Princeton is a renowned Ivy League university with a strong research focus. The campus, in suburban Princeton, NJ, allows for easy trips to NYC while offering everything you could possibly need as one of the undergraduate students. From cutting edge research facilities to professors at the top of their field and , it’s no surprise that Princeton is wildly popular among top-performing high school students. They have withheld their rate of acceptance for the last few years, not releasing it on their website or reporting it in the school newspaper, the Daily Princetonian. However, Princeton does release admissions data on a delayed schedule through the Common Data Set. Thanks to , we know that the acceptance rate for the Class of 2027 was 4.5%. Today, we estimate the acceptance rate to be between 4% and 4.5%.
The test optional policy for the SAT and ACT for first-year applicants that Princeton put in place in response to COVID-19 for the 2024-2025 application cycle. They also note that students who do not submit will not be at a disadvantage. However, we want to reinforce that this doesn’t mean you should simply not submit scores. While not submitting won’t necessarily be ‘points’ off your application, submitting scores may boost how they view you. If your scores underline your academic success in school, you should submit them.
In this post, we’ll break down an even more important piece of your application: the supplements. The Princeton supplements are a key way of strengthening your application and increasing your chances of admission. Below, we’ll go into each supplement in detail and give you the guidance you need to hit them out of the park.
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The is longer than most, so you’ll definitely need to set time aside far in advance of the deadline to start work. We advise you start it right after reading this post if you haven’t already begun brainstorming. You’ll also need to spend some time on the Princeton website exploring your intended area of study, the requirements of the liberal arts curriculum, and the unique traditions that make Princeton special. Once you feel like you have a handle on Princeton, dive in.
First Supplement for A.B. Degree or Undecided Applicants
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 is the “why us” for Princeton, and it’s super important that you get it right. Most importantly, you need to focus this supplement on the academic area you hope to major in, which should also be an academic area that you have performed exceptionally well in at school (if applicable), and in which you have pursued opportunities outside of school such as internships, research opportunities, volunteering, or student-run clubs. Use a story of you engaging with the topic as the way ‘in’ to the prompt. This should only be 3-4 sentences, and but needs to include details that bring the experience alive. To accommodate this, keep the story very specific and small.
Next, you need to transition into talking about how you’re going to pursue this passion and deepen your interest and expertise at Princeton. To do this, start by naming your prospective major followed by two classes you hope to take and why. Next is what can be the most important part. Research the academic department at Princeton to identify a professor who specializes in your area of interest, or in something related to it. Then, write 2-3 sentences about why you want to study under this professor, and the opportunities you can envision that opening up.
Finally, you need to reinforce why Princeton is your perfect fit academically — and not just because you’re smart and Princeton students are smart so you’re a match made in heaven. At risk of sounding like a broken record, you need to be specific!
First Supplement for B.S.E. Degree Applicants
Please describe why you are interested in studying engineering at Princeton. Include any of your experiences in or exposure to engineering, and how you think the programs offered at the University suit your particular interests. (Please respond in 250 words or fewer.)
Before you start brainstorming for this supplement, read the instructions we wrote above for the ‘First Supplement for A.B Degree or Undecided Applicants’. This question is very similar to that one, so the guidance we included gets you about 75% of the way there to a strong supplement for this prompt.
But what about the other 25%? This is where the “experience in or exposure to engineer” part comes in. It’s super important that, for this prompt, you really share how you’ve engaged with engineering already. Princeton plans to teach you a lot, but they want to see that you already have skin in the game. Plan to start this supplement with a short story, but incorporate 1-2 other experiences into the body of the prompt. This could be relating an experience to a course, connecting an internship to a professor’s area of research, or closing out the supplement with another short story that brings your passion to life.
Long Supplements for All Applicants
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 500 words or fewer.)
This supplement says a lot, but there’s really only one sentence you need to focus on — and it’s the last one. “In short, how has your lived experience shaped you?” First, you need to make sure that whatever you write about here is entirely original. If you want to make the most of this prompt, it cannot share themes or storylines with your main common app essay. This may be tough for some applicants who centered their main essay on their upbringing, but it’s important.
Your response to this prompt also shouldn’t be an autobiography. Focus on a small story that speaks to a larger theme that you can weave lessons into. For example, if you grew up by a creek, you could write about the seasonal ebb and flow of the water, and how the wildlife around it adjusts to the shifts. This could speak to a larger lesson of developing elasticity and the ability to adjust to change. Or, if you grew up in an urban area with street vendors you could write about your favorite stall and how you hope to bring that flavor to Princeton. Basically, you can take this anywhere. The key principals though are:
Pick a small story.
Stay personal.
Use lots of detail.
Do all three, and you’re in great shape!
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? (Please respond in 250 words or fewer.)
We love this prompt, but it can also catch students in a trap. Instead of focusing on their most meaningful service or volunteering experience, they write about the one that seems the ‘flashiest’. As a result, the supplement becomes all about building houses in Mexico and they get lost in the sea on students parachuting into faraway places for surface-only short-term service opportunities. Basically, Princeton won’t be impressed that you spent five days shoveling gravel or nailing roof tiles. What they want to see is true civic engagement, which requires long-term commitment as well as significant knowledge of the needs and priorities of the community.
For most students, then, the best thing to write about is something you do close to home, and then to zoom out from that one experience to show how these ideals of giving and social responsibility play out throughout your life. Ideally, you should also focus on an initiative or cause that pops up in a few ways through your application. For example, if you write about an environmental initiative in your community here, it makes sense for you to be taking high-level science courses and to be an active member of a climate change-oriented club.
Short Supplements for All Applicants
Please respond to each question in 50 words or fewer. There are no right or wrong answers. Be yourself!
Each of these supplements is really short — only 50 words, maximum. That doesn’t mean they are throw-aways, though. Each of these supplements requires thoughtfulness and benefits from drafting. Start by brainstorming three possible answers to each, and then edit down to your strongest option for each. Determine which option is best based on three criteria:
Honest.
Positive.
Fun!
Yes, fun. These are an amazing opportunity to show that you aren’t simply an “A” earning machine. You are actually human, and may even be fun to have around.
What is a new skill you would like to learn in college?
Try to take this one out of the classroom and into the world of soft skills students tend to pick up in the dorms or dining halls. One of our writers learned to make sour dough in her dorm room at Columbia. Another mastered folding a fitted sheet.
What brings you joy?
Keep this outside of school, too, and don’t try to sound ‘impressive’. Instead, sound like you. This is an excellent opportunity to humanize yourself. Walking your dog, playing with your younger sibling, climbing a clean route at your local rock climbing crag, or learning a new campfire song on guitar are all fair game. Most of all, be you!
What song represents the soundtrack of your life at this moment?
This one is hard, we know. Do you pick the thing you can’t get out of your head, or the less catchy tune that makes you tear up a little? Do you lean into what the reader might know, or pull a track from that little known German techno group there is about zero percent chance of them having heard of? The answer is somewhere in the middle, but the most important thing is that you feel connected to the song. Do avoid anything that is gratuitously explicit or overtly focused on substance abuse, though.
The Princeton supplement offers amazing opportunities to show them who you are beyond your transcript or scores. Seize this opportunity, and it will strengthen your application.
If applying to Princeton has you stressed, email us to learn how we can help.