Anyone on here with a current student at Princeton or very recent grad?

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wonder if someone isn't trying to encourage an admitted student to turn down Princeton so their kid can get in off the waiting list. The admissions department indicated within the last week that they expect to make some offers within the next few weeks.

That wouldn’t be my first conclusion. Princeton is known to be kind of an unhappy place in recent years, hence all the suicides.

Nah, the vast majority of students have a great experience. You're wallowing in misery for reasons that have little to do with Princeton.

To outsiders, this sounds exactly like the kind of misery that Princeton is known for.

I think Princeton has changed in recent years. Alumni from the past seem to have very fond memories and a lot of close friends. It’s the opposite for current students and more recent grads.

A recent survey of graduating students found that 92% would attend Princeton again if they had a do-over. That’s a fairly high percentage, but maybe it was higher in the past.

If they wanted to boost the percentage of happy students they could inflate grades and offer admission to a less diverse group of students. They see their mission as offering unparalleled resources and opportunities to a diverse and talented group of students, but they don’t relax their academic standards like some T20 schools and they largely leave it up to students to chart their own academic and social paths (although all freshmen and sophomores are members of residential colleges that organize a lot of social events). They also have a lot of kids pursuing challenging STEM majors, and some struggle to keep up. The same thing happens in STEM programs at many universities, but it may hit differently at Princeton because you mostly have kids who’ve always known only success and may not have the same resilience as kids elsewhere.

For those who do navigate Princeton successfully, there’s generally no other place they’d rather have attended.

I'm not surprised at all. It's human nature to say that in retrospect about an institution that is very hard, prestigious and basically a drag. Saying you wouldn't attend again admits weakness and failure (to yourself and others) . My kids attend a super rigorous high school that is known for being a slog and devoid of most fun. I bet you a million dollars that if polled when they're out of there they'd say they'd do it again. To say no is really depressing--i.e. "my high school experience was a mistake and it sucked." So you choose to view ti through rose colored glasses.

[Anonymous]

Social life can be very stifling at Princeton, but there are options. DC went and did join a bicker club, but had friends that did a coop or sign-in and they all enjoyed those experiences. Some of their friends dropped bicker clubs too. DC went abroad as a STEM Major so it is doable, but you have to plan. They would say it was really worth it and changed their overall perspective. Agree that by junior year things shift in a more positive way. They joined more clubs and made friends in their major. It is not an easy school to navigate academically or socially.

[Anonymous]

I know a freshman who is very happy--math major. Seems to have found his people.

[Anonymous]

what are the chances of admission at the Bicker clubs?