subject: Princeton scea
Anonymous wrote:Princeton seems like a weird place to me now. The admissions department is run by minorities and generally super woke but they make room (grudgingly?) for legacies and athletes. Then most of the kids end up in tough STEM majors like CS where the faculty grade rigorously and many of the kids who thought they won the lottery end up miserable and wishing they’d gone elsewhere.

Is that perception inaccurate?


Minorities?! With jobs?! Omg what has become of this place!?
Anonymous
Post 12/13/2024 13:49     Subject: Princeton scea
Anonymous wrote:Admissions officers now admit kids who can't do the work but expect them to survive. Then reject kids who would excel. It's messed up and results in mental health issues on campus.


I don’t think any of the students who committed suicide were hooked, most were Asian.
Anonymous
Post 12/13/2024 13:47     Subject: Re:Princeton scea
Anonymous wrote:Yes, that is my observation as well, lots of legacies with the bare minimum stats for Princeton who end up in STEM majors and subsequently get crushed by material they can barely handle and end up pretty unhappy. Behind the scenes is typically some over-bearing (legacy) parent who pushed the kid into an institution and place he didn’t really belong. Heartbreaking to watch actually.


I am the poster who relayed my daughter’s friends’ experience. None are legacies and they were strong students at an academically rigorous private school.
Anonymous
Post 12/13/2024 13:44     Subject: Princeton scea
Admissions officers now admit kids who can't do the work but expect them to survive. Then reject kids who would excel. It's messed up and results in mental health issues on campus.
Anonymous
Post 12/13/2024 13:27     Subject: Princeton scea
Anonymous wrote:Princeton seems like a weird place to me now. The admissions department is run by minorities and generally super woke but they make room (grudgingly?) for legacies and athletes. Then most of the kids end up in tough STEM majors like CS where the faculty grade rigorously and many of the kids who thought they won the lottery end up miserable and wishing they’d gone elsewhere.

Is that perception inaccurate?


It seems like a pretty unpleasant place these days. I'm an alum and my spouse is staff. DC (2026) has a good chance of getting in but doesn't want to go, and I may discourage them from applying because if they get in they would probably feel pressure to go, and I think they'd be happier at a SLAC.
Anonymous
Post 12/13/2024 13:25     Subject: Re:Princeton scea
Yes, that is my observation as well, lots of legacies with the bare minimum stats for Princeton who end up in STEM majors and subsequently get crushed by material they can barely handle and end up pretty unhappy. Behind the scenes is typically some over-bearing (legacy) parent who pushed the kid into an institution and place he didn’t really belong. Heartbreaking to watch actually.
Anonymous
Post 12/13/2024 13:24     Subject: Princeton scea
Anonymous wrote:Princeton seems like a weird place to me now. The admissions department is run by minorities and generally super woke but they make room (grudgingly?) for legacies and athletes. Then most of the kids end up in tough STEM majors like CS where the faculty grade rigorously and many of the kids who thought they won the lottery end up miserable and wishing they’d gone elsewhere.

Is that perception inaccurate?


Nope, I was shocked by the reports from my kids’ friends last year when they were freshmen, especially since I grew up in Princeton and remember how the school was 30 years ago. Now, super hard stem classes and extreme grade deflation. Absence of social kids. Then I heard about the six suicides in three years, and concluded it wasn’t the same Princeton I remember. Hopefully they are taking steps to make it more enjoyable.
Anonymous
Post 12/13/2024 13:08     Subject: Princeton scea
Princeton seems like a weird place to me now. The admissions department is run by minorities and generally super woke but they make room (grudgingly?) for legacies and athletes. Then most of the kids end up in tough STEM majors like CS where the faculty grade rigorously and many of the kids who thought they won the lottery end up miserable and wishing they’d gone elsewhere.

Is that perception inaccurate?
Anonymous
Post 12/13/2024 13:07     Subject: Princeton scea
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:If its any consolation, my kid who organically had a resume and qualities which Princeton admission folks seems to gush about, got deferred and then put on waitlist in RD. They didn't wait to get off waitlist and accepted another T20.

Princeton was going to be full pay even if the got in and other T20 gave a significant merit scholarship. However, this was few years ago and my DC is Asian from large competitive suburban public high school.



sorry to derail, but which T20 gave big merit? Emory, Wash U, Vandy? (am I forgetting someplace?)


I’m interested in this too!!


Emory is not a T20 school.


Seriously, that’s like a siren call to Emory mom, and the next thing you know there will be five pages breaking down Emory’s test scores, etc. . ,

Let it go, let it go…
Anonymous
Post 12/13/2024 12:15     Subject: Princeton scea
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:If its any consolation, my kid who organically had a resume and qualities which Princeton admission folks seems to gush about, got deferred and then put on waitlist in RD. They didn't wait to get off waitlist and accepted another T20.

Princeton was going to be full pay even if the got in and other T20 gave a significant merit scholarship. However, this was few years ago and my DC is Asian from large competitive suburban public high school.



sorry to derail, but which T20 gave big merit? Emory, Wash U, Vandy? (am I forgetting someplace?)


I’m interested in this too!!


Emory is not a T20 school.


Let it go, let it go…
Anonymous
Post 12/13/2024 12:09     Subject: Princeton scea
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:If its any consolation, my kid who organically had a resume and qualities which Princeton admission folks seems to gush about, got deferred and then put on waitlist in RD. They didn't wait to get off waitlist and accepted another T20.

Princeton was going to be full pay even if the got in and other T20 gave a significant merit scholarship. However, this was few years ago and my DC is Asian from large competitive suburban public high school.



sorry to derail, but which T20 gave big merit? Emory, Wash U, Vandy? (am I forgetting someplace?)


I’m interested in this too!!


Emory is not a T20 school.
Anonymous
Post 12/13/2024 12:01     Subject: Princeton scea
Anonymous wrote:Denied here. Strong applicant (according to counselors) from competitive big public and no hooks. High stats. In my gut I knew this was the statistical most likely outcome but you have to let them try!


DC had the same outcome last year. At Cornell now. Don't lose hope!