Princeton University (2023-2024)

[solemn kiln]

agreed

[urban sinew]

Not for humanities

[solemn kiln]

well the discussion was about cs anyways

not humanities

[urban sinew]

Then again caltech probably doesn’t get a lot of humanities ppl

[solemn kiln]

0

close to 0

[urban sinew]

Lmao

[solemn kiln]

they are the most hardcore stem school

in the world

[tardy fiber]

I didn’t even know humanities

[urban sinew]

Caltech cs is probably very theoretical

[solemn kiln]

it is

[solemn kiln]

anyways can you pull up the data for the mit 180k starting salary for cs

[urban sinew]

I’d guess that most caltech cs ppl want to go to grad school as opposed to industry

[solemn kiln]

because most places i check the average is showing 90k

which seems pretty inaccurate to me

so i wanna see your source

[urban sinew]

Whereas most Princeton cs ppl I know want to go to industry

Yea 180k is probably not accurate for salary

[solemn kiln]

most caltech cs people wanna go into research or phd

[urban sinew]

Maybe total comp

[solemn kiln]

which is what i argued to the guy above

[urban sinew]

Right yea

[solemn kiln]

a fresher isn't even gonna get close to that

especially in this crap economy

[urban sinew]

Faang tc is around 180k

[solemn kiln]

180k is def possible after 5-10 years tho if you're an mit grad and you play your cards right

more even

180-300k

[urban sinew]

Quant tc can be like 300-500k

[tardy fiber]

It’s above 120 I know

[solemn kiln]

yep

quant is crazy

but you need a masters for quant

[tardy fiber]

I don’t remember if 180 was correct or not

[urban sinew]

No

[solemn kiln]

can i still see the source

[solemn kiln]

unless you're an outlier and are brilliant as fuck

most people ain't hiring you

for quant

it's competitve as hell

and fully skill based

[tardy fiber]

It’s whatever the normal website is to pull it up I’m on my phone

[urban sinew]

Yes it’s competitive but you don’t have to be a genius necessarily

[solemn kiln]

ah i see

can you send it when you hop onto your pc

i wanna see where the schools i got into compare

[urban sinew]

There are more companies than just js, hrt, two sigma

[solemn kiln]

yea but those are the ones that are giving the 300-500k tc

[urban sinew]

True yea

But you can still make a lot of money at others

[solemn kiln]

makes sense

[urban sinew]

Realistically 200k out of college is insane

[solemn kiln]

why do you have the prefrosh flair

[solemn kiln]

even 100k is nowadays

[solemn kiln]

if you're a soph

[urban sinew]

I don’t feel like changing it

I like the color lol

[manic jay]

Where would u put utcs

[urban sinew]

But I’m still a freshman

[manic jay]

And princeton cs

Prefrosh color is so neat lol

[urban sinew]

princeton cs #5 rahhh

[tardy fiber]

?

[manic jay]

Ut austin computer science

I heard its good

[tardy fiber]

oh

[urban sinew]

i've only taken one cs class here and it was very good

[tardy fiber]

I’ve heard it’s alright

[solemn kiln]

🥶

[solemn kiln]

ut cs is t10

lmao

[manic jay]

Alright is wild lmao

[solemn kiln]

if it's turing scholars it's hypsm level

[manic jay]

Ppl meatride it sm

[urban sinew]

realistically tho there is no distinguishable difference between like 4-10

[solemn kiln]

this man delu asf

[manic jay]

Maybe im just in texas thats why

[solemn kiln]

ut austin is mad good

[manic jay]

Everyone hypes up utcs

[solemn kiln]

deserves the hype

[manic jay]

Nah gatech is differentiable imo

But yea mit stanford cmu clear

[solemn kiln]

better or worse

[tardy fiber]

it’s good? Like top 20 I think

[solemn kiln]

it's t10 bro

[manic jay]

Better than most

[solemn kiln]

well it's a t5 for sure

[manic jay]

Ive heard t10 from lots

[solemn kiln]

it is t10

[manic jay]

Most actually but im not a cs major

So idk

[tardy fiber]

I’ve only heard T20 but I don’t live in Texas

[solemn kiln]

yea same

[manic jay]

Makes sense if ur from the north

[solemn kiln]

are you government?

or like international relations

because gtown

[manic jay]

Finance/business/econ

[tardy fiber]

@solemn kiln 120k looks like for MIT undergrad

[solemn kiln]

yo can you send the link

[manic jay]

Will do a double major at gtown if i go

Business/global affairs

[solemn kiln]

120 sounds pretty reasonable as a tc for an mit fresher tbh

[solemn kiln]

solid course

ut austin mccormick school is pretty good asw

did you get in?

[manic jay]

Yea

Ut vs Georgetown for me rn

Waiting for umich and ivies

[urban sinew]

how so

[manic jay]

And stern

[solemn kiln]

would you pick ross over it?

[manic jay]

Yea

[solemn kiln]

oh damn stern

stern is solid as fuck

[manic jay]

Wait actually no

Ross too expensive

Oos

[solemn kiln]

i mean the only ivy that's really goated at business

is like wharton

[manic jay]

In terms of quality ross is rlly good

[manic jay]

Econ tho

[solemn kiln]

columbia too then

[manic jay]

All of them are

Good for ib

[solemn kiln]

and i guess harvard and yale

[manic jay]

Investment banking

[solemn kiln]

as long as it's an ib target

it's a good school

[manic jay]

Basically all the ives are

Ivies

[solemn kiln]

yep

ik

[manic jay]

Brown darty might be semis

Idk

[solemn kiln]

didn't know you were gunning for IB

[solemn kiln]

they are

[manic jay]

Not deadset

But def an option

[solemn kiln]

gtown is a semi asw i think

[manic jay]

Its a target

Debatable thh

Tbh

I use peakframeworks

Since its data based

[solemn kiln]

what are the ib targets anyways

[manic jay]

Theres no perfect list but heres my favorite

https://www.peakframeworks.com/post/ib-target-schools

[solemn kiln]

damn

[manic jay]

6 ivies lmfao

[solemn kiln]

gtown is a t7

feel like ut austin is only that high up because of school loyalty

[manic jay]

Its #2 on their weighted school ranking

[solemn kiln]

like both a&m and ut austin hire each their alums like mad

[manic jay]

Ut isnt insanely good per capita

Its just a huge school

If u look at weighted ranking

And per capita

[solemn kiln]

ngl

indiana being that low is crazy

[manic jay]

Iu kelley isnt allat

You have to get into the ib workshop after freshman year

I didnt apply lol

[manic jay]

R u texan

[solemn kiln]

nah intl

i do have an interest in the texan schools tho

because of oil&gas rahhh

[manic jay]

Lmfao

Did u apply ut

[abstract flare]

Does anyone have a guess of what Princeton deferred number for this year?

