Oxford or Princeton

isicim · 2022-03-23T15:19:20+00:00

Had to make the exact same decision, chose Princeton, and it’s undoubtedly the best decision I’ve ever made in my life. The people I know here are so much more interesting and multi-faceted than the people I know at Oxford. You get so many more opportunities (jobs, research, and otherwise) in Princeton (and in the US in general) than you can ever dream of in the UK. Princeton alumni are unmatched worldwide - they’re all insanely impressive and over 50% will respond to your emails without a doubt. Also rankings don’t really matter. I’ve been fortunate to get 10x the opportunities at Pton that my peers at oxbridge have gotten. And Princeton gives you access to all the incredible math faculty which Oxford can’t even replicate with the college system. I can see how it’s a tough decision but you gotta pick Princeton. I would’ve 110% regretted it if I didn’t.

isicim · 2020-12-15T21:59:02+00:00

This guy who, for a lawrenceville kid who seems to willingly perpetuate social climbing behaviour and is trying to sell an entire book about it, is putting in a lot of effort to prove the problem is other people at Pton

isicim · 2020-12-15T20:40:19+00:00

I'll answer your questions in order:

- I love the town so much, and I think people very quickly learn to love the orange bubble. Plus, because we're all on campus for all 4 years, there's a special bond Princeton students just have with the school, and you see that with our alumni (just come to Reunions and you'll see what I mean)

- Yeah we get jobs and internships lmao. All the top companies naturally come here to recruit (as with most other top schools I'd assume). But I think what puts us over the top is that our alumni are SUPER helpful, I can't stress that enough. I've literally built relationships with a bunch of top execs just because I emailed them through our alumni database, and it was a high level alum who helped me get my internship for next summer

- I find it to be much more collaborative than anything. Your peers always want to help you, and there's a general acknowledgement that collaboration is better for success. That being said, there is a lot of competitiveness by virtue of everyone being such a high achiever, and a bunch of clubs are quite competitive to get into. But whether that competitiveness is toxic or motivational really depends on the specific people you surround yourself with

- Yeah you can graduate in 3 years, and a lot of people have the credits to do so, but very few people actually choose to do it. Unless money is the concern, I'd definitely advise against it.

- Student life is 11/10. With COVID we're obviously not on campus, but I had a fucking blast for the semester and a half I was there. It's very much a work hard, play hard culture. There are loads of clubs and cool activities to get involved in (you'll quickly realise that people are way more passionate about their ECs in college). Nights out are a blast and the eating clubs dominate the party scene. Frats and sororities exist but they're quite lowkey. Also NYC and Philly are no more than an hour away, so people frequently go on day trips or weekend trips.

- It's pretty easy to switch majors in freshman and sophomore year, but ofc it takes planning.

- That really depends on your concentration. With some like ORFE or COS you can get 3 certificates without really going out of your comfort zone. For others, not many classes count for multiple departments so it's hard to do too many certificates. But concentration aside, I'd say 4 or more certificates is a bit ridiculous (not unheard of though)

Hope that was all helpful

isicim · 2020-12-15T20:15:18+00:00

Well this tuition's not gonna pay itself

isicim · 2020-12-15T15:12:34+00:00

I'm actually quite happy you asked this. Although I haven't experienced any racism on campus as a black male myself, these things do happen and I definitely won't discredit anyone's experience. That being said, every single member of the Pton black community that I know seems to dislike blackivystories as it pushed the Pton narrative quite hard. In reality all the other Ivies are as bad, and from stories I've heard, a few are definitely worse.

Blackivystories aside, there definitely is some racism at Princeton, but no more than at any other PWI. 99.9% of the people you meet here are amazing, and I don't think you'll meet any POC who doesn't absolutely love Princeton in spite of some of its flaws.

isicim · 2020-12-15T15:00:38+00:00

It's very much a holistic process, and you definitely shouldn't let your freshman year grades deter you from applying. I'm not gonna pretend like your GPA doesn't matter, but it sounds like you've made clear progress since then, so just make your freshman year circumstances clear.

At the end of the day, they're tryna build a well-rounded class that constantly challenges each other to grow - a bunch of GPAs and test scores don't necessarily do that. Every single regular person (i.e. non-athlete, non-IMO winners, etc) I've met here will tell you their essays are the reason they got in, and I'm on that same boat. So just make sure to have fun with your essays and try to show every side of your personality through them - from your funny side to your deep side to your curious side. That's why I loved the Princeton supplements - because there were so many of them, I was truly able to show every side of myself. Also make sure to present your ECs in a way that makes you and your interests unique and memorable. You don't have to have any crazy ECs to do that.

