Princeton University Top Questions

There's so much going on that it's hard to say what's most popular on campus. If they count in this then the eating clubs are most popular with a majority of upperclassmen joining them. Popular groups I can think of off the top of my head are Triangle (Comedy Musical Theater Group), The Prince (School Paper), a cappella groups, performance groups in general (so many dance groups!). Greek life is popular among certain groups once you're not a freshman.

There's so much going on that it's hard to say what's most popular on campus. If they count in this then the eating clubs are most popular with a majority of upperclassmen joining them. Popular groups I can think of off the top of my head are Triangle (Comedy Musical Theater Group), The Prince (School Paper), a cappella groups, performance groups in general (so many dance groups!).

I'm a little biased since I'm a dancer, but I'd say that the dance groups are pretty big on campus. A capella groups, theater groups, and athletics constitute a large of campus life as well.

People are involved in various different groups here on campus. I am an Orange Key Campus Tour Guide, the class of 2013 Vice President for student government, and a leader in the Universities outdoors program which runs a large pre-orientation program for incoming freshmen every year.

There are too many to mention here. One of my favorites, though, are the a-capella groups that you will find performing under one of the many arches at Princeton. There is something special about walking home at night in the winter and being able to stop and listen to the wonderful singing going on around campus. If that's not your thing, however, there are dance groups, theater shows, all kinds of sports (at all levels) and the nightlife is also amongst the best I have ever experienced.

There are too many to mention here. One of my favorites, though, are the a-capella groups that you will find performing under one of the many arches at Princeton. There is something special about walking home at night in the winter and being able to stop and listen to the wonderful singing going on around campus. If that's not your thing, however, there are dance groups, theater shows, all kinds of sports (at all levels) and the nightlife is also amongst the best I have ever experienced.

Eating clubs are big. So are athletics, performing arts groups, and even though they are currently in the process of being banned, fraternities and sororities continue to have some presence.

Probably most relevant to talk about the eating clubs here, since there is really nothing else to do in Princeton. And what is there to say about eating clubs? For four years of your live everything seems to revolve around them. Probably for good reason...they ARE the social life on campus. It wasn't until I loosened up a bit, realized joining an eating club wasn't necessarily selling your soul, and started drinking heavily on weekends that I really started having fun at Princeton. Wish I hadn't waited until halfway through my time there to do that. Then once you graduate and return to the real world it all seems like a strange, distant dream...

My social life is by no means representative of the vast majority of Princeton social lives, but this is how I spent Princeton Halloween last week: After working/running errands all day, I changed into my Halloween costume (pre-coeducation Ivy League student) and went to my residential college dining hall for dinner. They were hosting a costume contest, in which I participated (though, alas, I didn't win), and I ate dinner with a couple sophomore friends then joined some of the resident grad students for dessert/conversation. At night I went to a party in honor of the Nassau Weekly, for which I write/the birthday of one of the editors. It was held in Terrace, my favorite eating club and actually the only one I'll set foot in on a voluntary basis. I have a number of friends in Terrace, and it's the only club to go to if you want a laid-back scene (though I haven't been to all of them). I saw some of my colleagues from the Nass, in addition to meeting some of the editor's friends. I subsequently got rather drunk on birthday punch, and left Terrace before it really got going for the night, so I missed out on much of the Princeton Halloween partying. I went back to my room fairly early and subsequently slept through my Friday morning class. Let it not be said that I spend every weekend getting drunk, though--that's far from normal. If I'd like to underscore anything, it's the diverse groups I'm friends with: fellow freshman who I just happened to meet through my residential college; colleagues at the publications I write for; folks I met through the LGBT Center; grad students and faculty fellows in my college; and their friends and their friends and their friends.

The party scene is mostly at the eating clubs. The clubs are basically our version of frats/sororities. Instead of living there though, they serve meals to their junior and senior year members. But they open for everyone at night. The big party nights are Thursday and Saturday, but there's usually something going on every night of the week. I usually go out and drink maybe once every two weekends, and I would say that's pretty typical. Some people don't drink at all and never go out, and some people go out ~3 times a week. The dating scene is mostly about random hookups. A substantial number of people have really serious relationships. Not that much "dating" goes on - it's usually either single people who hook up or practically married people.