[zenith flame]

guys, how exactly do we start an update about an acheivement?

[abstract flare]

I can’t seem to find it anywhere. Pton been super quiet about it.

[zenith flame]

princeton's deferral rate is around 80% as per some sources but idk

they do have a high deferral rate fs

someone please help with this

do I go- I am happy/delighted to inform.....?

[abstract flare]

Wow … 80% .. same level as Harvard and MIT, glup!

[tough eagle]

swear is lower this year

not sure tho

[zenith flame]

guys please help with this

[abstract flare]

Curious if accepted REA students got any insight on this deferral from their zoom meeting

[urban sinew]

Definitely lower in recent years

[zenith flame]

could u help me with this

[zenith flame]

.

[zenith flame]

they haven't released their data for past 4 years I believe, so makes sense

[urban sinew]

Sure

[lofty needle]

yeah that should be good ig

[urban sinew]

Yea that’s good

You can also just say “Recently, I’ve been working on…”

“In the last two months, I’ve done x and y”

[zenith flame]

no actually, I applied rd so it's not an loci. Just that my research was accepted in a journal that was 'under review' during the application deadline

[urban sinew]

Ah I see

[tough eagle]

tatty is good with LOCIs he helped me with mine haha

[urban sinew]

Yea this is perfect then

[zenith flame]

ok thanks!!

[urban sinew]

Np, good luck

[zenith flame]

[zenith flame]

@urban sinew can I dm you a question about the loci?

[solemn crag]

Is this for linkedin

[tough eagle]

LOCI

[urban sinew]

Sure

[rich kelp]

@urban sinew hi tatty

😭😭

[urban sinew]

Hi supremefather

[orchid axle]

what zoom meeting

[solemn crag]

Why would you put that in a loci

You’re not making a speech 💀💀

[tough eagle]

i dont fucking know

its supposed to be formal

[zenith flame]

no it's like a college update i am sending to some schools; i got research published so yeah

tryna figure out how to start the update

[zenith flame]

this kinda seemed most appropriate

[solemn crag]

You’re addressing someone

You wouldn’t start a phone call with ‘I am pleased to let you know…’

[rich kelp]

I sent something similar mid February

I just said something like Below is a list of updates to various competitions, research conferences, and awards that have occurred following the submission of my application

And then I had a bulleted list

[zenith flame]

so I should wait till feb? I lowkey know that there won't be any update anymore cause im indian and we got finals from feb to march end

I had touched upon the fact that my research is 'under review' in my application, now I just want to share that it has been accepted

can i make it something like:

I am delighted to share an update regarding my self-conducted research on "---". While at the time of the application deadline, my paper was under review at "----," I am thrilled to announce that it has now been accepted for publishing in the journal.......

is this weird??

[solemn kiln]

yep

ut rice and a&m

[rich kelp]

Sure I mean it works

[rich kelp]

Depends on who you ask and what field . To the general population this is generally not the case

[manic jay]

Disagree

[rich kelp]

And caltech has such a low yield rate compared to other T20s because most students who get into caltech get into comparable schools and the environment at Caltech is quite unique relative to other schools, so it really takes a particular type of person with a particular set of goals to choose it over some of the comparable schools

[manic jay]

Nobody knows caltech 😭

[rich kelp]

I mean in industry and research they are very well known

[solemn kiln]

well nobody knows what the fuck dartmouth is either

and brown/columbia

which was the 8th

[rich kelp]

Disagree for Columbia

[manic jay]

Bro everyone knows columbia

[solemn kiln]

well fair

brown then

[manic jay]

And ik ppl who talk about brown and darty

Whos dream school is caltech

[rich kelp]

I know a lot of people who’s dream school was caltech

Particularly kids heavily into stem from CA

[tough eagle]

dang

i wont get in caltech

so i cant comment

[rich kelp]

But that’s just for math

I’d argue caltech is very strong in many experimental sciences

Isn’t he physics ?

Are you sure he’s not listed in both

I think he is

Both professor of physics and professor of math

TQFT could def be considered somewhat math I think 😭😭

[dusky thorn]

How is stony brook better than UCLA

[lone ember]

If we’re talking engineering then Harvey Mudd would sweep any Ivy lol

[lone ember]

But like what are we basing the ranking off of then prestige or actual quality of education

Harvey Mudd is miles ahead of Caltech undergrad

The reason why it’s so good is bc of their prioritization on undergrad, I could honestly argue it above mit undergrad

Primarily if you’re looking to go to grad school but even industry it’s really good

[pseudo oar]

stanford number 2? wow

[wooden thistle]

nyu better than caltech

wtf

STONY BROOK???

nah no way thats real

doesnt us news ranks stony as 30th

[zenith flame]

did yale leave the chat or what?

