My background

I was born in Kazakhstan, but have been living in Europe since the age of ten. I attended a public school in Spain from 9th to 12th grade, so my education was based on the standard national curriculum. I moved to Spain and began studying in Spanish only at the beginning of 9th grade, but still managed to do well academically.

After finishing school, I received a state scholarship, which gave me the opportunity to study at any Spanish university with full coverage of expenses. Even in private universities, which are more expensive than public ones, my studies would have been fully funded. But in Spain, I encountered a problem: I needed to immediately decide what I wanted to study. My thoughts swung back and forth. For instance, I considered becoming a lawyer, but I really had no idea what it entailed. At that time, I already knew that studying in the USA was possible, but I was sure that it was unrealistic for me. Too complicated, too confusing. But still, 4 months before the deadline, I decided to apply.

Admission results

I had university options in Europe - in Italy, France, and Spain, but my goal from the beginning was the Ivy League. Among them, my choice always leaned towards Princeton - it became my top choice. I deeply studied it, read student reviews, researched the campus, and looked into the university's activities. I was also attracted by their strong emphasis on undergraduate programs. In the end, I was admitted to Princeton and was waitlisted at NYU.

My application and extracurriculars

I don't remember my exact GPA, but it was around 9.6 or 9.7 out of 10. But considering that I moved to Spain only in the 9th grade, this looks even more impressive. It's worth noting that I had a grade 7 (or 70 out of 100) in PE in the 9th grade. So, if anyone is worried about not having a very high score in arts or something similar, I think universities don't really care. But I was one of the best students in the class, and that probably mattered.

Regarding the SAT, I went test-optional, and I scored 112 out of 120 on the TOEFL.

I believe that the strong part of my application was my extracurricular activities; I had various non-profit projects and achievements in business, all within the scope of civic activity. However, I did not have any olympiads or research work. Often people think it's important to be the president of the school or class, but it's not necessary. In my case, what was important was the positive impact I had on my community. For example, when I came to school, I was an immigrant and created initiatives that helped foreign students in similar situations.

Strong aspects of my application

First and foremost, I think I was able to demonstrate my strong academic performance. The story about how I moved to Spain highlighted my uniqueness and showcased my ability to study and achieve impressive results in a new environment.

However, that was just the beginning. I put a lot of effort into writing essays, trying hard to make them sincere. Many people want to brag about their achievements, but this does not always give the impression of a sincere and caring person. I believe I was able to create the impression that I genuinely cared. That for every activity I undertook, I tried to approach it with heart and truly help people. When you engage in activities with genuine motivation, it reflects in your essays much more strongly than if you were doing it just for the sake of admission.

Financial aid

My financial aid includes tuition, food, housing, and insurance. Essentially, this is full coverage of all expenses, or as it's called, a "full-ride". I also know that many students also get coverage for airplane tickets. Usually, students can earn extra money by working on campus or at a summer job.

First impressions of the university

When I first received my acceptance from Princeton, I was truly shocked, as I totally didn't expect it. Such a scenario didn't even cross my mind. In my school, nobody even considered applying to the Ivy League or studying in the US at all. Usually, everyone chose England, Spain, and Italy - places closer to home.

Because of this, I was afraid that upon my arrival, I would find myself in a competitive environment where I would struggle to make friends and find it difficult to adapt. But when I arrived, I was shocked because people were much kinder, more open, and more welcoming than I had imagined.

So, the entire orientation week, and basically these two years, have just been wonderful!

Choosing my Major & Academics at Princeton

I officially chose my major in economics in April of this spring. Initially, when I came to Princeton, I thought I would study international relations, but then I took a course in economics, and I really liked it. At the same time, I took many courses in French language and literature. In the end, my major is economics, and I will have minors in French and finance.

Princeton is primarily focused on undergraduates, so the university ranks first in US news for undergraduate programs. We don't have medical or law schools. There are master's programs and postgraduate studies, but this is a smaller part of the student community. Most of the attention is given to undergraduates. Therefore, you have more opportunities to connect with professors and to freely visit their office hours. This, in my opinion, is a big advantage of studying at Princeton, because the teachers have more time and attention for us.

Academic workload

I studied in a regular school and did not have A-levels or IB programs, which was one of the reasons for my fear when moving to the US. I was afraid that I would not be able to manage this level of education. In addition, Princeton is known for its approach to grading - grade deflation, although now it is said to be more of a myth. But in some classes, getting an A is not as easy as, for example, in Harvard or Yale, which are sometimes more lenient in grading.

Now I am managing my studies quite well. Often I even find it easier with some subjects than those who studied them in the IB system. I think that everything depends on the person, on what subjects they like and so on. And it's good that you don't have strict mandatory subjects - you have a lot of freedom in choosing.

Of course, you need to study a lot, and everyone around you studies a lot, but everything is manageable.

Campus and Student life

Our campus is designed for about five thousand students. This is more than in some Liberal Arts Colleges, but compared to other universities, it's little. The city around the campus revolves around the university, and overall there aren't many external entertainment options. But the campus is always full of events and activities, making life here interesting.

As for parties, they are often held in dorms or so-called "eating clubs". These are places where older students (juniors and seniors), as well as some sophomores, can eat instead of the dining hall. Some of these clubs require an interview for admission, while others accept students by lottery. It's a rather elite place.

A plus of the location is that New York is quite close. This year I tried to go there more often, as it is always bustling with life and there is something to do. I even went to a concert by Morgenshtern.