TO girl gets into princeton REA (committed yesterday!!)
**Demographics**
* Gender: Female
* Race/Ethnicity: African-American
* Income Bracket: low income
* Type of School: non competitive HS
* Hooks fgli, urm
**Intended Major(s)**: Computer Science
**Academics**
* GPA (UW/W): 4.00
* Rank (or percentile): valedictorian (1/435 in co'26)
* \# of Honors/AP/IB/Dual Enrollment/etc.: 8 APs
**Standardized Testing**
*List the highest scores earned and all scores that were reported.*
* SAT 1130 composite (640 math, 490 r&w), went test optional - context: I could only take the SAT once because I could not afford testing fees. I also did not have the money to afford a tutor or extra help, and my school is extremely underfunded so it did not prepare me well for the exam. I am also generally not the best test taker either.
* APs: AP CS Principles (3), AP Lang (3), AP Precalc (4), AP Physics 2 (3), AP Physics 1 (2, did not report).
* APs taking this year: AP Calculus AB, AP CSA, AP US Gov
**Awards/Honors**
1. Valedictorian
2. PVSA Gold
3. PVSA Silver
4. AP Scholar
5. Seal of Biliteracy (although I later learned this was not supposed to be reported on my application, so I emailed the admissions office)
**Extracurriculars/Activities**
1. President of Computer Science Honor Society
2. President of Computer Science Club
3. Vice President of AASU (African American Student Union)
4. Student Council Vice President + Executive
5. Volunteer at CS Tutoring nonprofit for under-resourced high schools w/ 300+ volunteering hours
6. UNICEF Student Representative
7. Church student representative/leader
8. Duolingo streak lol studying 3+ languages
9. School Math Team Captain
10. Family responsibilities (as I come from a household with a single mother & 4 siblings)
**Letters of Recommendation**
definitely amazing, this was the one part of my application I was fully confident about!
**Essays**
They were pretty good in my opinion! I think they contextualized me in terms of my background and lived experiences (mostly talked about my experiences growing up with a single mother, how that has inspired me, etc.)
**Decisions (indicate ED/EA/REA/SCEA/RD)**
*Acceptances:*
* Princeton REA! (Committed!!)
* Fordham
* Hofstra
* SBU
Rejections/Deferrals:
* None!
Wanted to post this because when I got my SAT results earlier this year, I genuinely thought I stood no chance at any top institution. I hope this post encourages other ppl who may be in a similar position! I'm so happy about my results and for all my FGLI besties out there, ya'll got this, don't let anyone else tell you otherwise! everything is absolutely taken within context ?
