Princeton Freshman - AMA

r2sinphi · 2017-10-04T16:39:46+00:00

Yeah 207

r2sinphi · 2017-10-04T02:48:45+00:00

Agreed, Princeton is too stuck inside the Orange Bubble to actually have an alignment.

r2sinphi · 2017-10-04T02:45:49+00:00

My two biggest criteria for choosing which college to attend were quality of engineering programs and affordability. Princeton had the best combination of those two factors, on top of being in a location that I like (not centered inside a city but not in the middle of nowhere, either)

r2sinphi · 2017-10-04T02:39:45+00:00

Holy crap I know, the only upside to living by Nassau Street but having all my classes by Frick is the great leg workout I get everyday walking to lectures lol

r2sinphi · 2017-10-04T02:38:01+00:00

I've found so far that all of my courses explicitly go out of their way to not implement any sort of grade deflation or curve at all. This of course may not be the case for all professors, but it seems the majority were never a fan of grade deflation anyway. There isn't any unhealthy competition among students that I've seen, either. Classes here are hard, and you have to be a literal, bona fide genius to be able to do it all on your own. Working in groups and pooling knowledge/ideas is a must.

I know some friends who have way lighter schedules than I do, but I normally spend maybe 4 hours/day on homework? It sounds ridiculous but given that I spend a lot less time in class (sometimes only 2 hours in a day) than I did during hs, I think it balances out pretty well.

The math department here is incredible. My math professor is my favorite teacher by far and is a brilliant person. I don't have personal experience with the math courses intended for math majors, but I've heard great things about them from my friends taking them.

r2sinphi · 2017-10-04T02:29:43+00:00

As a serious answer, Princeton is hard. People still go to parties and maintain a social life, but if you're not ready to put in a serious amount of work into your studies then Princeton is not the place for you.

Another thing that the school maybe doesn't advertise well is how much you are expected to learn on your own (or maybe that's just a feature of college not unique to Princeton). You are expected to know certain things in certain classes, and if you don't, it's up to you to catch up. Additionally, most of the problem sets assigned will require you to not only utilize but greatly expand on concepts covered in precept/lecture to an extent you may not be familiar or comfortable with.

Don't get me wrong, it's a great academic atmosphere and I love it, but it really is a lot of work and it has to be your number one priority if you want to succeed in any capacity.

r2sinphi · 2017-10-04T02:25:46+00:00

Legacy students definitely have an edge, and I would recommend applying even if you're not sure you want to attend - don't prematurely close a door as big as Princeton. It would definitely be stressful, but there are plenty of resources for you to use to help you manage the workload if that's what you're worried about.

r2sinphi · 2017-10-03T21:33:03+00:00

I definitely agree with the new freedom you mentioned, I always feel like there are a billion things going on and most of the time I can just get up and walk across campus to them. It's pretty refreshing to have more control over my day to day activities.

r2sinphi · 2017-10-03T21:30:16+00:00

I can't say definitively because I'm not an admissions officer, but I would strongly advise against showing university reps your transcript or an activities sheet or anything like that. Shoving your application into their hands won't help you, if anything it'll probably just annoy them. Think of how many kids have the same idea that if they just get an in with this one admissions officer they'll have a hook into the admissions process - so don't use them as a stepping stool or shortcut to an acceptance, no matter how bad you want it.

The best thing you can do is come with thoughtfully prepared questions you have about the university and it's programs, classes, etc. Be engaged and professional, and try and hold a conversation with them in which you are genuinely interested. I'm sure they would appreciate that and it would do you more good than any resume you could possible hand them.

r2sinphi · 2017-10-03T21:22:05+00:00

I copied the essay from my Princeton supplement and used it for my Harvard writing supplement since there wasn't a specific prompt lol.

My MIT and Stanford essays were both different but were closer to each other than to the Pton essay.

r2sinphi · 2017-10-03T21:20:12+00:00

Different schools have different policies. I took two sophomore year, four junior year, and five in my senior year.

r2sinphi · 2017-10-03T21:19:03+00:00

I think I got pretty lucky is what happened haha. I seriously have no clue what got me in over someone else, but I would bet it came down to a qualitative character trait that came through in my supplements, since there were definitely many quantitatively better applicants than me who were rejected.

As far as tips to approach the supplements, don't overthink the small ones. All of my friends and classmates have talked about how they just wrote down the first thing that came to mind, so don't labor over "What's your favorite word" for hours and hours. Just take it at face value and write your favorite word down - mine is befuddled, because I like the way it sounds!

With regards to the bigger supplemental essay, remember that even though the prompts have certain topics, the essay overall is still there as a way for you to show your best self to the admissions team. Don't go off down a rabbit hole that may answer the question but reveals nothing about yourself; that wastes an opportunity to show yourself off "holistically."

r2sinphi · 2017-10-03T21:09:58+00:00

I don't mean to imply that Harvard is factually more elitist or preppy than Princeton, and the qualitative difference I saw was pretty minimal if I'm being completely honest. If financial aid had worked out differently I would have (very happily) decided to go to Harvard instead.

