College Admissions in Somerset County: What Families at Top NJ Schools Need to Know

If you are raising a high school student in Somerset County, New Jersey, you already know the environment is intense. The schools here – Bridgewater-Raritan, Hillsborough, Montgomery, and Pingry – routinely produce students with outstanding transcripts, strong test scores, and impressive extracurricular records. On paper, many of them look alike. And that is precisely the problem when Somerset County college admissions season arrives.

Admissions officers at selective colleges review applications regionally. The reader assigned to central New Jersey sees hundreds of applications from these schools every cycle. They know the course offerings, the grading scales, the counselor recommendation styles, and the typical applicant profile. They can spot a formulaic application from a Somerset County student within seconds – and they see a lot of them.

This guide is designed to help Somerset County college admissions families think differently about the process. It is not a generic checklist. It is a school-by-school breakdown of the specific challenges and opportunities at each of these four institutions, informed by what we see working – and not working – in our practice at Oriel Admissions.

The Somerset County Admissions Paradox

Somerset County college admissions present a paradox for families. The schools are excellent, the resources are abundant, and students graduate with credentials that look strong by any objective measure. Yet the acceptance rates at selective colleges for students from these communities do not always reflect that quality. Why?

The issue is differentiation. When an admissions reader opens the fifteenth application from Montgomery High School, they are not comparing that student against the national pool – they are comparing them against the fourteen other Montgomery students they have already read. The student with a 4.3 GPA, 1500 SAT, varsity track, and Model UN is not remarkable in this context. That profile is the baseline.

This dynamic plays out across all four schools, though it manifests differently depending on whether the student is coming from a large public school, a smaller public school, or a well-known independent school. Understanding the specific version of this challenge that your student faces is the starting point for any effective admissions strategy.

Bridgewater-Raritan: The Challenge of Scale

Bridgewater-Raritan High School is one of the largest high schools in the region, with graduating classes that regularly exceed 600 students. The school is ranked in the top 75 in New Jersey by U.S. News & World Report, with a 94% graduation rate, a 53% AP participation rate, and average SAT scores in the 1,214 to 1,320 range. It offers a deep course catalog with more than 30 AP and Honors sections, competitive STEM programs, and a wide range of extracurricular organizations.

Three Priorities for Bridgewater-Raritan Families

The challenge at Bridgewater-Raritan is fundamentally one of scale. In a school this large, students can easily become invisible – both to their own guidance counselors and to college admissions officers. The sheer volume of applicants from BRHS means that many students arrive at selective colleges with applications that look interchangeable. They took the same AP classes, participated in the same clubs, and wrote essays on the same themes.

Families at Bridgewater-Raritan need to think carefully about three things. First, extracurricular depth. The student who is president of one organization and has built something tangible – launched a community program, organized an event that drew hundreds of participants, published original research – will stand out in a way that the student listing ten clubs cannot. Second, the counselor relationship. BRHS counselors carry heavy caseloads. Students who proactively build a relationship with their counselor starting in sophomore year will receive a more detailed, more personal recommendation letter – and that letter is one of the few places where a student’s individuality can come through. Third, course selection storytelling. With so many AP options available, the specific courses a student chooses can signal intellectual direction. A student interested in public policy who takes AP Government, AP Economics, and AP Statistics is telling a more coherent story than the student who simply loads up on every AP regardless of interest.

Hillsborough: Turning a Rising Profile Into an Advantage

Hillsborough High School has quietly been on the rise. Ranked 74th in New Jersey by U.S. News & World Report for 2025-2026, the school boasts a 96% graduation rate, 52% AP participation, and earned Silver distinction on the 2024 College Board AP School Honor Roll. The township itself has been growing, bringing in more families and creating a student body that is increasingly diverse and competitive.

Hillsborough occupies an interesting middle ground in the Somerset County landscape. It does not carry the same immediate name recognition as Montgomery or Pingry, which can actually be an advantage in the admissions process. Admissions officers are not walking into a Hillsborough application with the same set of expectations, which means there is more room for a student to define themselves on their own terms.