[late pollen]

wilhelm schloggers

[solemn crag]

A2cers trying to fathom how the most prestigious colleges aren’t always the best for a subject 🤯🤯

[zenith flame]

i mean yale math is definitely better then brown and cornell

is what im saying

[late pollen]

why

unironically 90% of this ranking is just bullshit

it's utterly useless and subjective

is princeton going to gap the fuck out of some random cc

yeah

but metrics like "ah this guy has done x things" might mean that that person is an icnredible mathematician

[zenith flame]

rankings bro; literally any website would say so

[late pollen]

but it doesn't particularly speak to how well you're going to be taught there

ahhhhh the rankings that use randomass subjective standards

yes those

on what metric bro

like

point at what objective standards you can genuinely say decide something is better

is princeton math top? yes, without fail

can you definitively say like

schools with similar levels of resources & instruction are clearly better than one another

idfk

provide real evidence i think

[zenith flame]

wdym by real evidence?

i wasn't really ranking schools based on mathematicians but ok

[vivid root]

How do y’all find real rankings for majors? Is it just based on faculty

[late pollen]

tghat;s

the fucking

funny part

people and websites just have diff standards

people, curricula, resources, etc.

[zenith flame]

isn't there are difference between mathematicians produced and faculty working? Idts there's a concept of only working at the school where you studied your math (though it might be common)

how exactly are you ranking mit so high then?

it's not the faculty in this case it seems

[brazen crow]

Ive heard not so great things about stanford math dept tbh

But its all anecdotal

Ive talked to like prob 20 people studying math there though and they all highly disapproved

Its primarily good for mathematical interdisciplinary work in data science/cs not really pure math

But the ppl i talked to didnt recommend it if i wanted to go into pure math, like i genuinely couldnt find a single person who approved of it

Im a prospective math major yea, so i was trying to talk to ppl that went in w/ the same mindset but talked about how they all pivoted to like computational applications j bc the culture there is so silicon valley oriented/not much focus on pure math itself

Mathematical physics

Which pton would be perfect for but like

Just a dream lmao

[opal pine]

princeton is cool, but they need a better color scheme badly

if princeton had yale’s blue + white color scheme i would have rea’d there 😏

[vivid root]

yea but how do u get to know about faculty moving around and stuff?

yea fs, the major/research area im interested in needs a good math background so thats another reason to attract me to princeton

[pseudo oar]

June Huh for example lmfao

[pseudo oar]

yeah yale isnt good at math

[pseudo oar]

W same

[rich kelp]

Yale isn’t good*

[pseudo oar]

Fax

pton>>>

[flint jasper]

pton is not evaluative right?

[pseudo oar]

what does that mean

[flint jasper]

interviews sorry

[pseudo oar]

u mean whether it matters?

[flint jasper]

yes

[rich kelp]

Princeton is evaluative

The only top school that I remember not being evaluative is Cornell

[pseudo oar]

yeah but idt it matters

j a little bit perhaps

[wintry turtle]

Just gotta say Ravi Vakil is also there 👀

Also i thought Donaldson is at imperial college London or whatever not stony brook

[rich kelp]

I mean it’s marginal but still counts as part of your app, versus some schools don’t consider it whatsoever

[flint jasper]

ohh okok thats good to hear

[solemn kiln]

idk shouldn't ucla automatically be clear of most of these

because of the presence of terry tao

mans the goat modern mathematician

[noble nexus]

how important is the interview for princeton and is there any negative repercussions if i say no

[brazen crow]

prob if you say no yea, at least for schools like mit it actively disadvantages you to reject the request

[noble nexus]

i got an email and it only has in person interviews but it’s a 45 min drive away

[brazen crow]

i dont think its that important

[brazen crow]

oh in that case i dont think its your fault

prob just say you would prefer a virtual or closer in person option

instead of saying no

just offer a diff suggestion

i have like 0 expertise on this tho lmfao

[noble nexus]

thanks tho 🤘

[rich kelp]

Definitely better to have it if offered

[cosmic solar]

how is stony brook so high up there

interesting

[amber sphinx]

this is crazy

my interviewer was class of 95

back when princeton acceptance rate wsa 47%

[late pollen]

[nimble hatch]

so, how’s princeton’s student life?

[rich kelp]

😂

[nimble hatch]

is that an answer?

[rich kelp]

https://www.princeton.edu/one-community/student-life

[nimble hatch]

kinda wanted to hear first hand and something more realistic bc i feel like obviously the school website will paint them in a positive light

[nimble hatch]

it doesnt have to be

[rich kelp]

the problem with your question is that the answer varies drastically depending on who you ask

[prime nexus]

honestly guys i think he just wanted to hear y’all’s experiences

like specifically you two, bc he sees y’all go to princeton

not the technical like specific princeton student life

[nimble hatch]

i dont rlly care how it is on a wide spectrum but like for yall specifically

the people that go there

what are some pos and negs

[rich kelp]

I think the student life is good. Academics are challenging if you want them to be (i.e. don't go into advanced math or physics expecting a cakewalk, but definitely there are easy classes and easier majors) but can be chill if you want them to be
Overall, I felt socially I had a good time. I was able to find a number of like-minded people who shared goals and interests with me and there are people with practically every personality/interest/goal if you search hard enough.

😴

[wintry turtle]

aww i wanted an advanced gpt answer ☹️

[rich kelp]

[nimble hatch]

u wrote this?

[rich kelp]

it is a 3-dimensional graphic of an emoji person frowning

meant to show my disappointment in your GPT generated response

at least use GPT 4.0

[nimble hatch]

thanks!! ik everybody talks abt like the positives so thanks for including like a realistic side of things. exactly what i was looking for!

[rich kelp]

I mean it is pretty positive by and large

[nimble hatch]

right, he could’ve answered my question without being an asshole or he could have just ignored it

[rich kelp]

(I'm trolling nick who is trolling you)

[rich kelp]

I don't think there are many students who despise or dislike their Princeton experience from what I have seen thus far

[nimble hatch]

oh what makes u say that?

[rich kelp]

[prime nexus]

tbh all he did was ask a question, why does your response have to be so passive-aggressive, nick lmaoo

this from my experience honestly just contributes to the toxic experience in the server. it seems alot of people just get an unnecessary sense of ego when they attend these schools and seem like they are just looking down on everyone else who has yet to be accepted or not among those in t20s

i doubt that was your intention, but i just feel like you should honestly consider that in your responses, considering your in a place that people look to for advice/inspiration. just my thoughts! thanks for reading!

