Second Year Student @ Princeton Taking Questions

Hey,
I only discovered this forum this afternoon, and it seems like quite something, and I'd like to help out with questions people may have. First, a little background:

I was born and raised in the US (in the fine state of Virginia). This also means, unfortunately, that I can't help with questions dealing with foreign exams, such as A-Levels. On the other hand, I'm fairly well versed with a lot of US universities and the application process.

During the early admissions stage, I applied to Harvard SCEA, was accepted, and during the regular decision stage, applied to Yale, Princeton, Stanford, and MIT. I had the luxury of applying to only these schools since I knew I had at least one acceptance bagged. Unexpected, but certainly welcome :smile:

. Given this, HYPSM are the schools I'm probably most well informed about (culture, strengths, weaknesses, admission information, etc).

Of the schools I applied to regular decision, I got into Princeton, Stanford, and MIT. I was flat out rejected at Yale, but alas, so it goes :frown:

. I was fortunate in that financial aid wasn't too huge an issue, so I could really investigate the other merits of a university. At the end, it was a tough decision that came down to Harvard and Princeton, but I chose Princeton (and haven't regretted it since!)

As for my major: I shall be majoring in Operations Research and Financial Engineering (ORFE) @ Princeton. Think of it as a very mathematical approach to economics...though that's not it exactly. Postgraduation plans...hmm...I'm hoping to work on Wall Street (hehe...a common, bland sort of Princeton thing), something I never intended coming into college. I always figured I'd be a math or international relations major (talk about two totally different things...). If I get really luck, I'll get to work at a hedge fund or something. We'll see. I also will have certificate degrees (certificate degree is something like a minor) in Finance and the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. So again, if that's what you're looking at, that's what I happen to be most knowledgeable about.

I can answer most any type of question you want me to (admissions, financial aid, academics, culture, etc). The only exception, again, are things that require me to know a LOT about foreign exams (though I do have a few international friends here).

By the way, if anybody else who's been through the application process wants to contribute, feel free to do so. Your expertise, I'm sure will clear a lot up for potential applicants.

Good luck to all!

EDIT: One more thing...I applied to Oxford as well...not sure if that matters.

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Reply 1

ElWilson

Could you list your scores and EC's?

Reply 2

bloop

SAT: 1590 SAT (old SAT out of 1600)
SAT IIs: 800 Math II, 800 Physics, 800 Chemistry, 790 US History
APs: 5 APs at time of admission (all 5's), and 6 more senior year (all 5's)
ACT: 35

ECs:
-Captain of Quizbowl team
-Editor in Chief of Newspaper
-Founder/Captain of Computer Science Team (and within the CS Team, started a community service program with old age home), among top students at American CS League and USA Computing Olympiad competitions
-Vice President of Debate Team (top ranked debater in school, ranked nationally)
-Director General (equivalent to VP) of Model UN
-No club position on Math Team (too committed elsewhere), but performed well in AMC 12, AIME, and qualified for USAMO (USA Mathematical Olympiad)
-Semifinalist in USAPhO (USA Physics Olympiad), USNChO (US National Chemistry Olympiad), and USABO (USA Biology Olympiad)

That's pretty much most of it. I should emphasize that there's really no "standard mold" you need to fit, though. I was well rounded, and it served me well, but there are also students who are "well-lopsided" (insanely good at one thing) and thus get in. There are plenty of those at Princeton, too (in fact, that's what scared me from pursuing math...the sheer brainpower is very intimidating sometimes).

Reply 3

Featherflare

Wow those stats aren't bad :p:

. I'll be joining you in September (Class of 2010!!).

I've been wondering, do you think there's anything I should particularly be preparing for before matriculation. Is there something you wish you had done when you first started or anything like that. I already feel that I'm doing absolutely nothing and i'll be inadequately prepared when I start, especially among the type of genii that will be there.

PS. I can also help answer questions on application to HYPS in relation to the British system and balancing A-levels with SATs and the application etc.

Reply 4

bloop

Featherflare: Thanks, and great to know you'll be coming to Princeton next year! You have an amazing time ahead of you...I'm already feeling sad that so much of my stay at Princeton is up. You'll almost certainly love it.

Is there something you wish you had done when you first started or anything like that. I already feel that I'm doing absolutely nothing and i'll be inadequately prepared when I start, especially among the type of genii that will be there.

Heh, I had the same fears and so tried to review my math/physics. Needless to say, it was the end of senior year summer, and I simply lacked the motivation to follow through with it. But I survived; if you've got into Princeton, chances are you will too.

A lot also depends on what courses you have your first year, too. My first semester, I was...overenthusiastic...and took all hard classes. That was a mistake. Try to balance out hard and easy classes, with the hard ones in subjects you're somewhat strong in or want to major in. If you have questions about any particular classes, I can try to answer them.

Nonacademically...let's see. Are you doing Outdoor Action? I myself didn't, but I know people who did and they loved it. Same goes with Community Action. Also, know that your friends will be determined by, in the first semester, whom you live around, and later on, by the extracurriculars you do and your classes. So be sure to involve yourself in a couple of things you really like.

shady lane: Hey! I'm guessing you're a NJ resident who studies at Stanford? Or a Princeton student heading to grad school in Stanford? Or vice versa? Haha, ignore me if my predictions are terribly off...