The strategic opportunity for Hillsborough families lies in leveraging the school’s career and technical education pathways, which are more developed than at many peer institutions. Students who combine traditional academic rigor with hands-on, career-connected experiences – whether through the school’s CTE programs, internships at the pharmaceutical and biotech companies along the Route 206 corridor, or community-based projects in Hillsborough Township – can present a profile that feels distinctive and grounded. Admissions officers are drawn to students who demonstrate genuine engagement with their local community, and Hillsborough students have a natural advantage in this area because the township provides abundant opportunities for meaningful involvement that are not filtered through the same competitive, resume-padding dynamics that can characterize extracurricular life at more intensely college-focused schools.

Hillsborough families should also be strategic about test preparation. Because the school’s average SAT scores are slightly lower than Montgomery’s or Pingry’s, a strong standardized test score can be a genuine differentiator for a Hillsborough student applying to selective colleges, rather than simply a table-stakes expectation.

Montgomery: Differentiating in a Sea of Excellence

Montgomery High School in Skillman is, by most measures, the strongest public high school in Somerset County. Ranked 26th in New Jersey by U.S. News & World Report, it sends graduates to institutions including Rutgers, NYU, and the Ivy League. The school’s AP participation rate is 71%, its average SAT scores range from 1,327 to 1,338, and its student body is deeply engaged in academics, arts, and athletics.

Montgomery’s strength is also its primary admissions challenge. The academic floor at Montgomery is exceptionally high. When nearly three-quarters of the student body is taking AP courses and the average SAT score exceeds 1,300, there is simply no way to differentiate yourself through academic credentials alone. The admissions reader who reviews Montgomery applications knows this. They are looking for something beyond the numbers – a spark of genuine intellectual curiosity, an unusual perspective, a story that could only belong to this particular student.

Developing an Intellectual Identity

The most successful Montgomery applicants we have worked with are those who develop what we call an intellectual identity – a through-line that connects their academic interests, extracurricular activities, and personal values into a coherent narrative. This does not mean fabricating a theme. It means helping the student recognize and articulate the thread that already exists in their choices. The student who loves biology and also volunteers at a local farm and writes poetry about the natural world has a story. The student who excels in math and started a financial literacy program for younger students in the district has a story. These stories are what separate one 4.3 GPA from another.

Montgomery’s proximity to Princeton University is another underutilized asset. Students who take advantage of the cultural, research, and academic opportunities available at Princeton – attending public lectures, participating in summer research programs, engaging with the university’s museums and libraries – can develop intellectual experiences that most high school students simply do not have access to. These experiences, when integrated authentically into an application, demonstrate initiative and intellectual depth in a way that adding another AP course never will.

The essay is especially critical for Montgomery students. In our experience, this is where Montgomery applications most often fall flat – not because the writing is poor, but because the essays are too safe. Students default to writing about overcoming a challenge on student council or learning a lesson from a team sport. These topics are fine, but they do not create the kind of distinction that selective colleges are looking for in a pool where everyone is academically excellent. Montgomery students need to take risks in their essays, revealing something personal and specific that the rest of the application cannot convey.

Pingry: Navigating the Private School Dynamic

The Pingry School in Basking Ridge occupies a fundamentally different position in the admissions landscape than the three public schools on this list. As one of the most prestigious independent day schools in New Jersey, Pingry offers its students advantages that are difficult to replicate in a public school setting: small class sizes, dedicated college counselors with deep institutional relationships at selective colleges, a curriculum built around critical thinking and interdisciplinary inquiry, and a community culture grounded in the school’s honor code and commitment to service.

Pingry’s college counseling operation is a significant asset. The counselors begin working with students formally in junior year, but the relationship-building starts earlier. Because Pingry has long-standing connections with admissions offices at highly selective colleges, these counselors can offer unusually specific guidance – which early decision strategy might maximize a student’s chances, which schools are particularly receptive to Pingry applicants in a given year, and how to frame a student’s profile in the most compelling way. The Class of 2025 matriculated to 75 different colleges and universities, and the Class of 2024 to 70, reflecting the breadth and depth of the school’s placement record.

The Privilege Question

However, Pingry students face a challenge that is unique to well-resourced independent schools: the perception of privilege. Admissions officers at selective colleges are aware that students at schools like Pingry have access to extraordinary resources – tutoring, test prep, essay coaching, summer enrichment programs, research opportunities facilitated by the school or family networks. As a result, Pingry students are held to a higher standard. The question is not whether the student took advantage of opportunities, but what they did with those opportunities that demonstrates agency, character, and genuine conviction.

