It feels a little silly to introduce Princeton. New Jersey’s Ivy League university is one of the most famous colleges on earth. From eating clubs to mandatory senior thesis, Princeton University is really synonymous with undergraduate excellence.
We work with Princeton applicants all the time and know what it takes to get in. Last year, their acceptance rate was just about 4%, making it one of the toughest schools to get into, full stop. You need to be an elite candidate. To be competitive, you need an impressive transcript, exemplary grades, dynamic extracurriculars, and while they are currently still test-optional, great scores will help (about 80% of applicants submit tests). Oh, and of course, eye-catching essays.
We work with everyone from freshman year on strategic planning to seniors scrambling before final deadlines. Trust us, no matter where you are in your college application journey, we can help. Contact us today.
As a research institution that also prides itself on its liberal arts curriculum, Princeton allows students to explore areas across the humanities and the arts, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. What academic areas most pique your curiosity, and how do the programs offered at Princeton suit your particular interests? (Please respond in 250 words or fewer)
This question boils down to: what will you study at Princeton? When we start working with freshmen, sophomores, and even juniors, one of our first goals is to craft a resume that fully explores and cements the student's academic interests. To be a competitive Princeton candidate, you need extracurricular engagement in your academic interests. This means summer programs, clubs, internships, research, and more. The admissions office should be able to guess what you hope to study just based on your resume.
Outside of your own experiences, this question also takes research. The more you know about the school, the easier this is to write. Don’t skimp on the research stage. You should find specific classes, professors, opportunities, research, etc. at Princeton that you can connect to your own interests and experiences. Think of this essay as a Venn diagram. You want to show the overlap between you and Princeton.
For example, we had a student who hoped to study psychology. She wrote about becoming interested in psychology after reading Emotional Intelligence. She then connected Princeton’s Social Psychology class to the work she had been doing organizing her school’s mental health programming week and an online class she had recently taken. She also included her work as a mental health hotline counselor and how it could relate to Prof. Kristina Olson and her research into adolescent development. This essay needs to feel specific and thought out.
Princeton values community and encourages students, faculty, staff and leadership to engage in respectful conversations that can expand their perspectives and challenge their ideas and beliefs. As a prospective member of this community, reflect on how your lived experiences will impact the conversations you will have in the classroom, the dining hall or other campus spaces. What lessons have you learned in life thus far? What will your classmates learn from you? In short, how has your lived experience shaped you? (Please respond in 400-500 words.)
This prompt has many parts. It can be hard to think of one unified story that answers every question, but that is more or less what you need here. Ideally, your answer should be about a lived experience that taught you an interpersonal skill that you will bring to Princeton.
For example, we had a student who was very shy as a freshman, but connecting with others over her love of music let her open up. This experience made her far more confident when meeting new people, which would allow her to connect to the Princeton community.
This is your chance to get personal; bring the reader into your world. Just make sure you are showcasing a transferable life skill!
Princeton has a longstanding commitment to understanding our responsibility to society through service and civic engagement. How does your own story intersect with these ideals? (250 words or fewer)
So this essay needs to be about community service. Ideally, you want to tell a story and not have this sound like an addition to your resume. We would actually love it if this story came from something that isn’t even in your activities section (it is fine if it does, just tell a good, specific story).
For example, we had a student who wrote about teaching science classes to kids at a local museum. The essay centered around connecting with kids over a passion for the natural world. Another student was a peer counselor, and she told a story about how a student came to her with a problem that she couldn’t fix. At first it was hard to accept that she couldn’t fix it, but she learned the importance of just listening and being there for others. Make sure your takeaway is deeper than “I do service.”
The next section should feel fun, but we have found that most students can find it really stressful. Try not to overthink it too too much.
More About You
Please respond to each question in 50 words or fewer. There are no right or wrong answers. Be yourself!
What is a new skill you would like to learn in college?
We generally recommend writing about something a little bit quirky here. By this point, you should have already written all about your major and academic interests as well as a great interpersonal skill. This is your chance to have some fun. We had a student who spoke about joining the Asian Cooking Club to learn how to cook. Another student wrote about taking screenwriting classes as an elective.
What brings you joy?
Ideally, your answer here should be new information. If the first thing on your resume is playing soccer, this shouldn’t be soccer. It also doesn’t need to be just one thing. Often our students list out a couple of things. For example, one of our former students wrote, “Reading a great mystery book; writing poetry; meeting new people; making others laugh until their sides hurt; having late-night conversations; singing my heart out; wearing a smile that sticks to my face; and petrichor.” Another student wrote a full paragraph about perfectly sharpened No. 2 pencils. Don’t be afraid to get creative for this question.
What song represents the soundtrack of your life at this moment?
Avoid anything too explicit and anything too obvious, and you should be fine. Past answers we have loved include “Shine on You Crazy Diamond ” by Pink Floyd, “Warm Glow” by Hippo Campus, and “You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)” by Sylvester. We would recommend adding just a sentence or two to explain your choice. For example, our student who wrote about “Warm Glow” spoke to the final words of the song being “We’ll be alright” and what the refrain meant to her.
Additional Information (Optional)
Please attach a document if you wish to provide details of circumstances or qualifications not reflected in the application.
Most of our students do not use this space. The Common App already has a space for this, so we use it very sparingly. If you believe you have something to put here, ask yourself two questions: 1) Is it an important enough detail to include? And 2) does it really not appear anywhere else in your application? Anything added to this section should feel substantive and new.
Princeton also asks for a graded paper. When we work with students, we review their options to find the most strategic one. But generally, we recommend choosing one that is A+ work and, ideally, connected in some way to what you want to study.
Princeton asks for a lot. It is a long supplement attached to a highly competitive school, which is why so many of our clients ask for help with it. For schools like Princeton, working with a dedicated professional can make all the difference. While we highly recommend working with a counselor if you are serious about Princeton, we hope these tips helped tackle this difficult supplement. And if you need help, we have you covered.
We can help no matter where you are in the college application process. Contact us today to get started!