Princeton is located in Princeton, New Jersey. It has a suburban feel and a very tight-knit on campus culture. It is also part of the coveted Ivy League, and boasts some of the best academic programs in the country across nearly any subject you could dream of studying. Unsurprisingly, getting into Princeton is exceptionally difficult. The university delays release of admissions data, but the overall first-year acceptance rate for the Class of 2029 was 4.4%.
Princeton has been in the process of expanding their student body for the past few years, and 2025 marked the first fall that the university hit their aim: 5,700 students. Expanding the undergraduate student body didn’t make it easier to get in, though. The number of students applying has been growing more rapidly than the student body expanded, so the acceptance rate has continued drop even as the first-year class grew. To try to get an advantage in the process, students try for the best boost they can get beyond building a compelling application profile. That advantage would be applying Single-Choice Early Action.
What Are My Application Options?
Like every other school that follows the standard application calendar, Princeton receives most of the first-year applications they get annually in the Regular Decision round. This is how most students apply, but it’s also the hardest way to get into Princeton.
Applying early to Princeton gives you a boost, but it also doesn’t offer any security. Princeton is one of only a handful of schools that uses Single-Choice Early Action (SCEA or S-C EA). Other schools that implement the same system include Harvard, Yale, and Stanford. Each, like Princeton, have their own take on it, though, so knowing how Harvard does SCEA does not mean that you know how Princeton does it.
SCEA is nonbinding, but it also doesn’t give you wiggle room in the early admissions round. Through SCEA, you cannot apply early to any other private college or university, but you can hedge your bets. SCEA applicants are free to apply early to public institutions (not only in-state), as long as you are using a non-binding option. This means that you can apply SCEA to Princeton and then apply to a list of public university options early action to help ensure that you most definitely have somewhere to go after the early round of admissions. Ideally, of course, you get into Princeton. If you don’t, however, you have security in the Regular Decision or EDII round as you are already into college.
Princeton does not offer a binding Early Decision option, so in this post we are going to break down what you need to know to make the most of the Single-Choice Early Action avenue for admission to increase your odds of getting into Princeton.
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Why Should I Apply Single-Choice Early Action To Princeton?
Princeton has not published the early acceptance rate in recent years, but if we follow the trends of other top-tier institutions that use the SCEA application option we can estimate that the SCEA acceptance rate for Princeton is between 10% and 15%. The overall acceptance rate, then (4.4%), is actually much higher than the regular decision acceptance rate. So, you can choose. Do you aim for Princeton with a 10ish% acceptance rate, or do you take a shot at what might be as low as a 1% acceptance rate. It’s your choice, but we certainly have an opinion.
With the odds of regular decision stacked so firmly against you, there is not much that you can accomplish in the few extra weeks between the SCEA deadline and the RD deadline that makes up for the lost odds of acceptance.
What Can You Do?
Of course, deciding to apply to Princeton SCEA is a big decision. You are giving up your best shot at any other top school, too, and that is a big cost. If Princeton is truly your first choice, though, it’s time to start getting your application in order. Yes, it may be months or even years before applying, but you need to start as early as you can.
Grades
“During the admission process, our goal is to find students who will thrive in Princeton’s rigorous academic environment,” so Princeton offers a suggested ‘course of study’ that all first-year applicants should meet or exceed if they want to be seriously considered for admission. One of the most surprising things they suggest (or, at least, surprising to most students) is that they suggest that strong applicants have some experience in the visual or performing arts on their transcript.
We often see that students choose to quit the visual or performing arts in high school if they aren’t keen on pursuing the art form of their choice in college. The same goes for athletics. If they aren’t going to be recruited, many students quit so that they can focus their efforts on the most relevant academics. The problem with this strategy, though, is that students forget that Princeton is grounded in the liberal arts, and they heavily prioritize community-mindedness and teamwork. The arts and other programs that may, in the moment, feel like a waste of time, are actually a meaningful step toward creating your strongest Princeton application. So, don’t quit the creative classes. They are good for your brain and good for your application.
At the same time, you also need to be taking the hardest courses that you have access to in your prospective area of study — and beyond. It is as important for a STEM applicant to take AP English Lit as it is to take AP Physics, if you have access to both. And if you are at a school that has limited or no AP courses, take the hardest course that is on offer.
Scores
Princeton has not published the SAT or ACT score range for first-year accepted students since 2021. They say that this is because they want to focus on students, which is honestly super annoying and actually seems to be more about attracting applicants with no chance of getting in, subsequently driving down the acceptance rate even further. That’s pretty rude, right?
The test-optional policy that Princeton has had since Covid will end in the 2027-2028 admissions cycle. For now, though, you can decide whether you will submit SAT or ACT scores. If you want to get in, though, you really need to submit scores.
Now, there are some exceptions. If you live in a place where it is extremely difficult to access one or both of the tests, requiring hours of driving, that is a valid excuse. International students, too, often struggle to access the SAT or ACT. Not taking either test, however, simply raises the stakes for everything else on your application. Your grades need to be better, your activities need to be more impressive, and your academic recommendations need to be more glowing, simply to get yourself onto the same level as a comparable applicant with strong test scores. And what do we mean by strong? Strong scores for Princeton are an SAT over 1540 or an ACT over 34.
Remember, too, that if you will be applying without test scores, applying early is even more important than for other students who are applying with scores.
Extracurriculars
Simply being a top student is not enough for Princeton. To get into the college, you need to do more than rack up high grades. They could take their pick of a pool made up of only the single best student at each of the best high schools in America, and still reject thousands. That’s honestly wild, which is why you need to be so much more than a set of numbers.
Princeton looks for students who exemplify leadership, community-mindedness, and who can show through previous experience that they will be a positive and contributive addition to the campus community. In pursuit of that goal, not everything you do should be academically-minded. Yes, clubs like Model UN are valuable — especially if you win awards and recognitions — but sports, long-term community service, a serving job on the weekends, or a mentoring role with a local nonprofit are equally as valuable. They may even be more valuable, honestly, as the standard academically-minded clubs are what every other applicant with your interests and grades are doing. For strong Princeton applicants they are leading them, too. Being a team captain or club head doesn’t by itself make you stand out. You need to build beyond what’s offered, nurture community around you, and collect inspiring stories along the way.
Essays
When we hear from students who applied SCEA on their own, or even with the support of another firm, and who are disappointed by a Princeton rejection, the most common problem we see in their application is that their focus was on the wrong place. They met all the baseline requirements to get serious consideration from Princeton. They had the grades, the scores, the extracurriculars, and the leadership roles. What they were lacking, though, was being likeable.
Likeability is the #1 most overlooked aspect of the elite college admissions process. Applicants spend so much time trying to look impressive, that they forget that the admissions officers need to actually want to get to know them. We work with our students to build narrative-forward writing that communicates your passions alongside your care for the community around you.
Apply Early
Of course, you can do all the prep and prepare all of the pieces, but you also actually need to apply early. Sometimes, students flinch at the last minute. To put it bluntly, don’t.
Applying to Princeton early through Single-Choice Early Action is a risk. It’s a big one, but it can also be the right risk for you if planned correctly. We work with students to do exactly that.
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