The most compelling Pingry applications we see are those that lean into the school’s emphasis on character and community rather than running away from the privilege narrative. Pingry’s honor code is not just a set of rules – it is a framework for ethical decision-making that, when internalized, produces the kind of reflective, principled young people that colleges want to admit. Students who can articulate how the honor code shaped a specific decision, or how their service-learning experiences changed their understanding of a social issue, or how they grappled with an ethical dilemma in a way that reveals genuine moral reasoning – these students stand out. The authenticity of self-reflection, not the impressiveness of the resume line, is what distinguishes a strong Pingry application.

The Regional Review Problem – and How to Solve It

One of the most important – and least discussed – dynamics in Somerset County college admissions is the regional review process. Most selective colleges assign application readers by geography. The reader responsible for central New Jersey will review every application from Bridgewater-Raritan, Hillsborough, Montgomery, and Pingry. Over the course of a cycle, this reader develops an intimate familiarity with each school: the course offerings, the grading standards, the counselor writing styles, the community context, and the typical applicant profile.

This has significant implications for Somerset County families. First, the regional reader is comparing your student against their classmates, not against the broader national pool. A student who is above average at Montgomery is still operating in a context where above average means a 1,350 SAT and seven AP courses. Second, the regional reader can tell when a student’s application has been professionally polished to the point of losing its authentic voice. Overly slick essays, perfectly curated activity lists, and recommendation letters that read like they were written from a template all raise flags – particularly when the reader sees similar patterns from multiple students at the same school.

The solution is not to try to game the regional review process, but to understand it and let that understanding inform how you build the application. The student’s voice should sound like a real teenager, not a consulting firm. The activity list should reflect genuine interests, including the unglamorous ones. The recommendation letters should come from teachers who genuinely know the student – not necessarily the teacher of the most impressive-sounding course. And the college list should reflect thoughtful research, not just a ranked list of the most selective schools in the country.

Building a College List That Actually Works

College list construction is one of the areas where Somerset County college admissions families most often go wrong. The pattern we see repeatedly is a list that is top-heavy with reach schools, includes one or two token safety schools selected without real research, and neglects the schools in the middle where the student would likely be admitted and genuinely happy.

Constructing a Balanced List

There are several reasons this happens. Somerset County communities place enormous social pressure on college outcomes. Students absorb the message – from peers, parents, and the broader community – that only a handful of name-brand colleges represent success. This leads to lists where a student applies to eight Ivy League schools and two backups, with no real consideration of academic fit, campus culture, geographic preference, or what the student actually wants to study.

A well-constructed college list for a Somerset County student should include 10 to 15 schools across three tiers: reach, target, and likely. Reach schools are those where the student’s profile falls below the median admitted student – admission is possible but not probable. Target schools are where the student’s profile is competitive – they have a reasonable chance of admission. Likely schools are where the student’s profile exceeds the typical admitted student – admission is highly probable. Each tier should include schools that the student has researched, visited (in person or virtually), and can articulate a genuine reason for wanting to attend.

Demonstrated interest matters more than many Somerset County families realize. Many selective colleges – particularly those outside the top 20 – track whether a student has attended information sessions, requested materials, visited campus, or engaged with admissions representatives. For students applying to schools in the target and likely tiers, demonstrated interest can be the factor that tips an admissions decision. This is an area where families can create a meaningful strategic advantage with relatively little effort.

The Essay: Where Somerset County Applications Are Won and Lost

What Goes Wrong – and What Works

If there is one component of the application that disproportionately determines outcomes in Somerset County college admissions, it is the personal essay. In a region where transcripts and test scores cluster tightly around the same high marks, the essay is the single best opportunity for a student to differentiate themselves.

The most common essay mistake we see from students at these schools is not bad writing – these are strong students and generally competent writers. The mistake is playing it safe. Students write about leadership lessons from student government, teamwork on the soccer field, or the importance of perseverance. These essays are technically proficient but emotionally flat. They could have been written by anyone. And in a stack of applications from Somerset County, they are written by everyone.

The essays that work – the ones that make an admissions officer stop scrolling – are specific, honest, and a little vulnerable. They reveal something about the student that the transcript cannot. They take the reader into a moment, a place, a feeling. They do not try to be impressive. They try to be true. A Montgomery student writing about the anxiety of living in a community where college admissions defines social status is telling a story that only they can tell. A Pingry student reflecting on the discomfort of recognizing their own privilege during a service trip is doing real intellectual work. A Bridgewater-Raritan student describing the experience of being one of 600 in a graduating class – and what it takes to find your own identity in that context – is offering a perspective that resonates.

