Alumni School Committee Information

This page is intended as a resource for Princeton alumni who interview Princeton candidates. Some of the links will also interest high school students applying to Princeton's undergraduate program, however, not all pages are accessible to students since some links are in a restricted area accessible only to Princeton alumni.

Introduction

Princeton's Alumni Schools Committee (ASC) has over 7,000 alumni who interview the 15,000 or so high school students around the world who apply each year to Princeton. The activities and objectives of the ASC encompass the following:

1. We tell high school students about Princeton and the outstanding educational opportunities it offers. Our objective is to encourage the best students to apply for admission. We correct any misinformation spread by Hollywood and the media about Princeton so students can make a well-informed choice for their undergraduate education. In particular, we inform students about the abundance of financial aid that is available at Princeton, since otherwise candidates might not apply because they falsely assume it will be too expensive. Finally, we spread our enthusiasm for the best old place of all, and encourage the students who are admitted to Princeton to accept their invitation to go there. The ASC member typically has three opportunities to impart this information: during the fall at college night presentations, during the interview, and in April at the yield party.
2. Only 10% of the students who apply to Princeton get invitations to attend. Princeton is forced to turn away thousands of super-qualified candidates every year; not because their credentials are substandard in any way, but because there just isn't enough room for all of them to attend. One of our jobs is to help candidates put their best foot forward by making sure they let Princeton know about everything that may help them gain admission.
3. By far the most important components of a student's application are his transcript / secondary school report, her awards / portfolio and other recognition of their achievements, his teacher / coach / other references, and her personal essays. These present long-term in-depth information about the candidate. Other parts of the application like the interests section, SATs, and the alumni interview report give the Admission Office a more complete picture of the candidate. The interview is conducted on campus by an Admission Officer, or off campus by an ASC volunteer. The interview is optional, but recommended. One objective of the interview is to put the applicant's accomplishments (or lack of accomplishments) in context. For example, suppose the applicant has not taken any advanced courses. Is this because his school doesn't offer advanced courses? Is this because the applicant doesn't have time for advanced courses because she has to work part time to support her family? Or is it because the applicant lacks the ambition to take on the extra work that the advanced courses require? The answer to this question puts the applicant's academic achievements in context.

 

Links on www.princeton.edu and tigernet.princeton.edu of interest to candidates, ASC interviewers and ASC Chairs

Alumni Schools Committee Resources: Notes about interviewing; NCAA recruiting issues (i.e. restrictions regarding contacting athletes); School visits; ASC interview report in Word, RTF and PDF formats.

Admission and Aid: Links to Undergraduate Admission Information web page; how to apply for admission (procedures and access to forms); Financial Aid home page; application log-in screen (to apply on-line); and Admission Office contact information.

Undergraduate Admission Information: Campus admission information sessions (also has information about visiting princeton); Local admission information sessions (i.e. presentations about Princeton for high school students); Informational streaming videos about Princeton; Princeton In Brief, 2004-05, a five page synopsis about Princeton; A brief introduction for international students; Admission Information viewbook; The Undergraduate Announcement; Facts about Princeton; Visiting Princeton; Admission Office hours; Application for admission (downloadable application booklet), Most frequently asked questions (information from other sources reorganized as Q & A); Financial Aid home page; and links to other documents and pages.

Admission Information viewbook:  A 64 page brochure intended to give potential applicants most of the information they need to know about Princeton. Perhaps the single best document to help a potential applicant decide whether or not to consider applying to Princeton.

Undergraduate Announcement:  A 450 page book listing all the courses at Princeton; the graduation requirements for every academic department and program; the Honor System; advisers; facilities; and regulations.

Princeton Facts and FAQs: A web page with links to a couple dozen documents, some of which are on the other web pages. Of particular interest is A Princeton Profile, 2004-05, a 25 page document with much of the same information as the Admission Information viewbook.

Undergraduate Financial Aid: Financial aid information and application; early estimator (an on-line calculator that lets a parent estimate the aid they might receive based on their actual circumstances); log-in screen (to apply for financial aid on-line); and aid-related FAQ and other information.

National Schools Committee: The National Schools Committee (NCS) is a standing committee of the Alumni Council that oversees the Alumni Schools Committee. This page has Admissions and ASC-related announcements and events, links to ASC resources, and provides contact information to give feedback to the NCS. It also has a sign up form to join the ASC.

 

Links on www.princeton.edu and tigernet.princeton.edu of interest to ASC Chairs

Volunteer Services Resources: Create lists of alumni in your area and print labels or send e-mails.

 

ASC-DISCUSSION

ASC-DISCUSSION is a message board exclusively for ASC Chairs and past Chairs to exchange information about the ASC. This resource enables us to tap into the accumulated experience of over 80 Chairs so we can learn how to do our jobs better from each other. Membership on the ASC-DISCUSSION list is voluntary. E-mail me if you want to be added to this list. (ASC-DISCUSSION is a private list. I will verify that you are an active or recent Chair before adding you to this list. To help maintain privacy I have disguised the name of the list and not linked to it.)

ASC-DISCUSSION Message Subjects

If we all use certain standardized keywords in our subject lines, it will make it easier for others on the board to identify messages of interest to them. It will also make it easier for people to search the archives. Therefore, please use one of the following keywords or key phrases in the subject of your message. The [brackets] will help people to differentiate keywords from regular text, so please use them. The elaborations in parentheses are not part of the keyword phrases. This list is subject to change as the board evolves, so be sure to occasionally review this page.

• [Recruiting interviewers] (this includes recruiting ASC volunteers for work other than interviews)
• [High School presentations]
• [Recruiting parties] (e.g. at Christmas)
• [ASC Management]
• [Early Decision]
• [Interviews]
• [Interview reports]
• [Academic info] (questions and answers re academic departments, professors, thesis, degree requirements, etc.)
• [Athletic info]
• [Residential info]
• [Financial aid info] (re costs and financial aid)
• [Employment info] (on campus, after graduation)
• [Social info] (extracurricular activities not covered in other categories)
• [Yield parties] (in April for accepted candidates)
• [Admission Office]
• [List Admin] (issues relating to the management of the ASC-DISCUSSION list)
• [Misc]

Note that categories with info in them are intended for candidate's questions. Include the word info in the subject so someone can search all the questions at once using the keyword info.

In the case that another university is involved in the topic, put the name of that university in the subject.

In the case that a topic is geographic in nature, put the area in the topic. Use full country, state and city names, since it is problematic to search on abbreviations.