A wise man once said, “better late than never, but never late is better.” Well, Princeton must have heard these profound Drake lyrics because the school just decided to hop on board the test-optional train. A bit late, but they did it. Please direct yourself to this blog post that breaks down their announcement, which includes a decision to remove their single-choice early action offering.
Princeton is a highly competitive school and we have no reason to believe that it will be easier to get in this year. In fact, we think that it will be harder. Princeton’s ice-cold statement said that students who sit for a test still have the option to submit scores, so if you have performed well on a test you should absolutely submit it. The blog post linked above said it best but allow us to paraphrase: scores matter, and without them, everything else better be top-notch. Below you’ll find four areas of focus for helping yourself stand out to Princeton when you apply later this year:
COMMON APP ESSAY:
Your common app essay is undoubtedly the most important item on this list. This should be your top priority, and something that you start immediately. In past years, there have been more ways to shine and more aspects of your application that work together to paint a picture of who you are. But that is not the case this year. This means that you need to ensure that you stand out in a plentiful sea of students who have been home since March. Reminder: your common app essay is about your personality. It is not about your achievements or aspects of your life that you overcame to become a starting quarterback. When working with TKG clients, we often ask: what’s it like to hang out with you? Why do your friends call you? What is your role in your family? Of course, our brainstorm process includes much more than this, but you should notice that these questions are about characteristics, not benchmarks of success. It is much more interesting to read about your evening routine than it is your path to student body president success. To that end, look at your activities section – and then make sure that you don’t start writing about any of them. While it can be disheartening to accept the fact that you can’t write an extracurricular activity that you’ve spent a lot of time doing, redundancy must be avoided. So, what can you write about? We have plenty of resources here, here, here, and tucked away in the rest of our blog.
EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES:
While it’s true that in-person extracurricular activities are canceled, learning and advancing your skill set is not. If you have given up, you are probably not Princeton material. Look at your passions both inside and outside of school and find ways to keep in touch with them. We are setting weekly goals for our clients to ensure that they are continuing to pursue the things that are most important to them. Structure is your best friend. Read books, take online classes, and look for online programs. Listen to podcasts on your walks. It also wouldn’t hurt to help out around the house and get back to those hobbies you were previously too busy for.
LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation letters from teachers who taught you on Zoom aren’t the same, but this is something that every high school junior will have to work with. We are all in the same boat for this one. But you should still think about which teachers can best speak to your abilities. It’s also crucial to ask nicely and be respectful of the time that your teachers are taking to help you get into your dream school.
SUPPLEMENTS:
To be fair, you can’t start this one yet but you should put it on your radar. Schools often change their supplements yearly, so don’t start writing until Princeton releases the new questions for the upcoming school year. What you can do now is start figuring out what you might want to study and immersing yourself in the subject matter. We will be covering Princeton’s supplement when it is released in August, so be sure to check back.
Need help figuring out where to start? Contact us here.