The supplemental essays are equally important and equally neglected. Most selective colleges require multiple short essays, often asking why the student is interested in a particular school or program. These essays demand real research. A response that could apply to any college is a wasted opportunity. A response that references a specific course, professor, research lab, student organization, or campus tradition signals that the student has done their homework – and that this school is not just another name on a list.

Standardized Testing in a Test-Optional World

The rise of test-optional policies has created real confusion for Somerset County college admissions families. The question we hear most often is some version of: should my student submit scores?

The answer depends on the student and the school, but the general framework is straightforward. If a student’s scores are at or above the median for admitted students at a given college, they should submit. If the scores are significantly below the median, they should not. The complication is that test-optional does not mean test-blind – most colleges that say tests are optional still consider scores when submitted, and internal data suggests that students who submit strong scores are admitted at higher rates than those who do not.

For Somerset County students specifically, there is an additional consideration. Because these schools are known to be high-performing, a decision not to submit scores can raise questions. An admissions reader who knows that the average SAT at Montgomery is above 1,300 may wonder why a student chose not to submit. This does not mean every student must submit, but it does mean the decision should be made deliberately and with full awareness of the context.

Preparation should begin no later than the spring of sophomore year. Multiple sittings – two or three across junior year – allow students to build familiarity with the test, identify areas for improvement, and ultimately present their strongest score. Somerset County families have access to excellent test prep resources, both through schools and independently, and there is no reason to leave this piece of the application to chance.

A Somerset County College Admissions Timeline That Works

Junior Year: Where Strategy Comes Into Focus

Freshman and sophomore years should be focused on exploration and foundation-building. Students should pursue the most rigorous courses they can handle without sacrificing grades, explore a range of extracurricular activities, and begin to identify the two or three areas where they want to invest deeply. This is also the time to start building relationships with teachers who might eventually write recommendation letters.

Junior year is where the strategy comes into focus. Standardized testing should happen in the fall or winter of junior year, with a second sitting in the spring if needed. College research should begin in earnest – attending information sessions, visiting campuses during spring break, and having honest conversations within the family about what matters most in a college experience. By the end of junior year, the student should have a preliminary college list and a clear sense of the story they want their application to tell.

The summer between junior and senior year is critical and often underutilized. This is the time for meaningful experiences that strengthen the application – a research internship, a community project, a creative endeavor, or substantive employment. It is also the time to begin writing. Students who arrive at senior year with draft essays are in a dramatically stronger position than those who start from scratch in September while juggling a full course load, college visits, and early application deadlines.

Senior fall is execution. Early decision and early action deadlines typically fall on November 1 or November 15. Regular decision deadlines cluster around January 1. Students should have their primary essay completed before school starts, with supplemental essays drafted by mid-October at the latest. Recommendation letters should be requested in the spring of junior year, with a reminder in early September. And the Common Application activity list – which is surprisingly difficult to do well – should be polished and finalized before submissions begin.

When Professional Guidance Makes a Difference in Somerset County College Admissions

Not every family needs an independent college counselor, but many Somerset County college admissions families benefit from one – particularly those navigating the process for the first time, those with students applying to highly selective schools, or those who simply want a strategic partner to complement the school counselor’s work.

The value of an experienced independent counselor in this context is not about gaming the system or writing the student’s essays. It is about providing a perspective that is both deeply knowledgeable and genuinely external. School counselors at Bridgewater-Raritan, Hillsborough, Montgomery, and Pingry are talented professionals, but they are working within the school system and managing large numbers of students. An independent counselor can offer the kind of individualized, strategic thinking that the process demands – from identifying the right intellectual narrative to constructing a balanced college list to providing the honest feedback on essays that friends and family often cannot.

At Oriel Admissions, we work with families across Somerset County and the broader central New Jersey region. We understand the specific dynamics of each of these school communities because we have helped students from each of them navigate the admissions process successfully. Our approach is rooted in the belief that every student has a compelling story – the work is in finding it, developing it, and presenting it in a way that resonates with the people reading the application.

If your family is beginning to think about college admissions – or if you are in the thick of it and feeling the pressure – we would welcome the opportunity to have a conversation. Contact Oriel Admissions to schedule a complimentary consultation.