“I opened it, and I jumped three feet in the air,” Peter Lansing from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., told The Daily Princetonian when asked about his initial reaction to receiving his acceptance to Princeton. “It was a total dream come true type of moment.”
On Thursday, Dec. 12, Princeton admitted students to the Class of 2029 through Single-Choice Early Action (SCEA). This comes less than two weeks after the first students of the Class of 2029 were admitted through the QuestBridge National College Match Program on Dec. 2.
The matriculation of the Class of 2029 will mark the first time the University has achieved their student body expansion to 5,700 students.
SCEA — also known as restrictive early action — is a non-binding process used by only a handful of institutions, including Harvard, Yale, Stanford, and the California Institute of Technology.
Unlike traditional early action, Princeton’s single-choice early action admissions round prohibits applicants from applying to other early programs nationwide. Admitted students have until May 1 to commit to Princeton — the same deadline given to students admitted through regular decision at the end of March.
Neither the University nor QuestBridge has released data on the number of students who have been accepted, continuing with the recent trend of refraining from releasing admission statistics.
For the Class of 2024 — the class with the most recent publicly available early admissions data — 43 percent of students were accepted through early admission. This number includes most of the University’s recruited athletes, who make up approximately 18 percent of the class.
These acceptances come at a time when institutions across the country are reinstating standardized testing requirements, including half of the Ivy League. Princeton, however, alongside the University of Pennsylvania, Cornell, and Columbia, has remained test-optional.
Jeremy Henry, from Roosevelt Park, N.J., described his excitement about his acceptance.
“I immediately ran to my family,” he said. “I’ve been talking about [Princeton] since middle school.”
Students interviewed by the ‘Prince’ spoke highly of Princeton’s applications and its supplemental essays. “I enjoyed the process of unpacking my identity through the application process,” said Naomi Tran.
A native of Orange County, Calif., Tran has not yet committed to Princeton as she plans to consider other institutions in April.
“In particular, I really enjoyed writing the community one, that was a fun one,” Lansing said. “I love how they gave you 500 words to talk.”
The supplemental essay that asks applicants to “reflect on how your lived experiences will impact the conversations you will have in the classroom, the dining hall or other campus spaces,” was introduced in the summer of 2023, following the Supreme Court’s ruling that affirmative action policies in college admissions were unconstitutional.
After receiving their admissions offer, Lansing expressed his excitement for a future at Princeton.
“It’s the perfect college town,” he noted. “When I visited, I sat down in a cafe and there was [a] band playing and it was spring and everyone was walking around.”
Tran cited opportunities both in and outside of the classroom that excited them. She described her excitement for service opportunities, telling the ‘Prince,’ “I like the huge emphasis on community service and civic engagement.” She also noted that she was excited to “take some of the ProCES courses and do things with the Pace Center.”
Henry, a prospective astrophysics major, is “looking forward to exploring the Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment.”
Regular decision applications are due on Jan. 1, with decisions set to be released in late March.
Hayk Yengibaryan is an associate Sports editor and News contributor for the ‘Prince.’
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
Read More
‘A whole other world out there’: Student perspectives on working and volunteering off-campus
Mary Balid and Shaun KaraniIn light of concerns about the divide between students and the town, the ‘Prince’ sat down with student volunteers to discuss their outlook on community engagement.
In light of concerns about the divide between students and the town, the ‘Prince’ sat down with student volunteers to discuss their outlook on community engagement.
‘Forget about those disciplinary boundaries’: Narayanan and Kapoor on collaboration in AI research and policy
Chloe LauThe ‘Prince’ sat down with CITP Director Arvind Narayanan and graduate student Sayash Kapoor to discuss their recent book, “AI Snake Oil,” and teaching and mentorship and Princeton.
The ‘Prince’ sat down with CITP Director Arvind Narayanan and graduate student Sayash Kapoor to discuss their recent book, “AI Snake Oil,” and teaching and mentorship and Princeton.
Women’s basketball take down Rhode Island, Amanze scores career-high
Bridget O’Neill and Alex Beverton-SmithWomen’s basketball held fast at home and defeated Rhode Island by double digits. Junior forward Tabitha Amanze put up a career high 14 points in the Tiger’s win in Jadwin.
Women’s basketball held fast at home and defeated Rhode Island by double digits. Junior forward Tabitha Amanze put up a career high 14 points in the Tiger’s win in Jadwin.