Reply 5

shady lane

bloop

shady lane: Hey! I'm guessing you're a NJ resident who studies at Stanford? Or a Princeton student heading to grad school in Stanford? Or vice versa? Haha, ignore me if my predictions are terribly off...

The first one was close--I just graduated from Stanford, and I'm from NJ. I'm heading to grad school at LSE in September, and I stumbled onto this forum when I was thinking about applying to grad schools in the UK.

Princeton's really nice but I was dead against it b/c I didn't want my mom showing up at my dorm room :smile:

Reply 6

Champagne Breakfast

bloop, few questions:

What made you choose Princeton over Harvard?
Are those the only ECs you listed?
What kind of essay(s) did you write?

Thanks.

Reply 7

ElWilson

I've truly got an issue over essay types - I don't particually know what to write about next year.

Reply 8

shomkin

You have PhD programmes, but what does AB stand for?

Reply 9

echo2000

I have two things... I'm about to enter QM for Law this autumn (Undergrad)

1. I was thinking about doing a master later on in the US- I suppose that would be 2 years- do you know how easy it is to get financial aid as a foreigner?
2. How did you manage to do so well in school? Was it a study 24.7 approach? I always feel I'm not pushing myself enough, so thought I'd see what your approach is.

Thanks for this thread! :smile:

Reply 10

Aimless2007

gees ur ECs are VERY impressive to say the least, cant believe Yale rejected you.. weird, but I guess the admissions game is kinda random... I know from a friend that last year 240 german students applied to Yale and only 2 got accepted. do you happen to know the acceptance rate for german applicants for pton and harvard?

Reply 11

shady lane

pearfire

I knew a few German students at Stanford with me. Of Europe I'd say they seemed to be the most represented actually...I can think of 4 in my class off the top of my head.

Reply 12

shady lane

bloop

No offense but I wouldn't call that well-rounded...exactly...it's almost completely academic.

Reply 13

Aimless2007

are you sure?? I know for a fact that only 2 germans got accepted to stanford last year as well... I was thinking about applying there, but since I would need finaid, my chances as an intel. applicant are slim to none... I think its pretty weird that stanford gives out athletic scholarships but doenst treat its intel. applicants on a need-blind basis...

Reply 14

shady lane

pearfire

Yeah definitely, three boys and one girl, in my graduated class, were from Germany. Now...there is one little problem. It turns out that many students who are international at Stanford, in the sense that they were born and lived abroad, have an American parent or parents and are actually citizens. So they are not considered "German" even though they definitely are. That might be why you're seeing those numbers and they're so low.

Well Stanford has world-class athletics. I had a class with a two-time Olympian last year! And the athletes are very smart as well, unlike at other unis. So they do add a lot. The mayor of the largest city in my state is a Stanford alum who played football--then got the Rhodes Scholarship and a law degree from Yale.

I know international students who received financial aid, including a very close friend of mine. But I don't exactly get how it works. If you need the financial aid it's still worth applying, see what happens.

Reply 15

Aimless2007

Yea... I haven't really figured out how they treat americans living in foreign countries... I know that HPY put them in the applicant pool of the country that they are applying from, but I don't really know whether those americans get any advantage... btw... there were actually 4 ppl who were admitted from Germany, but 2 of them were americans attending internationl high schools...

I'll definitely think about Stanford, but there will be awesome applicant who dont need finaid, and also I have a more language based profile, which doesnt really seem to fit the sciency reputation that stanford has

Reply 16

shady lane

pearfire

I did International Relations, which requires 2 year university level language proficiency. Although Stanford excels in science, it also excels in most subjects. I had an SAT II in Biology, but other than that very little science-oriented work in high school beyond what was standard.

Stanford also has the best study abroad program of the top US universities. I did the program in Oxford, and it was amazing. We took a course on globalization and were flown out to Berlin for a 3 day conference--free of charge! All of the Stanford students studying abroad were flown for free, including those in China, Chile, etc. A girl had a friend who was studying abroad in Paris meet us in Berlin. He was a Harvard student and couldnt' believe how amazing our program was. He had to find his own study abroad pgoram, Harvard didn't provide one of its own. Meanwhile we were eating 4 course meals and meeting top executives from Lufthansa and Siemens.

That is all to say...having a language/international background is not a hindrance to a Stanford applicant by any means.

Reply 17

Aimless2007

Sweet... you did IR? Thats what I'm most interested in, right now. Would you mind telling me what kind of stuff you did for it? Is it only about politics or also about economics? And also, what kind of jobs do IR grads usually get? Btw.. just to give you some background information about myself. I was born in China, came to Germany when I was six, and have participated in several exchanges including France, Poland, USA(one year)... I speak four languages fluently and I'm currently in the second to last round of the national foreign language contest... (top63 high school students of germany)

Reply 18

Aimless2007

All right, this is exactly what I wanna do!!! I always thought IR would be only about politics, but it seems that there is some economics in it as well... btw... did you apply to any other colleges besides Stanford? If yes, where did you all get accepted? Oh and also, since you've been to both Oxford and Stanford, which one did you like more academically?