[nimble hatch]

waits for a reply

[rich kelp]

he's trolling you

[prime nexus]

is he saying he'd do good at harvard bc of the grade inflation?

was that the joke?

[rich kelp]

maybe, not completely sure what the exact joke is lmao

[prime nexus]

oh! i love how he was talking about stuck up harvard students and then proceeds to be douchey here lmaoo

[rich kelp]

ultimately this channel is not that serious

[prime nexus]

it isn't

[rich kelp]

don't overthink comments

[prime nexus]

but to someone new to the server, being met with disrespect with a question, its hard to discern jokes

but

i digress

maybe tone indicators would make that more understanding

and for the sake of a "joke" doesn't really give you the right to be an asshole

anyways, this is a question for everyone

why did you all apply to princeton, other than prestige

[rich kelp]

it's a place where people come to learn for the sake of learning

[prime nexus]

right good answer good answer

[orchid axle]

The fin aid

[prime nexus]

definitely agree

[orchid axle]

And now i’ve received my package but its still not enough 😭

[prime nexus]

THATS A NECESSITY

[prime nexus]

damn im sorry

have you tried contesting it?

[orchid axle]

My fault tho my family messed up our tax papers

Making us seem we richer than we are

Im currently contesting it

[prime nexus]

okok well i wish you the best of luck!

[orchid axle]

Thanks! Best of luck to you too!!

[prime nexus]

thank you!

[ripe ibex]

#📜-rules

​Rule 2: Answer Questions with Good Intent

​Please only answer questions if you know your answers are correct. If you aren't sure, don't be afraid to double check! Share official sources where possible (e.g. school websites). If a question is subjective, you should still have some backing when approaching it. While it's okay if you need to be corrected on occasion, purposeful misinformation will receive infractions.

[prime nexus]

yepp makes sense, similar with me

yeah, i like the idea of it being good at everything bc i feel like it makes room for yk for a really good liberal arts education

[orchid axle]

Did you get acceptances from other ivies back then?

Just curious

Ah

One thing that i’ve always been wondering is the cross admit between harvard - yale - princeton

[rich kelp]

for me, I got rejected by the other two

[orchid axle]

And why it seems like the tendency is to lean to h / y

[rich kelp]

but I did get into some other T10s

[rich kelp]

likely prestige and depending on major, arguably better (especially humanities and yale)
also vibe, princeton tends to be more academic compared to its big 3 ivy counterparts

[orchid axle]

Hmm

[orchid axle]

This might be the case esp with the inflated grades in h and y

Maybe ppl are looking for easy As

[hollow jewel]

yale its ridiculously easy

80% of yale have an A

[orchid axle]

Shit

That’s basically everyone

[hollow jewel]

yeah harvard is crazy too

brown easy af

no gpa

j P/F

[rich kelp]

the statistic was 80% of the grades given out at yale in the past academic year were As and A-s

[orchid axle]

What’s the percentage of students with As in pton?

[rich kelp]

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/05/nyregion/yale-grade-inflation.html

[hollow jewel]

lower

princeton has grade deflation

[rich kelp]

no definitely not low

[hollow jewel]

oh mb

i meant lower

[orchid axle]

Honestly no one gives a flying fuck about the grade inflation. They just think abt Yale / Harvard students and you’ll instantly get the assumption of being incredibly smart

[hollow jewel]

than yale

[rich kelp]

Cs are rarely given out I believe and Ds and Fs are extremely rare

[hollow jewel]

so mostly Bs/As

[rich kelp]

so for all practical purposes, by and large, you will get some form of A and B in most of your courses

now that composition is likely slightly different on average than some of the peer institutions

[orchid axle]

What is B translated to gpa

[rich kelp]

A+ = 4.0
A = 4.0
A- = 3.7
B+ = 3.3
B = 3.0
B- = 2.7

and so on

really?

https://paw.princeton.edu/article/essay-grading-‘good-old-days’
I think this is a really interesting article

i believe this is true for classes with classes with actual grade distributions (i.e. not ez A)

[orchid axle]

Wait frs are easy As?

[rich kelp]

a lot of them are designed to be, yes

particularly when compared with writing seminars

[orchid axle]

Btw since you guys are here wanna ask if the frs can be used to cover for distribution requirement

[rich kelp]

yes of course

[orchid axle]

Writing sems and frs are different ?!

[rich kelp]

many people use it to cover distributions they don't like

[rich kelp]

yes

very

[orchid axle]

THATS MY CASE I CANT FIND A HA CLASS I LIKED

Not a big history fan

Hm thats interesting

[rich kelp]

Writing seminars are mandatory classes that EVERY freshman must take with no exception
you are randomly placed into taking it in your fall or spring semester during the summer
you rank 8 courses and then they place you into one

freshman seminars are OPTIONAL classes that freshman can take if they would like. they fulfill distribution requirements. you can rank up to 5 per term

[orchid axle]

Ahhh

Just realized it

Btw do any of you take Chinese as your language

Hmm ok

Greek sounds fun but difficult

[rich kelp]

i did persian

i know some who did chinese

but many were native speakers at home and often second generation americans from immigrant families

[orchid axle]

😭

[rich kelp]

fair advice, chinese is also quite demanding relative to other languages but this is also dependent on your background

[orchid axle]

I wanna do princeton in beijing

That’s why

[rich kelp]

do you know any chinese rn?

