Despite Princeton University’s overall acceptance rate of 5.5% this year, at least five high school seniors from the Longmont area defied the odds by being admitted into the university, where they all plan to attend as incoming freshmen starting this fall.
Longmont resident and Holy Family High School senior Joe Silva has always known that he wanted to follow in his grandfather’s footsteps and attend Princeton University, he said.
When colleges’ early decision applications were due last December, Silva put all of his eggs in Princeton’s basket. In early January, however, Silva was crushed to receive notification from the university that his admission had been deferred.
From January to March, Silva worked tirelessly on college applications for 17 universities total, Princeton University included. Although he had halfheartedly given up on his dream of being admitted into Princeton, on March 31, he opened an email from Princeton to reveal a tiger icon at the top of the screen.
“They say, ‘if you see a Tiger on the email from Princeton, you’ve gotten in,’” Silva said. “If I had been standing up at that moment, I think I would’ve passed out.”
Silva and his father, who was also in the room, started screaming in excitement after receiving the news of Silva’s acceptance into Princeton.
The next day, on April 1, there was a track meet at Erie High School, the Erie Twilight Invitational. Silva, who is on HFHS’s track team, told one of his teammates his exciting news about Princeton. Silva’s teammate informed him about a senior from Longmont High School, Connor McCormick, who had also gotten into Princeton and who, as a track athlete for LHS, was at the same track meet that day.
After locating McCormick at the track meet, Silva’s teammate introduced the two soon-to-be freshmen.
“It was a really cool interaction with (McCormick),” Silva said. “He seems like a great guy and it was definitely cool seeing someone in an (LHS) uniform and just knowing that we would be going to the same school next year.”
In conversations with the Longmont Leader, both Silva and McCormick said they look forward to bumping into each other on Princeton’s campus next year.
McCormick, unlike Silva, did not go into his senior year thinking that he would apply to Princeton University in the spring. However, as a cross country and track athlete, he had been put in touch with Princeton’s head cross country coach by his club coach. After conversations with Princeton’s coach, it was decided that McCormick would participate on Princeton’s cross country and track teams in the fall if he could be admitted to the university in the spring.
By the time college applications came around, “I was pretty dead set on Princeton,” McCormick said.
Although Silva also contacted Princeton’s head cross country coach to see if there was a possibility he could be recruited to the university’s track and cross country teams, “I did not have nearly as good of times as (McCormick),” Silva said with a laugh. However, Silva hopes he may be able to walk onto these teams once he arrives on campus in the fall.
In addition to track and cross country, throughout his high school career, McCormick was involved in basketball and the National Honor Society for two years, football and Future Business Leaders of American for one year and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes for all four years.
Furthermore, “ever since I was a freshman, I wanted to put myself in the hardest classes I could, whether that be honors or advanced placement classes,” McCormick said. “Even if I thought it might be a little too much for me, I always knew I’d be able to manage a full and challenging course load.”
Like McCormick, Silva involved himself extensively in academic and extracurricular activities throughout the past four years at HFHS: Besides track and cross country, he played soccer and basketball, participated in speech and debate and the National Honor Society.
Both McCormick and Silva have high hopes for their futures as Princeton students, but both are unsure of exactly what they want to study there – although they have ideas.
“I’m really excited to get to Princeton and hopefully figure stuff out as it comes,” said McCormick, who is thinking about majoring in either computer science or mechanical engineering.
“I think a college like Princeton will open a lot of doors for me. Whatever I do, I know it will be something I’ll be passionate about and something I’ll be able to work towards for the rest of my life,” McCormick added.
For Silva, attending law school may be in the cards after receiving his undergraduate degree in something having to do with humanities, he said.
“I’m very optimistic about college and I’m excited to go to school at a place where the majority of students are going to be as smart or smarter than me,” Silva said. “I’m excited to see what I can accomplish academically and professionally there.”
According to Gregory Stephens, the assistant principal of Skyline High School, SHS seniors Aiyonne Bryant and Simone Kirkevold were also accepted into Princeton for the coming fall semester. Niwot High School senior Tasman Moskowitz will also attend Princeton beginning in the fall.
Editor's note: The Longmont Leader updated this article on April 27 to include the names of five high school seniors from St. Vrain Valley School District who were accepted into Princeton University this spring, adding to the four names that were originally reported.
