Anonymous
04/22/2026 17:53
Subject: princeton vs yale?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Residential college system at Yale was more appealing to me than eating clubs at Princeton but your daughter may feel the opposite.
+1000 from another Yalie
The residential colleges are randomly assigned, you don't have to apply like a fraternity - which turned me off of the eating clubs
Yale has all sorts of selective clubs, including the infamous "secret societies"; if anything, they are more overtly exclusive than Princeton eating clubs.
except secret societies are not a big part of the social fabric/experience at yale. at all. nothing like p-ton's eating clubs
Maybe not for those excluded from the Yale clubs, lol.
if your concern is kids being excluded from yale clubs that are really nbd, you should be even more concerned with exclusion from princeton's eating clubs. what happens if your kids' friends all get into the desired eating club and your kid does not? who are they going to eat all their meals with for 2 years? much bigger deal than the small group of Yale seniors who have 1 meeting one evening per week one year.
Alum here - this is not an issue.
how so?
It’s not really even worth getting into because it’s such a derailing of the thread, but friend groups are rarely super monolithic. By jr/st year there are other ways to hang out besides eating dinner together every night. Joining a bicker club is a particular choice and doesn’t appeal to many. Lots of kids are independent or take other options (a third don’t join *any* club), and many clubs are open sign-in. In my friend group there were people who did pretty much everything, and some did one thing junior year and something else senior year (different club, going independent, coop, etc). In the relatively rare event that an entire friend group chooses to bicker the same club – this would apply to a tiny fraction of the student body – *and* just one student didn’t get in, that student could do fall bicker junior year or the next semester and their friends would get them in. But this is an edge case that has basically no bearing o whether a kid should choose Princeton.
this just sounds complicated and odd.
Anonymous
04/22/2026 17:42
Subject: princeton vs yale?
Anonymous wrote:I'm a Yale alum. Both schools excellent and you're splitting hairs between them. The real question is what the student prefers. Yale and Princeton have different vibes and settings. I would be surprised if a kid has no preference.
As a Yale grad, I liked New Haven and think it gets a bad rap. The urban campus is vibrant, Yalies engage heavily in New Haven for its coffee shops, restaurants, bars - oh and the pizza!!! - and also for community service. I always thought Yalies seemed more down to earth and interesting. Maybe the urban campus attracts different types? We used to joke that visiting Princeton felt like a country club and that we were too scruffy for that setting.
I'm sure Princeton students have their own thoughts!
+1. Choose the best fit for you and don't look back. Hardly any student faced with this excellent choice is regretting their decision.
It does seem the tigers on here on a bit more defensive and trash talking Yale then vice versa. Not sure why.
Anonymous
04/22/2026 17:32
Subject: princeton vs yale?
Also, not sure if it’s still true, but you used to be able to be a “social member” of some eating clubs and eat most of your meals elsewhere.
Anonymous
04/22/2026 17:29
Subject: princeton vs yale?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Residential college system at Yale was more appealing to me than eating clubs at Princeton but your daughter may feel the opposite.
+1000 from another Yalie
The residential colleges are randomly assigned, you don't have to apply like a fraternity - which turned me off of the eating clubs
Yale has all sorts of selective clubs, including the infamous "secret societies"; if anything, they are more overtly exclusive than Princeton eating clubs.
except secret societies are not a big part of the social fabric/experience at yale. at all. nothing like p-ton's eating clubs
Maybe not for those excluded from the Yale clubs, lol.
if your concern is kids being excluded from yale clubs that are really nbd, you should be even more concerned with exclusion from princeton's eating clubs. what happens if your kids' friends all get into the desired eating club and your kid does not? who are they going to eat all their meals with for 2 years? much bigger deal than the small group of Yale seniors who have 1 meeting one evening per week one year.
Alum here - this is not an issue.
how so?
It’s not really even worth getting into because it’s such a derailing of the thread, but friend groups are rarely super monolithic. By jr/st year there are other ways to hang out besides eating dinner together every night. Joining a bicker club is a particular choice and doesn’t appeal to many. Lots of kids are independent or take other options (a third don’t join *any* club), and many clubs are open sign-in. In my friend group there were people who did pretty much everything, and some did one thing junior year and something else senior year (different club, going independent, coop, etc). In the relatively rare event that an entire friend group chooses to bicker the same club – this would apply to a tiny fraction of the student body – *and* just one student didn’t get in, that student could do fall bicker junior year or the next semester and their friends would get them in. But this is an edge case that has basically no bearing o whether a kid should choose Princeton.
