When I was in college (a different Ivy) I’d estimate 90% of the students never really left campus or the immediate campus area. In senior year we did become a bit more adventuresome.

But the other 10% did get around a lot. And I mean a lot.

There is a bus that goes right on the main street every half hour or so to NYC. Many Princeton residents commute into NYC each day for work. It's no big deal.

Anonymous wrote:NYC is close and yes, students go there. What is the big deal OP?

Yes, it isn't so far. You can make a day trip. If your kid wants to be in a city, Princeton is not in one. If your kid wants to be remote, Princeton isn't that, either.

There is nothing "tricky". NJ is densely populated. There's lots to do in and near Princeton.

NYC is close and yes, students go there. What is the big deal OP?

I thought it was just about ideal. You can live in cities later but, in terms of an overall environment for learning and socializing as an undergraduate, Princeton has few peers. Made plenty of trips to NYC as a junior and senior, and it's definitely easy to get back and forth to the DC area.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Harvard/MIT has Boston...Yale has train to NYC's Union Station...Chicago has Chicago...Stanford has SF...Penn has Philly and DC and NYC access. Even Brown has Providence and Boston somewhat close.

Is Princeton as isolated as it seems?

The reality is they don't. Even most Penn or Columbia kids do not go into Philly or NYC respectively too often eve though the schools are literally in the city. For Princeton it is even harder. People usually stick around.

Umm, no, definitely not true.

Umm, yes, very true. Penn undergrad, Princeton Phd here.

Then you realize that Penn is in Philadelphia. When I was at Penn, everyone spent lots of time in the bars on South Street. All the bars around campus closed years ago.

Anonymous wrote:I wanted a social life that was mostly on or near campus so it was perfect for me. Like a small liberal arts college, except with cities pretty close by. I took the train into NYC periodically and the residential colleges ran bus trips into NYC too for shows and events. Philly is inconvenient without a car.

+1. I liked having most of my social life on campus for undergrad. We'd go to NYC occasionally and to philly for games against Penn, but otherwise people mostly stayed on campus. Senior year people would sometimes go to bars in the town of Princeton, but it wasn't a regular thing. Definitely didn't think I missed out on things, but social life was a lot harder for grad students.

Pre- or post-car share options?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's not as isolated as you may think. Very frequent train service to Philadelphia and NYC, 19x7. But they go to Princeton, so nobody in Philadelphia or NYC wants to talk to them either.

But the Dinky's schedule is erratic and time-consuming to get the connection to ACELA. Most students have cars off campus and drive back to the DC area.

True about the Dinky being time-consuming (but it doesn’t connect to the Acela — just to Amtrak NE Corridor trains that stop at Princeton Junction and to NJ transit commuter rail). False re most students having cars off campus. That’s rare for undergrads.

Not in my experience.

I wanted a social life that was mostly on or near campus so it was perfect for me. Like a small liberal arts college, except with cities pretty close by. I took the train into NYC periodically and the residential colleges ran bus trips into NYC too for shows and events. Philly is inconvenient without a car.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's not as isolated as you may think. Very frequent train service to Philadelphia and NYC, 19x7. But they go to Princeton, so nobody in Philadelphia or NYC wants to talk to them either.

But the Dinky's schedule is erratic and time-consuming to get the connection to ACELA. Most students have cars off campus and drive back to the DC area.

True about the Dinky being time-consuming (but it doesn’t connect to the Acela — just to Amtrak NE Corridor trains that stop at Princeton Junction and to NJ transit commuter rail). False re most students having cars off campus. That’s rare for undergrads.

Anonymous wrote:It's not as isolated as you may think. Very frequent train service to Philadelphia and NYC, 19x7. But they go to Princeton, so nobody in Philadelphia or NYC wants to talk to them either.

But the Dinky's schedule is erratic and time-consuming to get the connection to ACELA. Most students have cars off campus and drive back to the DC area.