Oops. I blinked and it was August.
The days are getting shorter (though no less hot, it seems!), and the “back-to-school” displays have taken over my local Target. These are sure signs that the summer is coming to a close.
That means my (second?) favorite time of year is quickly approaching. Perhaps it’s because I’m a September baby, but I have always loved the fall and the start of the school year specifically. The cooler days, the beautiful foliage, the purpose that fills the air …
When I started my career in college admission, the fall took on even more meaning. It’s the time that admission officers fan out across the country and around the world to meet with eager prospective applicants, counselors and families. Through information sessions, high school visits and evening programs, our job is to not only tell you about the college or university we represent, but also to answer your questions as you try to determine if “School X” could be a fit for you.
While, admittedly, I’m not out on the road as much as I used to be in my previous roles, I still encounter questions from curious audiences. Some of these questions are newer and directly relate to the changing landscape of applying to college. But some of the questions are ones that endure because they get to the heart of what many believe to be an opaque process.
Here are some of those questions I hear most frequently, and my best attempt to answer them…
What are you looking for in an applicant?
Though it’s one of the most common questions I receive, it’s also a hard one to answer (and receives the most frustrated responses from the questioner!) That’s because there’s no “one” thing that we look “for.” Rather, it’s the combination of experiences and qualities that a student will bring to our community that our team seeks to learn more about. In a holistic process such as ours, academic pieces are certainly important (we want our students to succeed!), but so are the experiences and qualities that make them part of this community. It’s not just about who a student will be in the classroom, but also as a member of a club, a new person to sit with in the dining hall or a partner to engage in late-night discussions about the world. All of this is to say that we are looking to know who you are.
That said, as we attempt to build a class, we look for evidence of curious minds, intellectual spark, a willingness to step outside of one’s comfort zone and a true desire to learn about and from others.
Is AI bad?
AI is not inherently “bad”, but I caution against it in your college application. First and foremost, I guarantee that any essay one writes with the help of AI is not going to be nearly as good or authentic as one that an applicant composes on their own. And, remember, we’re trying to build a community of learners who will contribute to the academic and social fabric here, so we count on authenticity in the application. Also, you are asked to sign off on your application verifying that the work is yours alone.
Should I submit testing?
Unfortunately, this is one question I cannot answer for you. Princeton continues to operate in a test-optional environment for the next two cycles meaning students can opt to apply with or without testing. Applicants who do not submit testing will not be at a disadvantage in our process. The decision on whether or not to submit testing is one that you should discuss with your college counselor based on, among other things, how you feel about your testing and what areas you might be interested in studying. For example, if you want to be an engineer, you know that math is going to be a critical piece in your college career. Did you take the SAT or ACT and do very well in math? Are your test scores representative of your best attempts? Those might be reasons to include the testing. But again, if you do not, it will not be held against you.
Is it better to get “okay” grades in higher level classes or excellent grades in less rigorous ones?
Our job is to ensure that students we admit can thrive academically on campus. So we are looking for evidence that students have challenged themselves in the classes that are available to them and, naturally, we are looking for evidence that students can do well in those classes. Does that mean that students have to take 50 AP classes and get A+’s in all of them? Absolutely not. We do look to see that you have studied across the curriculum (math, science, language arts, history, foreign language) and we look for trends on your transcript (Do the grades get better? Worse? Stay the same? Is the 12th grade schedule still challenging?) And we recognize that not everyone gets A’s all of the time. Is it true that the students we admit have done well in high school? Yes. But remember that we are looking at you as an individual in your context.
So, the short answer here is do your best in classes that challenge you (and hopefully interest you, too!)
No, seriously, should I submit testing?
It’s here twice because no one believes me when I say it the first time! 😊 You will not be at a disadvantage in our process if you choose not to submit testing. (And, no, we do not take the time to wonder “why” a student didn’t submit testing). This is a decision you have to make with your counselor.
I hope that this quick glimpse into the questions I receive most frequently has been helpful to you as you dive into application season. Above all I hope you remember that the job of the admission office is to learn about who you are. And we enjoy doing that! So, keep your questions coming, take a deep breath, and begin.
Happy almost September!