Anonymous
04/22/2026 17:16
Subject: princeton vs yale?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Residential college system at Yale was more appealing to me than eating clubs at Princeton but your daughter may feel the opposite.
+1000 from another Yalie
The residential colleges are randomly assigned, you don't have to apply like a fraternity - which turned me off of the eating clubs
Yale has all sorts of selective clubs, including the infamous "secret societies"; if anything, they are more overtly exclusive than Princeton eating clubs.
except secret societies are not a big part of the social fabric/experience at yale. at all. nothing like p-ton's eating clubs
Maybe not for those excluded from the Yale clubs, lol.
if your concern is kids being excluded from yale clubs that are really nbd, you should be even more concerned with exclusion from princeton's eating clubs. what happens if your kids' friends all get into the desired eating club and your kid does not? who are they going to eat all their meals with for 2 years? much bigger deal than the small group of Yale seniors who have 1 meeting one evening per week one year.
You can do a group sign-in with friends, and you'll all be placed together. Last year, every one who wanted a spot in an eating club was placed. It's also fun to have friends spread out in different eating clubs and dining options. You don't eat every single meal at your club - you also eat out, in the dining halls, at the student center, and you certainly eat with different people, not the same ones every meal! The student center was bustling when we visited a few weeks ago.
Again, all freshmen and sophomores eat in dining halls in their residential colleges. Eating clubs are for upperclassmen (along with co-ops, dining hall plan, etc.)
I don't have an issue with Yale clubs or the Princeton eating clubs. DC is headed to Princeton.
Anonymous
04/22/2026 16:37
Subject: princeton vs yale?
I'm a Yale alum. Both schools excellent and you're splitting hairs between them. The real question is what the student prefers. Yale and Princeton have different vibes and settings. I would be surprised if a kid has no preference.
As a Yale grad, I liked New Haven and think it gets a bad rap. The urban campus is vibrant, Yalies engage heavily in New Haven for its coffee shops, restaurants, bars - oh and the pizza!!! - and also for community service. I always thought Yalies seemed more down to earth and interesting. Maybe the urban campus attracts different types? We used to joke that visiting Princeton felt like a country club and that we were too scruffy for that setting.
I'm sure Princeton students have their own thoughts!
As a Yale grad, I liked New Haven and think it gets a bad rap. The urban campus is vibrant, Yalies engage heavily in New Haven for its coffee shops, restaurants, bars - oh and the pizza!!! - and also for community service. I always thought Yalies seemed more down to earth and interesting. Maybe the urban campus attracts different types? We used to joke that visiting Princeton felt like a country club and that we were too scruffy for that setting.
I'm sure Princeton students have their own thoughts!
Anonymous
04/22/2026 16:33
Subject: princeton vs yale?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Residential college system at Yale was more appealing to me than eating clubs at Princeton but your daughter may feel the opposite.
+1000 from another Yalie
The residential colleges are randomly assigned, you don't have to apply like a fraternity - which turned me off of the eating clubs
Yale has all sorts of selective clubs, including the infamous "secret societies"; if anything, they are more overtly exclusive than Princeton eating clubs.
except secret societies are not a big part of the social fabric/experience at yale. at all. nothing like p-ton's eating clubs
Maybe not for those excluded from the Yale clubs, lol.
if your concern is kids being excluded from yale clubs that are really nbd, you should be even more concerned with exclusion from princeton's eating clubs. what happens if your kids' friends all get into the desired eating club and your kid does not? who are they going to eat all their meals with for 2 years? much bigger deal than the small group of Yale seniors who have 1 meeting one evening per week one year.
Alum here - this is not an issue.
how so?
Anonymous
04/22/2026 16:13
Subject: princeton vs yale?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Residential college system at Yale was more appealing to me than eating clubs at Princeton but your daughter may feel the opposite.
+1000 from another Yalie
The residential colleges are randomly assigned, you don't have to apply like a fraternity - which turned me off of the eating clubs
Yale has all sorts of selective clubs, including the infamous "secret societies"; if anything, they are more overtly exclusive than Princeton eating clubs.
except secret societies are not a big part of the social fabric/experience at yale. at all. nothing like p-ton's eating clubs
Maybe not for those excluded from the Yale clubs, lol.
if your concern is kids being excluded from yale clubs that are really nbd, you should be even more concerned with exclusion from princeton's eating clubs. what happens if your kids' friends all get into the desired eating club and your kid does not? who are they going to eat all their meals with for 2 years? much bigger deal than the small group of Yale seniors who have 1 meeting one evening per week one year.
