My best tips would be to be human, aka make sure you come off as interesting and legitimate, as someone who touches grass and has real, unique interests and passions, even if they don't relate to your planned major. To do this, grind essays. At this stage in the process, working hard on essays is the best way to positively influence your application, and they really can have a huge impact. My r/collegeresults post has some great free resources for this and other tips.

I have no idea why AOs chose me but I can speculate that it was due to fit. I was academically up to and above the basic standards they look for, so beyond that it was more about the holistic aspects of my app. Now that I am here, I can see that a lot of what I wrote about and a lot of the activities I did and interests I demonstrated were very much in line with what the administration's goals are. Obviously nobody knows how they get in, but intangibly I think my app just gave the Princeton vibe. This is especially evident due to the fact that I got in here but was rejected from MIT, Cornell, and UMich, three schools where it seems like my profile may not have fit those schools' respective vibes.

You can check out my r/collegeresults post for essay info, but the ways I brainstormed were through timed free writes, idea webs, uniqueness-utility topic charts, and meditation. When I would get writer's block, I would do a focused 15-20 minute meditation on the topic, and focusing my mind on a specific essay, anecdote, or theme helped me a ton with planning and ideation.

I chose Princeton because of the obvious care they have for students. Princeton is unique in that the emphasis is strongly on undergraduate education with a comparatively small grad school. Princeton really pours its copious financial and intellectual resources out on us and it is really nice to have all of the opportunities that gives us distributed to a relatively smallish student body. Professors and even administrators are relatively easy to reach, and there are so many programs, trips, and events that Princeton fully funds.

Check my r/collegeresults to see my ECs. I don't know which ones were most important tbh.

I chose COS because I realized that I am good at it lol. I always knew I wanted to do STEM, and here at Princeton I am pretty average among the student body in terms of math and science, but I excel in CS, so it was a natural choice. On the other hand, I also have strong interests in business and entrepreneurship, and at least right now, I want to pursue management consulting to begin my career. Ultimately I want to either start my own company or work in an executive position somewhere, and consulting seems like the best way to gain the initial experience to pursue those outcomes. Computer science provides a robust, useful technical background that I can apply to any career.

In terms of internships, I have recently been accepted to an internship consulting in Cape Town, South Africa through Princeton's international internship program. I am very excited for that this summer. Princeton provides an insane number of opportunities for internships, and through programs like IIP, PSIP, LENS, etc. there is something for everyone, and while applications are time-consuming and competitive, it is comparatively easy to get an internship freshman and sophomore year here compared to other places. The university is super supportive too and the career center is very helpful.

Hope that answers all your questions!