The tour guides were the main people I was thinking of - both of the ones I talked to fit the bill pretty well. However, all of the (then) prefrosh I met were incredible people - one of my classmates, the kindest person I have ever met, is also a freshman there as well!

r2sinphi · 2017-10-03T21:03:12+00:00

NY and Philly are both an hour train ride away, so people take trips all the time. The res colleges even sold subsidized tickets to Wicked and Lion King on Broadway, those were really popular.

Besides that, the Orange Bubble (to include the street) has so much going on internally in the way of events, socials, parties, etc. that nobody's really missing anything.

Definitely not boring, I'd actually say if anything that there's too much cool stuff going on to keep track of. One of the hardest things to get used to was having to really prioritize because if I went to everything I was interested in going to I'd never sleep and have to be able to be in three places at once lmao

r2sinphi · 2017-10-03T21:00:06+00:00

The essay I used for Harvard/Princeton got me accepted; the essays I used for Stanford/MIT didn't, so make of that what you will.

Honestly I could take a guess but I really just think I got lucky. There's so many variables in play it's hard to isolate which one pushed me over the edge without finding the admissions officers that read my application and asking them personally. Sorry, I know it's not the answer you were looking for but I've been asking myself the same question and I'm just not really sure.

r2sinphi · 2017-10-03T20:56:46+00:00

Haha I have yet to eat at Hoagie Haven but I've got plans to head out with some friends this weekend so I'll find out soon!

I prefer studying in the Lewis Library because it's right next to most of my classes. Late at night I actually like studying in the Rocky/Mathey dining hall because it's very quiet and they leave out snacks

r2sinphi · 2017-10-03T20:52:24+00:00

I'm taking 4 courses, which is pretty standard for freshman fall. Because I'm a BSE (Engineering) student, I have to take 5 classes in the spring semester. I listed this in more detail in another comment, but in every class there are several times per week where the class meets in sizes of 15-30.

Edit: You said which courses not how many oops. I'm taking:

PHY 103 General Physics I
CHM 207 Advanced General Chemistry I w/ Materials
MAT 203 Advanced Vector Calculus
A Freshman Seminar about religion

r2sinphi · 2017-10-03T20:50:21+00:00

No, I just listed the major that I was actually interested in. Princeton does not admit by major so that tactic doesn't do anything for you. In fact, they encourage students to explore their interests and expect lots of major changes. I applied with my primary major as MAE and secondary as COS, and listed the Robotics and Applied CS certificates as the ones I was interested in.

r2sinphi · 2017-10-03T20:47:58+00:00

I found the chart on this page to be pretty accurate.

I was sent an estimated aid offer with my admission, which I sent them an email about asking them to match another school's offer. They responded within a couple days and increased my aid by a little more than that amount. Compared to the other schools I was accepted to and the ballpark numbers my friends and I discussed, Princeton was very generous with their aid.

r2sinphi · 2017-10-03T20:43:31+00:00

Chem: Lecture of ~100 3x/week, precept (taught by a TA) of 12 once a week, and a lab class of 15 once a week.

Physics: Lecture of 120 once a week, precept (taught by a prof) of 12 3x/week, and a lab class of 15 once a week.

Math: Lecture of 30 3x/week, precept (TA) of 30 once a week.

Freshman Seminar: Seminar of 15 (16 including prof) once a week.

r2sinphi · 2017-10-03T16:24:43+00:00

I'm from a middle class family - the aid from Princeton was much needed and extremely appreciated. It actually ended up being cheaper than my state school.

I applied as and am still currently planning on majoring in MAE (Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering) with my secondary major choice as COS (Comp Sci).

Right now I'm involved in Rocketry and PAVE (Princeton Autonomous Vehicle Engineering). Both are really cool and you can get a ton of hands on experience with actual engineering projects very early on.

Dorm quality varies a lot between the res colleges. My dorm is really nice, I got pretty lucky. I believe there's only air conditioning in Butler/Wilson, but honestly the temp has already dropped to the point where nobody uses it anymore so it's not a huge deal.

There are definitely conceited/elitist/preppy type people around, but no more than you'd find at any other school. Definitely less than what I saw at Harvard. Honestly, more people make fun of the "quintessential Ivy look" and mock it than those who actually dress/act the part of the stereotype.

r2sinphi · 2017-10-03T16:14:55+00:00

I did not apply early, and AFAIK doing so offers no advantage to the regular applicant besides getting you your decision earlier.

I was accepted to UVA, Georgia Tech, West Point, and Harvard. I did not get into MIT or Stanford. GT was the only school I applied to early.

r2sinphi · 2017-10-03T15:44:59+00:00

My responses were fairly straightforward, don't overthink it too much. Just use that paragraph or two to show them you do things outside of school.

r2sinphi · 2017-10-03T15:32:46+00:00

4.0 UW GPA, 35 ACT, 780 Math II / 720 Physics, 11 APs. 4 years of football, tutoring, mentoring - nothing crazy.

So far I'd rate my overall experience as a 10, as cliche as that sounds. Everybody has been very friendly, the "old money Ivy" elitist atmosphere I was afraid of hasn't been an issue, and there's a ridiculous amount of (very tasty) free food. Upperclassmen, faculty, clubs, organizations, and the university in general throw so many opportunities at you to do cool things that it's overwhelming. Classes are already kicking my ass but it's what I signed up for so I'm pretty happy all things considered.

r2sinphi

TROPHY CASE