[orchid axle]

B2 - c1 lvl chinese

[rich kelp]

idk what this means but ok

[rich kelp]

take the placement test in the summer and see how you fare, and then decide from there

[orchid axle]

Id say i can read texts and speak conversationally

Dont know if it’s enough though

[orchid axle]

Will do

[rich kelp]

i mean there are a bunch of levels you can place into so I think the placement exam will give you a fair understanding of where your gaps are and what course you should consider taking if you choose to continue with it

[orchid axle]

Fair enough

I find this so funny idk why

[rich kelp]

but if learning chinese very well during university is one of your goals, you definitely can make it a priority and achieve it

[orchid axle]

Yeah

Im working on my priorities

[rich kelp]

everyone's priorities shift so don't worry lmao

yup

[orchid axle]

Haha

Im legit confused about these things tho

[rich kelp]

about what

[orchid axle]

So im really grateful someone is willing to answer my questions

[orchid axle]

The things i asked

Well the only thing between me and pton now is the net price

Lol

[rich kelp]

nick why did you choose to describe me so accurately in 4 words

i think that is quite a decent number of people I've met at princeton yes

[orchid axle]

😂

[rich kelp]

you can definitely get it down dw
one of my friends at caltech got his down ~60%

[orchid axle]

Hopefully

[rich kelp]

did you apply anywhere RD?

[orchid axle]

The things abt princeton fin aid appeal at college confidential and reddit aren’t reassuring

[orchid axle]

All ivies except brown

Just for funsies tho im on a gap year

[rich kelp]

yup

[rich kelp]

ok good
if you are able to get into some other schools but still want to go to princeton, you can def leverage your financial aid packages from other schools (assuming it is better than what you got )

[rich kelp]

rn or you are planning to next year?

[orchid axle]

Rn

💀

[rich kelp]

LMAO

novogratz isn't a bad idea at all really

[orchid axle]

Nty lmao gap year stigmas have been killing me i wont double the social pressure

One of the novogratz locations is my own country

[rich kelp]

hmmm

yeah i see that

[rich kelp]

are you from the US?

[orchid axle]

No

Southeast asia

[rich kelp]

many internationals take a gap year after high school and before college

so i wouldn't worry about any stigma

[orchid axle]

I wasn’t supposed to be in a gap year

My situation is quite complicated

Well i dont have any worries about being a gap year student in pton

But in my country the stigma is quite bad

Esp bcs i was a valedictorian

There were some weight on my shoulders

Yeah

That’s what i’ve been saying to myself

Yeah

Thanks for the talk guys @rich kelp @thorny viper

[rich kelp]

npp

[orchid axle]

I really appreciate it

[rich kelp]

feel free to ask anymore questions here or the '28 server

[thick seal]

wait can you give examples

[charred elbow]

stop fr?

[thick seal]

so they're countercultural relative to one another lmao?

[rich kelp]

when you put it this way, idk if I fall into any of these categories tbh

[thick seal]

ehh

[rich kelp]

like def not 1 or 3 but I don't think i was working the place to death either

[thick seal]

i think its pretty encompassing by perspective as long as you're in some way academic

dang

maybe i made a mistake double-listing math and english lol

i pointedly did this thing where i tried super hard to branch out in high school but ended up back in math

[rich kelp]

💀

[thick seal]

im not bad at most of the things i tried i was just comparatively much better at math than my classmates lmao

that sounds nice honestly

the stereotype ive heard is kind of scarily toxic so it's reassuring

[rich kelp]

yeah this is a great description

[thick seal]

i assume its spending a lot of time working but not choosing to work yourself to death out of competitive advantage

like this year i was criticized for not actually sacrificing my physical health for my commitment to robotics

so not that?

[runic salmon]

LMAO 💀

[prime nexus]

idk if you already answered this but, is there a good like "work hard play hard" balance?

[orchid axle]

Btw which nba / nfl team princeton kids usually support?

Oh

[prime nexus]

makes sense makes sense

[thick seal]

the METS BABY love the mets go get a home run

[rich kelp]

from my experience, some, but not many, many people fall into one or the other category

[prime nexus]

dang thats pretty sad

well to me

[thick seal]

i actually think my friend from princeton is really a mets fan

[rich kelp]

i think this is fair

[rich kelp]

i mean this is a chosen thing

i think some do make it their identity but you did say most so i think it's fine

[orchid axle]

Do many support brooklyn nets lol

Or the knicks

[prime nexus]

yeahh, ngl i dont like being in environments like that lmaoo

i hate when people feel like they have to make it known that they're smart

if its natural thats different, but you can kinda tell when its unauthentic

i couldn't survive at MIT

i don't think im techy enough

[orchid axle]

Mit is infested by international oly kids

[rich kelp]

yes i do

[prime nexus]

are yall besties

[rich kelp]

idrk many at princeton like that though

[orchid axle]

Oh another question out of curiosity

[prime nexus]

do you guys do dinner dates together in the dining hall?? is it giving bromance???

[orchid axle]

Since princeton has less students in a class does everyone knows everyone

[prime nexus]

is it giving together 4 everrrr

[orchid axle]

doesnt have to be literal

[prime nexus]

or see you when i see you and chat it up in discord!

no i mean you and supremefather lmaoo

LMAOO

ive definitely heard of you before today

you're highly known around town

joking btw

[rich kelp]

😭 just to still get cooked

dont worry

easier schedule next term = around more

[prime nexus]

so the grade deflation is that bad?

ooo

scary

are yall both stem majors

i know nick is

[rich kelp]

pretty tough

[prime nexus]

damn

im going into poli sci, well for pton i applied with politics major

and teacher preparation minor, but im sure that doesn't matter that much as a first year

weird combination but rn i want to go into like education reform or wtv

and the teacher preparation minor was a cool combination with that so

i hope so

honestly im excited

my interview went great imo

i had one yesterday

[orchid axle]

good for you then

[prime nexus]

yeah i actually intern with our college and career coaches

[thick seal]

is princeton ok if i'm not totally sure what i want to study lmao

[prime nexus]

helping my classmates apply to college and stuff or whatever

bc we only have a 45% matriculation rate...

so hoping to increase that

[thick seal]

oh no i applied with math and i have a decent bit of math

i just mean if i get in

is it the kind of place where they want you to lock in relatively early

[rich kelp]

i dont think so

i think ~half of the students change their major at least once from what they applied as

and a lot of people are unsure and exploring

[thick seal]

i think i was a bit scared bc junior papers and i heard you could start them early if you did major requirements early

[orchid axle]