Alum here - this is not an issue.
Anonymous
04/22/2026 16:10
Subject: princeton vs yale?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Residential college system at Yale was more appealing to me than eating clubs at Princeton but your daughter may feel the opposite.
+1000 from another Yalie
The residential colleges are randomly assigned, you don't have to apply like a fraternity - which turned me off of the eating clubs
Yale has all sorts of selective clubs, including the infamous "secret societies"; if anything, they are more overtly exclusive than Princeton eating clubs.
except secret societies are not a big part of the social fabric/experience at yale. at all. nothing like p-ton's eating clubs
Maybe not for those excluded from the Yale clubs, lol.
if your concern is kids being excluded from yale clubs that are really nbd, you should be even more concerned with exclusion from princeton's eating clubs. what happens if your kids' friends all get into the desired eating club and your kid does not? who are they going to eat all their meals with for 2 years? much bigger deal than the small group of Yale seniors who have 1 meeting one evening per week one year.
Anonymous
04/22/2026 00:00
Subject: princeton vs yale?
Anonymous wrote:keep in mind that most of the ppl who post on here about yale have no idea what yale is really like. that's probably the case about princeton and other ivies too. but i can tell because i do know yale. so just be carefuly when the haters post. for example the halloween incident from a few years back is not what people are representing at all.
yeah that honestly goes for most schools in the t20. the haters hate bc they can't get in or are insecure lol
Anonymous
04/21/2026 23:57
Subject: princeton vs yale?
keep in mind that most of the ppl who post on here about yale have no idea what yale is really like. that's probably the case about princeton and other ivies too. but i can tell because i do know yale. so just be carefuly when the haters post. for example the halloween incident from a few years back is not what people are representing at all.
Anonymous
04/21/2026 22:33
Subject: princeton vs yale?
Anonymous wrote:This is also a thread from 2 years ago. OP is long gone.
I had responded to it because it has some elements of the choice my child needs to pick from, except child is in STEM (engineering) and I had wanted to get a take on the school as it is now. It is good to hear about some of the misunderstanding of the eating clubs at Princeton, so I appreciate the poster(s) discussing it. And also good to hear about Yale.
Anonymous
04/21/2026 20:50
Subject: princeton vs yale?
This is also a thread from 2 years ago. OP is long gone.
Anonymous
04/21/2026 20:46
Subject: princeton vs yale?
The thread is just convincing me that this student can't go wrong. It certainly doesn't seem like there are many yalies walking around, wishing they were in Princeton . And It doesn't seem like there are many Princeton students walking around lamenting that they are not at Yale. Good luck to you student!
Anonymous
04/21/2026 20:37
Subject: princeton vs yale?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Residential college system at Yale was more appealing to me than eating clubs at Princeton but your daughter may feel the opposite.
+1000 from another Yalie
The residential colleges are randomly assigned, you don't have to apply like a fraternity - which turned me off of the eating clubs
All first year students are randomly assigned to a residential college at Princeton. You don't apply to residential colleges like a fraternity. I currently have a child and a niece there.
The misinformation on DCUM is quite exhausting. Eating clubs have nothing to do with residential colleges at Princeton. Eating clubs are for upperclassmen only. Seniors and juniors do not have to join an eating club if they don't want to.
Let's repeat this again for those who have issues with comprehension. Princeton has a residential college system. Students are randomly assigned to a residential college. All first year and sophomores at Princeton are automatically on the university dining plan.
Eating clubs are ONLY for upperclassmen. This is not mandatory. If you want to join an eating club for your junior and senior year, then you can. If you want to do any of the following options: remain on the university dining plan, go co-op, go independent, then you can do any of those choices as well. I know many juniors and seniors who do not join eating clubs. My niece is at Princeton, and she lives in one of those Victorian houses off campus with her co-op group. Joining an eating club is a choice for ONLY juniors and seniors. Princeton will not force a student to join an eating club.
and tell me again how much it COSTS to join an eating club? and your post ignores that some of them at least are selective, and not all get in. you know, like fraternities.
DP. Financial aid takes into account eating clubs. You pay for it just like you pay for a dining plan. And yes, about half the eating clubs are selective and half are sign-in. And then there are multiple other dining options that many kids choose. We have multiple Princeton grads in our family, and no one sits around talking about eating clubs even though some were part of one and others chose co-ops. It's a dining option for upperclassmen. You join with your friends. You can also eat at different clubs with a member - kind of like you can visit another residential college's dining hall.