Education
I was accepted into Princeton
What did I do, and how can you do the same?
Thursday, December 16th, I was offered admission at my top-choice school. I was shocked! To know that all my hard work throughout the past four years has paid off… it’s exhilarating. Needless to say, I’ve accepted and will be attending next fall!
How did I do it? To be honest, I’m not exactly sure! I’d love to title this article “Do these 10 things to get into Ivy League universities!” but there aren’t cut-and-dry guidelines for how to get in.
Don’t try to be a “perfect student.” They don’t want 1500 copies of the same person walking around campus.
Test Scores
While my test scores are pretty good, they definitely aren’t perfect! For the class of 2021, my school has an average ACT score of 30.9 and 13 National Merit Finalists.
Here are the highest scores I got:
- ACT: 34
- PSAT: 1390
- SAT: didn’t take
I didn’t score a perfect 36 on the ACT, and I wasn’t even a National Merit Semi-Finalist like several others in my class were. I got two 5s, two 4s, and two 3s on AP exams.
Course Load
I took 14 AP courses throughout high school (two of those being semester-long classes). My school doesn’t only offers honors, advanced honors, AP, and dual-enrollment classes unless it’s something like PE or personal finance. I tried to challenge myself by taking rigorous courses like physics and calculus, but it’s important to take classes that you enjoy too. For me that was French, and I took all five years of it that my school offered. Finding something you like and sticking with it shows a lot more about you than if you were to take the same classes that everyone else does.
Extracurriculars
While I think it’s really important to put yourself out there and try new things… I’m not going to tell you that you need to be president of every club to be successful. I tried a bunch in freshman year but then was only in French Club and French Table throughout the rest of high school. Junior and senior year I became “club officer” of them and was responsible for planning all club activities.
I do have a job, but I got it after I submitted my application, so that had no impact on my acceptance.
Over the summer of 2020, I (virtually) attended the Governor’s School for International Studies at the University of Memphis. Like I said, try new things! Join clubs and apply to summer programs even if you don’t think you have a chance. Even if you end up not liking it, you learned something about yourself, and that’s all that really matters.
Community Service
My school required a minimum of 25 service hours each year for a total of 100 at the end of senior year. I tried many things over the years, but the important thing is finding what you can do to make a difference in your community. My favorite act of community service was crocheting sections of blankets for charity; it’s something I’m good at and enjoy, and it can still change the life of someone who needs it.
Education
I was accepted into Princeton
What did I do, and how can you do the same?
Thursday, December 16th, I was offered admission at my top-choice school. I was shocked! To know that all my hard work throughout the past four years has paid off… it’s exhilarating. Needless to say, I’ve accepted and will be attending next fall!
How did I do it? To be honest, I’m not exactly sure! I’d love to title this article “Do these 10 things to get into Ivy League universities!” but there aren’t cut-and-dry guidelines for how to get in.
Don’t try to be a “perfect student.” They don’t want 1500 copies of the same person walking around campus.
Test Scores
While my test scores are pretty good, they definitely aren’t perfect! For the class of 2021, my school has an average ACT score of 30.9 and 13 National Merit Finalists.
Here are the highest scores I got:
- ACT: 34
- PSAT: 1390
- SAT: didn’t take
I didn’t score a perfect 36 on the ACT, and I wasn’t even a National Merit Semi-Finalist like several others in my class were. I got two 5s, two 4s, and two 3s on AP exams.
Course Load
I took 14 AP courses throughout high school (two of those being semester-long classes). My school doesn’t only offers honors, advanced honors, AP, and dual-enrollment classes unless it’s something like PE or personal finance. I tried to challenge myself by taking rigorous courses like physics and calculus, but it’s important to take classes that you enjoy too. For me that was French, and I took all five years of it that my school offered. Finding something you like and sticking with it shows a lot more about you than if you were to take the same classes that everyone else does.
Extracurriculars
While I think it’s really important to put yourself out there and try new things… I’m not going to tell you that you need to be president of every club to be successful. I tried a bunch in freshman year, but then was only in French Club and French Table throughout the rest of high school. Junior and senior year I became “club officer” of them and was responsible for planning all club activities.
I do have a job, but I got it after I submitted my application, so that had no impact on my acceptance.
Over the summer of 2020, I (virtually) attended the Governor’s School for International Studies at the University of Memphis. Like I said, try new things! Join clubs and apply to summer programs even if you don’t think you have a chance. Even if you end up not liking it, you learned something about yourself, and that’s all that really matters.
Community Service
My school required a minimum of 25 service hours each year for a total of 100 at the end of senior year. I tried many things over the years, but the important thing is finding what you can do to make a difference in your community. My favorite act of community service was crocheting sections of blankets for charity; it’s something I’m good at and enjoy, and it can still change the life of someone who needs it.
Special Skills
Okay, I wasn’t sure what exactly I should title this section, but I wanted to talk about my skills and/or hobbies that I included on my application to help me stand out. The essay portion is a great place to sneak these in.
As I said earlier, I spent five years learning French, but I also spend some of my free time learning constructed languages like Esperanto and Toki Pona. While it isn’t exactly rare, this part of my personality is something to make me seem different than everyone else.
I devoted an entire essay to my hobby of breeding mystery snails. This showed that I have things that I’m passionate about, and also that I have initiative and organization! I’m able to take care of hundreds of snails at a time, all while advertising, shipping, and following up on orders. You definitely don’t have to have a hobby as intensive as this one but find something that illustrates your personality, all while showing the person reading your essay why you’d be a great fit at their university.
I can’t remember where I heard this, but someone gave me a piece of advice that really resonated with me. “Imagine that your college essay is in a stack with 80 other students. Then they get dropped on the floor and mixed up. Your friends/family/teachers should be able to read your essay and know it’s yours without it having your name on it.” As you write your essays, you want to try to put every part of you into them as possible to show them who you are. I’m in the writing lab at my school and tutor others, and I had almost every other tutor in there look over my essays before submitting them. Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there; it can be scary, but that’s how you’re going to write really good essays.
Imagine that your college essay is in a stack with 80 other students’. Then they get dropped in the floor and mixed up. Your friends/family/teachers should be able to read your essay and know it’s yours without it having your name on it.
Do you want them to read your essay and think to themselves, “This kid’s essay was the same as the other 50 I’ve read today,” or, “Wow! This kid is really special!”
Just be yourself! I’m thrilled for the opportunity to go to Princeton, and I hope that I can help others do the same.
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