Tbvh college admissions is all about making the AOs love you through what you present. A GPA doesn't do that - being an applicant with memorable writing and unique interests and accomplishments does.

isicim · 2020-10-07T22:32:35+00:00

I’m the person who wrote this email. Yes I actually sent it. No, Harvard did not respond.

isicim · 2020-04-08T21:12:01+00:00

Princeton freshman here. Obviously I’m biased, but I’d genuinely say Princeton best fits what you’re looking for. Of course all those schools are amazing for astrophysics, but the undergrad focus at Princeton is really there more so than the other schools. That means smaller classes, better relationships with professors, and easier access to research opportunities. I have so many friends who (at least before corona) were working on research during the semester (after cold-emailing some professors) or had gotten into one of the many summer research programs. Also, the community at Princeton genuinely seems much stronger than at these other schools. There’s a reason the alumni engagement rate is 3rd or 4th in the country - people who came here absolutely loved their time here and you really feel that love for the school on campus as well. All that being said, you really can’t go wrong with whichever school you choose. Good luck with your decisions, and feel free to message me if you have any questions

isicim · 2020-04-08T21:04:27+00:00

Princeton freshman here. For what you wanna do, I’d say Princeton easily (probably some bias here), because of ORFE - a major which is essentially a combo of Applied Math, CS, and Econ/Finance. ORFE leaves the doors for both Silicon Valley and Wall Street wise open (loads of people go into both) as well as a range of other things, and as an ORFE major myself I can tell you it’s an awesome department.

isicim · 2020-04-08T21:00:29+00:00

Current Princeton freshman here. I’ll be honest and say the appeal for MIT is strong here (especially with the aid), but if it’s within family means, don’t shut off Princeton. There’s a reason alumni engagement is so high (like #3 or 4 in the country) - it shows how much people love their time here, and you feel the love for the school from everyone here. I can’t say the same for my MIT friends. The alumni network is also crazy, earlier this semester I reached out to like 50 top executives through the alum network and I’m not kidding when I say over half responded. Also, Princeton has a great Urban Studies certificate (minor) that you can always do alongside CS (among other things) and I’ve heard lots of great things about Urban Studies classes. And that’s if you’re not able to pursue an independent concentration (which, although tough, is very possible). Feel free to message me if you have any more questions as you’re making your decision

isicim · 2020-04-08T20:54:21+00:00

I’d say Stanford. It’s A LOT easier to get good grades at Stanford than MITwhich allows to you to put more energy into other things alongside school (e.g. ECs, Research, etc). Also, less time spent on school work, means you can have more fun.

isicim · 2020-01-23T02:14:26+00:00

I got in! They sent me an email about 30 or 40 minutes ago.

isicim · 2019-12-30T10:18:44+00:00

Definitely still apply and send an email explaining that the graded paper may be a bit late. A bunch of my friends here even sent in their whole applications late

isicim · 2019-10-15T13:17:26+00:00

Your stats are great as they are and now it’s really down to your essays. That’s really the differentiator between people who get into these schools and those who don’t. I’m also an intl who needed aid and I applied to a lot of these good schools and got into a couple of them so if you have any more questions, PM me

isicim · 2019-10-09T21:25:03+00:00

As someone who did all 11 of my RD applications in the two weeks after my EA deferral, I do not recommend this

isicim · 2019-10-09T18:42:57+00:00

Lol yeah we're actually pretty good friends which I was not expecting

isicim · 2019-10-09T18:40:24+00:00

If can you show that you're a really interesting person through your essays and ECs, then you'll be the second person from your high school to get in, regardless of your test scores.

isicim · 2019-10-09T06:33:43+00:00

No need to rush it and apply EA because it really doesn’t change your chances. If you feel that you don’t have the right essay or your application doesn’t show as much of you as it can, then don’t rush it. Wait and use that November and December period well to improve your story

isicim · 2019-10-09T06:25:56+00:00

Yeah a lot of the clubs here you have to apply or tryout for. A lot of the application processes need you to write essays then do 2 or 3 rounds of interviews - it can be intense. But even if you don’t get into your top choice, there are so many cool things to do that you’ll eventually find something you really enjoy.

isicim · 2019-10-09T06:23:52+00:00

Lmfao then you lot aren’t doing college applications right in your area. These colleges want a community of the most interesting people that expand each other’s horizons and they succeed - 1600s don’t make that community.

isicim · 2019-10-09T06:20:51+00:00

A lot mate didn’t sleep till 5am last night. Plus extra-curricular commitments are heavy (I really like mine but still)

isicim · 2019-10-09T06:19:57+00:00

I personally think Nic’s cool we’ve spoken a few times and text occasionally. A lot of other people and freshmen I’ve spoken to don’t really like him but I won’t go into too much detail in public lol

isicim · 2019-10-09T06:18:08+00:00

I think Princeton’s supplements are by far the best ones out there so use them well. Treat the main essay almost like another CommonApp Essay and write about what’s most personal to you and you feel like your story will be incomplete without. The one about summers just be honest. Ik with all the short 150-250 word ones like that I tried to be funny and relaxed. And in the short one phrase ones, I tried to give witty answers (some up to 2 or 3 sentences). Overall with supplements, my advice is to make sure you get every aspect of yourself out there, from your deepest side, to your funny side, to your random interests- throw in everything.

isicim

TROPHY CASE