After high school, Elisa Steele will continue lining up on the track, her body stiff as a board, ready to spring forward and race to the finish line when the gun goes off as a sprinter for the Princeton University Tigers.
In the summer of 2012, Elisa applied through early restrictive action to Princeton, as an Ivy League school was her first choice. Mid-December Elisa was admitted to Princeton.
“I did a lot of academic questionnaires online at school, and then schools can reach out to you,” Elisa said. “Princeton was the [college] that ended up offering me an official visit.”
Princeton paid for Elisa to come to Princeton, New Jersey, and stay with the track team for a couple of nights. After meeting the team, the Princeton flew her home.
“She liked everyone she met,” Brett Steele, Elisa’s father, said. “She got to stay in the dorms with the girls, be a part of some of their team building exercises and see what the team was like.”
A person applying to Princeton as a recruit athlete, like Elisa, has their application fought for by the coaches who want them on the team. Elisa said this is how she was able to get accepted. Elisa was accepted to Princeton on what many think is a track scholarship, but she said it is more similar to financial aid.
“Once you get in, you basically can make it affordable for you,” Elisa said. “I’m getting a lot of financial aid that I wouldn’t get other places, but it’s not related to the athletics. The athletics was what helped me to get in.”
According to Elisa, her family and friends have supported her from when she finished her application to the day she opened her acceptance letter.
“My parents always had more faith in me than I did,” Elisa said. “My whole family has been really proud throughout it all.”
Elisa’s track season workouts start a few weeks after school resumes and a new track experience will begin.
“There are so many amazing schools out there,” Elisa said. “I was so blessed with this opportunity and it’s a hard thing to pass up.”
Princeton University – Welcome
