Princeton

[Anonymous]

My son is looking at Princeton as a possible school to apply to. I very aware that getting into an Ivy of this calibre is always a crap-shoot, even for the best, most talented students. I'd describe DS as competitive but certainly not a shoe-in since his only "hook" in rowing crew. Anyway, if there are any Princeton alums here, can you tell me if you enjoyed attending Princeton? My largest concerns are whether it is too small and isolated from a larger city, and whether the social atmosphere is too elitist or eating-club focused. Thanks.

[Anonymous]

^ OP here. Please excuse the typos. I haven't had my morning coffee yet : )

[Anonymous]

DH went there and I have been to a lot of P-rades. He loved it and if your son is being raised in the DC area, it will not be too elitist. Eating clubs are basically fraternities. We still have a lot of good friends from his college days.

That said, I am from Appalachia and I would have been uncomfortable there as a college kid. Now I can "fake it" with the best but as an opinionated teen I would have hated the country club/preppy norm there.

[Anonymous]

Wins award most snobby Ivy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wins award most snobby Ivy.

Care to elaborate?

[Anonymous]

9:59 here -- I went to Harvard for grad school and Harvard undergrads are way snobbier than Princeton undergrads as a general population.

[Anonymous]

Princeton alum. Think it's a great school. Social scene is (was) very eating club focused, but the clubs aren't inherently elitist. No idea on current breakdown, but when I was there in the late '90s they were half bicker admission (think fraternity rush) and half lottery admission. And at least at that time the rowers were primarily in one of the lottery ones. Will say that - again a long time ago - the rowing schedule definitely seemed to dominate rowers lives more than any other factor.

As for the isolation - undergrad life is very campus focused, and personally I didn't miss the city. Might have felt isolated as a grad student, but for undergrad it was great.

[Anonymous]

DH is a Princeton alum from the late '70s. Though he values his Princeton education and his friends from those days, he grew bored by the social scene and suburban setting. He is probably one of the few Princeton alums to advise his kids not to go there, and, in fact, our two sons didn't even apply. They're both happy at another Ivy -- city campus where social life isn't dominated by eating clubs/frats.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DH is a Princeton alum from the late '70s. Though he values his Princeton education and his friends from those days, he grew bored by the social scene and suburban setting. He is probably one of the few Princeton alums to advise his kids not to go there, and, in fact, our two sons didn't even apply. They're both happy at another Ivy -- city campus where social life isn't dominated by eating clubs/frats.

In my biased opinion, Princeton and Yale are the best Ivies for undergraduates. No disrespect to PP, but the atmosphere at Princeton today is different than in the late 70s: more diverse; the town has more restaurants geared towards university students; there are fewer "Bicker" eating clubs, etc. Princeton will always attract a certain Ralph Lauren element, but the overall tone of the university is mostly set the friendly, hard-working kids, mostly from mid-Atlantic public schools, who go there. NYC is an hour away by train, slightly longer by bus. Lake Carnegie is great for the rowers.

Princeton was the only Ivy I applied to, but when I visited a friend at Yale I was somewhat envious of the stunning architecture and more overtly intellectual atmosphere. I also really liked the four-year residential college system there. On the other hand, New Haven is decidedly gritty. I was happy as a grad student at one of the big city Ivies, but neither struck me as remotely a nurturing environment for undergraduates as Princeton or Yale.

[Anonymous]

I never considered Princeton seriously in the 70s because of the WASPy/private school atmosphere, but my DD, somewhat to my surprise and her own, settled on it as her first choice, based on the undergrad focus, location/campus (close enough to home and other NE schools to see friends and family pretty easily; gorgeous safe campus but quick train ride to NYC or Philadelphia), and believe it or not pretty open social scene (compared to Harvard, which really seems to have become the high pressue clubby status-obsessed campus these days) because social life all on campus and not segregated by who can afford to go out to restaurants and clubs (unlike Columbia and Penn), most eating club parties are open to all or can easily get a pass, they are cheap (covers of $5 for live music and beer), and most clubs are now lottery or if bicker are not particularly hard to get into. My DD initially looked there in the context of crew as well, in the end decided she did not want to row in college (completely overtakes your life, but if your son is really good it and he is recruited it will get him in and he can always quit later if he doesn't love it), but during the process loved the place and glad crew got her to look at it. After several year at Princeton she has been academically and socially extremely happy.
He should visit, stay over with crew and noncrew students, and see what he thinks. Make his own decision, but the information provided by people on this forum regarding the 70s or 80s or hearsay shouldn't be part of it. Around DC schools Yale seems to be the obsession, with huge numbers of top students applying and wanting to go there, not sure why, New Haven really not an ideal place to live while in college, so Princeton also probably less competitive (a bit) to get into from DC

[Anonymous]

Agree that there are fewer bicker clubs now and more restaurants (it's not just PJ's now), but social life at Princeton is still largely focused on the Street. Some kids enjoy that, but for others it would get old fast.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Agree that there are fewer bicker clubs now and more restaurants (it's not just PJ's now), but social life at Princeton is still largely focused on the Street. Some kids enjoy that, but for others it would get old fast.

There is plenty to do on campus other than hang out at the clubs on Prospect, and NYC is an hour away. And there were always more restaurants on Nassau and Witherspoon than PJ's.

[Anonymous]

This is the OP. Thank you all for your information and advice. My son is definitely putting Princeton on his list, although I'm happy that he's casting a wide net and is open to many other schools too. I am impressed by the strong undergraduate focus at Princeton, and the campus is beautiful. DS isn't sure yet about whether he wants to row in college -- it certainly is a major commitment. He has interests in international relations, so the WWS is definite draw for him. Anyway, thanks again!

[Anonymous]

Sucks.

[Anonymous]

Mom of high school junior here. Don't know how I lived my life without ever knowing this, but can someone please explain Bicker eating club and the like? (How I managed career/financial success with a degree from an unranked college is another mystery.)