Does anyone have any one two cents abt the CS dept at pton

[rich kelp]

not many do them early

[thick seal]

which makes me feel like exploration might be at a cost

oh ok

[prime nexus]

but ofc for getting in it would be nice to look like you have it figured out

[rich kelp]

@urban sinew took COS 226 - algorithms and data structures
this past semester
i plan to take 126 next term

[orchid axle]

I actually like the senior paper thing

In my country every uni does that

So its a common sighting

[rich kelp]

no
it is important to realize that not many people actually go into advanced standing and try to graduate early or do junior papers early etc

[prime nexus]

yeah me too, tbh before this year i just had alot of community leadership

[rich kelp]

if you do I would argue that you are not fully maximizing your princeton experience in a way

[orchid axle]

Is it very hard esp if you had no prior programming experience

[prime nexus]

but since getting two internships, i think its starting to drift into a more spiky application

[thick seal]

that's reassuring

[prime nexus]

especially if you include my essays among that

i think i threaded advocacy pretty well througout my app

[thick seal]

my application is a bit

[prime nexus]

yeahh, ive noticed that from the "stats that got me into" videos

[thick seal]

all over the place

[prime nexus]

its hard to predict for anyone

[prime nexus]

i feel like if your essays do a great job of bringing it all together it could definitely work out for you

[rich kelp]

idk the term hasn't started yet
but i heard 126 is pretty chill from my friends who took it this past term, they literally have all of the previous exams from ~the past decade available to you
226 also seemed pretty interesting and chill and the median on the final raw was a 90 so take that as you will (but also understand that unlike departments like math and phys, cos does not really curve in their introductory classes and your raw grade = actual grade)

[thick seal]

that sounds accurate from who i know

[prime nexus]

see thats cool, i like that, tbh though im scared to go to college in general

just bc knowing the bad rep the academics gets in my area

idk if it has properly prepared me for any higher ed

[rich kelp]

actually basically everyone i know who entered princeton wanting to graduate in 3 years no longer wants to do so/does not plan to do so

[orchid axle]

Lol same

[orchid axle]

Ah

[prime nexus]

ok thats comforting to know

tbh i mean it could just be imposter syndrome from all the cracked academic resources i see online

[orchid axle]

Do many freshmen do internships alr?

[prime nexus]

but my school almost just seemed "too easy"

[rich kelp]

during the year or after freshman year (or pre princeton)

[thick seal]

nick did you publish any research before applying

[orchid axle]

Rising sophomore phase

[thick seal]

sorry if i've already asked this

[orchid axle]

Same lol

[prime nexus]

i mean i challenged myself as much as possible within it but yk, even the rigor in those weren't even up to par

[orchid axle]

Highly inflated

[orchid axle]

Bro i skipped many classes during HS

[uneven bloom]

my school has terrible grade inflation

[rich kelp]

i think a fair amount do, but also many choose to chill
but like nick said, the best internships (really in anything, but especially in tech, finance, etc) are often for rising seniors since they want to give you the return offer

[prime nexus]

yeahh its bad

[uneven bloom]

my UW GPA is 99.3

granted I’m 1st in class but still

[orchid axle]

Mine is 99.2

[prime nexus]

my uw in 4.0 and weighted 4.33

[uneven bloom]

it’s pretty ridiculous

[prime nexus]

but we only weight aps

[orchid axle]

Same

[prime nexus]

but yeah same im 1

[orchid axle]

Ridonkolous

[prime nexus]

but yeah i dont think we really have a hardworking vibe at all 💀

besides ap chem

[thick seal]

i mean i guess you also straight up got through half of ug math at a normal college

[uneven bloom]

twinning

[prime nexus]

but i will say in terms of ecs and making opportunities for myself, im proud bc honestly applying to t20s here is nearly unheard of

[uneven bloom]

what are you planning to pursue at pton @orchid axle

[prime nexus]

let alone getting in

[orchid axle]

Orfe

[prime nexus]

and i feel like ive put my best foot forward so

[orchid axle]

💀

[thick seal]

damn

[uneven bloom]

Nicee

[thick seal]

that is really impressive

[orchid axle]

I like econ and data analysis

[wintry turtle]

wait nick can i dm

[rich kelp]

🔥

[uneven bloom]

seeing some of the concepts you talk about in the other server break my brain

like how did people come up with that

[wintry turtle]

u also said “bordered heegard floer homology”

[uneven bloom]

i haven’t done anything past calc 2 so i was very lost reading that

[orchid axle]

Honestly nick your explanations make me consider majoring in math

But i know im shit at it

[rich kelp]

@thorny viper not just isolated to class of 27

your effects are global across years at princeton

[thick seal]

as a much more normal math kid who just got started early

[prime nexus]

period earthshattering stem king

[thick seal]

the shit that looks confusing will eventually piece itself together

when you become fluent in proofs at the very least

[rich kelp]

hi lake

[orchid axle]

Hi lake

[uneven bloom]

im planning to bring my espresso machine 💀

[rich kelp]

[orchid axle]

Can you bring in a espresso machine tho?

Can i bring a nutribullet

Or a hairdryer

Both are loud devices

[prime nexus]

atp you'll need a suitcase strictly for appliances

[thick seal]

y'all how bad can my gpa be and still have a shot

[rich kelp]

this is a meaningless question without a lot more context

[prime nexus]

yeah i was gonna say

[thick seal]

yeah im sorry

[prime nexus]

like is it bc of a reason

[thick seal]

ill be clearer

i got a c+ in history last year

[wooden thistle]

how is ur midyear report rn?

