Q&A with Josiah: How Command Education Helps Students Turn Their Princeton Dreams into Reality

Josiah: Princeton is looking for more than just academic prowess; they want students who go beyond theoretical knowledge and apply their learning in hands-on ways. Are you interested in neuroscience? You should be doing lab research, writing academic papers on the subject, presenting at conferences, and using your findings to enact tangible change in your school community. Are you interested in historic preservation? You should complete a summer field internship, volunteer with a local preservation or heritage organization to gain a better understanding of material culture, and work with a community representative on preservation initiatives in your local legislature. Princeton wants students who find real world applications for their academic interests. Whether it’s biology, literature, art history, or any other discipline, students should seek opportunities to gain technical proficiencies and begin making waves in their field before they have even stepped foot on campus.

Josiah: Perhaps the most common misconception is that Princeton requires applicants to be hyper-focused on a single interest, with 90% of their activities revolving around their intended major. While Princeton wants to admit students who have demonstrated a depth of engagement with their chosen field, the university also deeply values multidimensionality. To be clear, this doesn’t mean that Princeton is looking for well-rounded students who have engaged with a myriad disciplines in shallow ways; they are looking instead for students who have invested in their core passion but who also have depth and dimension beyond that singular focus.

For instance, I mentored a student who was primarily interested in econometrics and quantitative economics, but he was also an avid musician and a botany enthusiast. While he was initially inclined to focus his supplemental essays, activities list entries, and personal statement exclusively on economics, I encouraged him to showcase his other interests to admissions officers. By weaving these details into his application, he showed that he is not only deeply knowledgeable about macroeconomics, but that he also derives joy from being in the conservatory, he is a geek for carnivorous plants, and—most importantly— that he has a life outside of the classroom. This variety allowed him to create a narrative that showcased his groundedness, uniqueness, and curiosity outside of traditional academics.

Your secondary interests, whether they involve the humanities, arts, environmental sustainability, or anything else, demonstrate your ability to add vibrancy to Princeton’s academic departments and push the field forward in innovative and unexpected ways.

Josiah: In my experience, the difference between a good and great Princeton application often lies in the personal statement. Princeton admissions officers look for emotionally mature students who can articulate a clear set of values and demonstrate how these values influence their approach to their chosen field—and life in general. As one of the most substantial pieces of writing students submit as a part of their application, the personal statement is a critical opportunity to demonstrate this quality to the committee. Rather than simply identifying your interests or formative experiences, your essay should show a deep and critical engagement with your own guiding ethos. What matters most to you? What values and beliefs guide you as you pursue your goals? Your personal statement should engage with these questions in ways that are nuanced and self-reflective.

Josiah: One of the ways that I have coached students to craft more compelling applications is through intensive support on their activities list. When students sit down to complete their activities list, they are dealing with a fixed data set—unlike the personal statement, the raw material is already in place; while they can change their essay topic, they can’t change the activities they have chosen over their high school career. Though they can’t alter their trajectory, they can present it in the most engaging way possible—which requires intensive strategy and an iterative drafting and revising process.

I have worked with students to essentially perform surgery on their activities list, making thoughtful decisions about what to include, what not to include, how to order their involvements, and what language to use in the limited word count to make the biggest impact. In order to do this, I encourage students to focus primarily on story and impact. What story do you want to tell through your extracurricular activities? What does this list say about your values and worldview? As I said before, it can be tempting to tie everything back to your major, but doing so squanders the opportunity presented by the activities list—there’s a reason the Common App asks for ten activities rather than five. You can add dimension to your application through the creative, interdisciplinary, and unique activities you’ve engaged in outside of your primary area of study. Finally, I tell students to think about impact: what did you create, catalyze, or change through that activity? What mark have you left as a leader? Connecting your involvements to tangible outcomes will help distinguish your application from the crowd.

Josiah: Given that Princeton has one of the highest average SAT scores in the Ivy League, the university clearly values students’ intellectual capabilities. It’s important to note that they seek students who are not only passionate about their discipline but who also possess a nuanced understanding of a specific subfield within it. As such, extracurriculars are crucial not just to show interest in a broad field, but to demonstrate their niche within that field. For example, a student applying to Princeton’s English department shouldn’t just express a love for literature; they should articulate a focused interest, whether it’s 19th-century Gothic novels or contemporary African American poetry. Activities that reflect this niche, especially those that showcase high-level academic prowess like university courses or research, are particularly compelling.

Josiah: Princeton is renowned for its strength in STEM fields—it ranks in the top 10 for Mathematics, Chemistry, Molecular Biology, Computer Science and Physics. At the same time, the students who thrive at Princeton are strong writers, regardless of their major. Whether it’s a math enthusiast who runs a blog that connects math to the humanities or a computer science student who minored in Spanish, Princeton values students whose interests aren’t one-dimensional. The ideal Princeton student could easily major in a completely different field because they possess diverse talents and interests that extend beyond their primary area of study.

Josiah: Students frequently lose themselves in their desire to prove that they are more qualified or more impressive than other applicants competing for limited spots. Princeton is a top research university, and as such, they are looking for students who will contribute to the advancement of their fields. But the university is also seeking changemakers and leaders; they are seeking individuals with dynamic perspectives, mature outlooks, and creative approaches to solving pressing issues. Rather than trying to outdo other applicants (which is an exercise in futility, given the caliber of the applicant pool), focus instead on how you can communicate your unique story in a creative way and demonstrate how your values align with those of the university.