Greg Ruiz just wanted to go home. The senior at Jesuit High School in California had been standing on a makeshift assembly-line, passing 60,000 pounds worth of food since 3 p.m. Now it was 7 p.m. There were no breaks.
It was his first day back at school, and he was participating in a food drive. He had spent several days at home, battling the flu. Lying in bed, alone in his house, Ruiz had not been able to escape a repetitive and unrelenting thought: The letter from Princeton could come any day. But it had not come yet.
By the time Ruiz decided he finally felt well enough to return to school, he had memorized the mail carrier's schedule. Now he regretted having decided to go back to school. East Coast students had already received their letters, meaning today would be the day, and here he was, hauling 50-pound bags of rice, as his fever returned and his back began to ache.
"It lasted forever," Ruiz said. "That was just killer."
But the work was so draining that he did not have to dwell on what was waiting for him at home. He had forbidden his mother — the only person besides his guidance counselor who knew he had applied to Princeton — to get the mail. He had taken the key to the mailbox with him when he left for school, just to make sure. Now, as he drove home, Ruiz had nothing else to think about.
"I was like, 'Oh God, Oh God,' " Ruiz said.
Ruiz lives in a community where the mailboxes are clustered at one end of the street. He drove past his house to the row of mailboxes, and opened it up. There was a big folder.
"I was like, 'Oh Yes! that must be good,' " he said. "I was like, 'Oh God, there's a folder.' "
He got back in the car, letter unopened. He slit open the top. He had been accepted Early Decision to Princeton.
He had planned to pretend — as a tease — to his mother that he hadn't gotten in, but he felt too sick. He walked into the kitchen where his mother Stella was nervously waiting, while his sister stood nearby, unaware of what was happening.
"They let me in," he said.
Stella began to scream.
"What's going on?" asked his sister, utterly confused, as Greg stood there, about to topple over from sickness and exhaustion. He told his sister he had applied and been accepted to Princeton.
"She was like, 'Oh! Whoa.' I just wanted to go to sleep," he said laughingly a few days later, his voice still scratchy. "I had a fever, a cough. I couldn't really feel much worse, physically.
"It was weird," he said. "I was so sick and so happy."
He tottered over to his computer and e-mailed his other sister, currently a student at Yale. The subject line was "Bulldog."
"No," read the message, "I'm a Tiger."
"I always play around with her because she's like you can go anywhere but don't go to Harvard, don't go to Princeton," Ruiz said.
She called him immediately and asked for an explanation.
He told her.
"She was like, 'There has to be a loophole!' " Ruiz said. "She was really happy for me. She was a lot happier than I thought she'd be, because I'm going to be close to her."
Ruiz, whose parents are divorced, was slightly apprehensive about telling his father. Ruiz had not told him when he decided to apply to Princeton. But, as it turned out, his father wasn't upset.
Now Ruiz can coast through his second semester, secure in the knowledge that he will be attending his first choice college in the fall.
"It will just make things more relaxed, less stressful," he said. "It's one thing I don't have to worry about any more, you know?"
Read More
CPUC discusses University policy changes and classroom scheduling in final meeting of academic year
Cynthia TorresPresentations included minor changes to Title IX policy, Office of the Dean of Undergraduate Studies (ODUS) protest policies, and updates to the classroom scheduling process.
Presentations included minor changes to Title IX policy, Office of the Dean of Undergraduate Studies (ODUS) protest policies, and updates to the classroom scheduling process.
Federal funding cuts hit McCarter, Princeton University Concerts
Devon RudolphThe Trump administration announced plans to end the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) on May 2. Both the McCarter Theater and Princeton University Concerts have received notice that federally awarded NEA grants have been rescinded.
The Trump administration announced plans to end the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) on May 2. Both the McCarter Theater and Princeton University Concerts have received notice that federally awarded NEA grants have been rescinded.
Students react as Dean’s Date passes and paper deadlines linger
Clara Docherty and Lia OppermanThis spring end of semester was the first without Dean’s Date serving as the universal deadline for papers, projects, and problem sets.
This spring end of semester was the first without Dean's Date serving as the universal deadline for papers, projects, and problem sets.