[thick seal]

a in history

[wooden thistle]

do u have any bs or cs for midyear report

[thick seal]

two a-s in english and my language

otherwise perfect

[wooden thistle]

ok

[thick seal]

last years' too except for history

[wooden thistle]

not that bad

ur not a history major

[orchid axle]

I think it’ll only hurt if you’re going to major in history

[wooden thistle]

are u otherwise an all A student

[rich kelp]

https://admission.princeton.edu/apply/admission-statistics

[thick seal]

broadly my gpa uw is somewhere between 3.75 and 3.8

[rich kelp]

https://commondatasets.com/Princeton.html
doesn't look like princeton releases gpa data

[wooden thistle]

depends on where else u got Bs in

[thick seal]

history

[rich kelp]

https://projects.dailyprincetonian.com/frosh-survey-2027/index.html

this has info on the admitted class of 2027 with a pretty decent sample size

[thick seal]

i did bad because i can't deal with deadlines i kind of go down rabbit holes

[wooden thistle]

just history? everything is A?

what were ur top 5 awards

[thick seal]

so my grades dropped because i spent too much time researching not enough time writing

[thick seal]

aime and ftc mti

[wooden thistle]

so history was ur only non-A right

[thick seal]

then like not important stuff i put in

[thick seal]

there was an a- in english sophomore

but yes

[wooden thistle]

my friend

[rich kelp]

like lake said, this is generally dependent on a few factors, ranging from how strong the rest of your application is to the rigor of your high school (and likely your class rank if your hs has that too, i.e. if a 3.8 is top 5-10% then you're certainly fine)

[wooden thistle]

got in princeton

[rich kelp]

yes

[wooden thistle]

with a B in calc bc

[thick seal]

i mean

ig i have an a in history this year?

huh?

[wooden thistle]

C+ still looks bad tbh

but its not the end

[thick seal]

there's not like a crazy excuse it was legitimately that i spent too much time on history

[wooden thistle]

if it was a B- that would've been so much better

but still

i dont think it's that bad

cuz it's history

and u improved this yr

[thick seal]

i don't talk about aime at all actually

bc i didn't really study for it

it was mostly philosophy stuff and historiography

then a lot of me trying to be especially faithful to my sources

and anxiety

which i didn't mention

i kind of didn't explain it

i think my counselor said she would in her rec and i just decided to trust her?

i did but mostly in middle school so i can't really claim i spent much time on it in hs

i wrote a research paper like everyone else?

it was one assignment that i submitted months late

[orchid axle]

Does every freshman fill this in

[thick seal]

because i picked a really conceptually complex topic

[rich kelp]

no its competely optional

[orchid axle]

Ah

[rich kelp]

made by the newspaper

[thick seal]

or maybe i was dumb and couldn't understand it

[wintry turtle]

“everyone else”

💀

[orchid axle]

Thats why im wondering why there was no one from my country

[thick seal]

a "research paper" i mean

[rich kelp]

last year they got over 800 out of a little over 1300 students that ultimately attended

[thick seal]

i wrote on afrofuturism and black power

no

it was more of like a

"i feel like i should complete this for my own intellectual development"

yeah

[rich kelp]

[thick seal]

also was a teacher who was infamous for being super easy at my school

i couldve written the most dogshit paper

but i kind of death spiraled

yes

i know

i can't prioritize and i don't like letting things go

idk if colleges are likely to be sympathetic to my commitment to personal development

[orchid axle]

It depends on the reader honestly

And how they perceive what you wrote

[thick seal]

absolutely

[dusty meteor]

frick graded paper !

[thick seal]

dude

[dusty meteor]

boo

also be nice

[thick seal]

it's not like i can't write lmao

i'm just not consistent enough

i've got to wonder where that places me right?

[orchid axle]

Last year i didnt apply to pton bcs of the graded paper tho

So its kinda true unfortunately

Haha

[thick seal]

i'm not asking you to lmao

it's just funny to me because i don't see how the graded paper which you choose yourself can help prevent someone who is capable of writing one bad essay from getting in

[meager mango]

what does this mean

[thick seal]

like my grades would weed me out

not my graded paper lol

and even then like i could have submitted my two-month-late paper because upon first glance it looks like it could have gotten me an a

no

no comments

had really good comments on an english paper

felt bad asking for them on a paper i submitted two months late

i think where the graded paper weeds people out is potential for any good writing

[meager mango]

you still asked for them right?

[thick seal]

if you don't submit anything good they have no proof you can write at all

[meager mango]

don’t feel bad when it comes to ur future 😭

[thick seal]

ehh

[thick seal]

it wasn't concise enough for me to distill two pages of well-argued work

or at least i thought i could submit something shorter of good quality

sure ty

huh

don't they prohibit scientific papers

i did also second-major english so that'd be not shitty for me

[rich kelp]

yeah its supposed to be in a humanities subject iirc

[thick seal]

i mean if it was supposed to replace the sat essay

i'm sure you could choose something wholly unrelated if you were confident in the space of the rest of your application

[dusty meteor]

my fave essay no comments

injustice

teacher unwilling

lol not worth brainpower thinking of what story i told

it's been long submitted 🤷‍♀️ they either like it or dont

[thick seal]

that's fair

i may have written far too much about being queer

[meager mango]

my essay barely had any comments

the occasional underline and “wow!” 😭

[thick seal]

i wonder if princeton is ok with the kind of person who aims high and falls short

but ends up just around good anyway

in all honesty and feel free to bash me for making excuses

i've always kind of been good at what im good at and bad at what i'm bad at and i'm still trying different approaches to get around that

it was kind of what my big hs exploration shit was supposed to be about but i didn't really succeed

or i guess i did well in English LMAO

hmm

what's funny is that I applied to Princeton on a whim around English after reading a David Foster Wallace essay where he was really descriptive mathematically

probably should have stuck to that narrative it wasn't uncompelling

as in it didn't occur to me despite my english interest that I could actually do it

[meager mango]

did David foster Wallace go to pton? 😮

[thick seal]

nope

ty i appreciate it

ig i was scared to frame it as a positive because i didn't want to be excusing what was kind of blatantly my own failure

[thick seal]

but i wanted to apply to a school with english and i liked princeton's creative writing since i didn't get into it in hs

[meager mango]

his essays will do that to u 🫡

infinite jest will perpetually be on my to-read list 😭

[thick seal]

anyway this conversation has reminded me that I was planning to practice my writing this spring lmao

damn

yeah i got really into octavia butler last year

yeah ik it was kind of rhetorical lol

its ok it is what it is by now

i'll put my best foot forward in interview and hope something sticks

[rich kelp]

LMAO NOT THE LIL BABY LYRICS

nick this was not necessary

bro of course i know nick

[thick seal]

i love writing but i take so long on it

[orchid axle]

How to practice writing

[thick seal]

and usually i get dragged for my writing by the people i respect lol

[thick seal]

daily

journalling by tone

[thick seal]

pick a type of writing and just word vomit

what major are you thinking lake

that's pretty cool

where do you think princeton's econ pedagogy tends to lean

[prime nexus]

POLITICSSS

i applied with a politics major

[rich kelp]

foucault 😍

[thick seal]

haha

[rich kelp]

[thick seal]

honestly i can only really think of kahneman for princeton's economics rn

[orchid axle]

HE’S IN PTON??

[thick seal]

i need to reread marx and most critical theory bc i did not get it early hs

[orchid axle]

I am a big fan of his books

[thick seal]

i think emeritus?

but yeah

[orchid axle]

Big big big ass fan

[thick seal]

he's cool but i hear his economic theories have either kind of fizzled out or not been applicable yet due to economists being not smart enough

[orchid axle]

Yeah he’s emeritus

[thick seal]

idk i'd have to take economics comprehensively

which is another thing i really gotta do in college

[orchid axle]

Wait are u admitted to brown and rice or you just like eating brown rice

[thick seal]

eating brown rice

i am not admitted to brown and rice

i'm not cracked like that

[orchid axle]

Oh

Lol

[thick seal]

dang that's really sad

i feel like i'dve expected it to be more radical given kahneman

[summer spruce]

i think every college is full of npcs

[orchid axle]

Shit now i feel like i want to major in math econ cs spia orfe everything

[thick seal]

though ig i don't totally know the difference between monetarism and classical liberalism anyway

no it's pretty good probably

[rich kelp]

💀

[thick seal]

i've hung around too many bullshit marxists

good to try to break down my left-wing economic views

[rich kelp]

My supreme son

[orchid axle]

😭

[rich kelp]

Dawg tbh idrk where supreme father came from

[thick seal]

hmm

[orchid axle]

Sounds like a cult member

[rich kelp]

I had an old username that I thought i had used enough so i decided to randomly make a new one

[rich kelp]

More like one big family

HAHA

Now i have to study math

That’s it it’s done

[thick seal]

bs marxists meaning people i deeply respect who agree with me that we should all know economics better lol

[random sonnet]

This thread is weird icl

[rich kelp]

Riemannian geo?

[thick seal]

this is why the framework still applies?

this is fair

oh nvm i see what you mean

i remember the biggest question i had thinking about marxism was

hmm

well aside from the difficulties of transition to like a marxist framework

i never really reconciled the concept that self-interest could really fuck up economic conditions

no as in

marx (unless i'm wrong) argues that class equality achieves the eradication of discontent?

but i'm not sold on that

yeah

i think where i was told often was that under the correct social conditions then discontent is diminished

oh right yeah

i mean isn't there a bit of the argument that having to work at that balancing act at all thoroughly exhausts the utility of marxism

[rich kelp]

Very interesting

[livid moat]

Hi best friends

Oh my guys

Please remember not to venture to politics

[thick seal]

is it ok if it's purely academic

[rich kelp]

Mathematical physics 😎😎

[thick seal]

last year i entirely worked on a marxist campaign

[rich kelp]

Never heard of it

[thick seal]

we're not really having like a heated political argument

[livid moat]

If you’re discussing in terms of an historical context it’s borderline but honestly I’d recommend you discuss elsewhere

[random sonnet]

I question why this thread is even being used for Marxism to begin with

[livid moat]

People who’ve seen politics talk go too far

[thick seal]

dang

[rich kelp]

[thick seal]

here comes FIRE

[livid moat]

They shouldn’t but there’s a time and place for everything and a2c is not the place

[random sonnet]

If someone is unable to figure out politics because of an A2C rule that sounds like their issue

[livid moat]

I myself follow and discuss a lot of politics but there’s no need to do it in a2c

[thick seal]

uh ok

[rich kelp]

This is an academic discussion

Originated as such

[livid moat]

I was in the hospital and wanted to have something to do

[thick seal]

yeah

[rich kelp]

And was an academic discussion the entire time

[thick seal]

again i mean we're not arguing

like any humanities subject is borderline politics anyway

[random sonnet]

Yeah that’s why I let it go for like 20 minutes but at a certain point it’s reasonably time to move considering we’re in a Princeton thread

[thick seal]

ok

goddamnit

[random sonnet]

See he gets it

[thick seal]

mine too

i was so sad

but also happy

[random sonnet]

You’re cringe for discussing Marxism in the applyingtocollege discord server

[thick seal]

lmao

eh

[random sonnet]

Collective you’re here

[thick seal]

i wrote about climate change which is at this point not even really political

[random sonnet]

I fear I’m not a mathematician

[thick seal]

i feel like someone could even back staunch socialist policy under the view of active climate policy and probably still be considered conservative

oh that's fair

i'd agree but short term it's less so

maybe all civic engagement that isn't explicitly political is apolitical

[random sonnet]

Here’s my proposal:

You can discuss politics provided it’s academic (which I’ll concede it was) but the part I’m also asking for is it’s directly related to Princeton

This really isn’t right now

[thick seal]

hmm

[rich kelp]

#freelake

[thick seal]

do you think mechanism design has a future for climate neutrality

eh wtv

i don't understand macroeconomics

[random sonnet]

There are other politics

Then what i said should be agreeable no?

[thick seal]

i was just talking about my paper on afrofuturism and its impact on cyborg theory

[livid moat]

Macroeconomics is simultaneously intuitive yet nonintuitive and still makes sense 😭

[thick seal]

which is an amalgamated gender- and race-identity concept that is thoroughly political in the other sense but still academic

[random sonnet]

That’s very real

Please tell me what I lose if you leave