Princeton's social life is getting better, but to be honest, I found it rather one-dimensional. Even now, if you don't join an eating club or know several people in a club that you can always go out with, your options are quite limited. There aren't really bars or clubs in town that people go to, and New York is too far away to visit often. 99{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of "going out" consists of walking up and down The Street and picking from one of about a dozen parties that never really change. That's not to say that it can't be fun, but it can get old. And going to The Street involves alcohol unless you consciously abstain. It's not like you can't create your own fun without drinking, but there's not a huge dry contingent on campus.

Dodgeball tournament is one of the largest events. It starts at 5pm and goes until 2am.

View of the gym lobby during the Dodgeball tournament, with free food and students milling about to check the brackets.

View of the small teams currently playing in the Princeton Dodgeball tournament, some of the smaller clubs.

The Princeton Dodgeball tournament is a big annual event on campus.

Aquina talks about her extracurriculars, which include figure skating and volunteering.

Bracket for dodgeball tournament.

Princeton students lovingly refer to the isolated campus phenomenon as being in the Orange Bubble. Mostly, they use this phrase when making excuses for why they have no idea what's going in the real world after extended periods at Princeton. More than anything, this demonstrates Princeton's ability to grab and completely hold your attention while attending. On top of the classes and large (and often interesting) workloads, Princeton offers innumerable opportunities for extracurricular activities, entertaining events, and general interaction with peers (and faculty). To give you an idea of why I was never bored there, here's a sample of my extracurricular schedule: Chapel choir (Monday and Thursday evenings, Sunday mornings), Bible study (Tuesday evenings), Paideia (Wednesday evenings), Kindred Spirit a cappella (Thursday evenings), Music Outreach [a cappella at local nursing homes] (Saturday afternoons), Ultimate frisbee with friends (Friday or Saturday afternoon), general chilling with friends/on campus performances/plays/movies (Friday and Saturday evenings), Free Writing Hour (Sunday afternoons), ... And there were also more long-term events, like tutoring, writing and editing for student magazines, and organizing the Undergraduate Research Symposium. On breaks, I found myself drawn into the break-trips organized by the Student Volunteer Council. These were week-long volunteering opportunities in places like Alabama (in the wake of Katrina) and Washington D.C. For those unsatisfied with the local fare, Princeton also offers a wide variety of study abroad programs. Does Princeton have a large drinking culture? Yes. Definitely. If anything, it is underestimated. The main social scene revolves around going to the eating clubs every Thursday and Saturday night to drink, party, and perhaps dance. I don't drink, but that didn't stop me from having fun at college. The key is to find others who are interested in more varied activities, and believe me, they're out there. While I did go to the eating clubs occasionally, to dance and talk to friends, I often opted for other activities: anything from board games to late night capture the flag to watching a movie. (Small room parties were also a popular option.) The statistics show that eating clubs do tend to divide campus, particularly along socioeconomic class lines, although the recent move to provide financial aid for eating club expenses may do something to mitigate the situation. On the other hand, the University instituted a four-year residential college system in the fall of 2007 which may provide a popular alternative to belonging to an eating club. I belonged to an eating club in my junior year (Charter Club) and was "independent" in my senior year. Independent students neither belong to an eating club nor use the University meal plan. There are a number of great options for independent students: they can cook for themselves (they are given first choice of rooms with full kitchens during room draw), eat out every day :), or join a campus co-op, which consists of groups of (~20) students who take turns cooking for one another on a weekly to monthly rotation. The costs of eating and cooking drop tremendously in the co-op situation, since you can buy all of your food in bulk and only need to do the cooking occasionally. I had many friends in co-ops, and they loved it. I chose the cook for myself option in my senior year, and I found that this suited me well. My main reason for not joining an eating club in my senior year was the expense. The bill for Charter club is rather hefty, and I was paying out of pocket. In addition, a number of my friends spontaneously decided to go independent. That's an interesting point to note: your choice of eating option may be largely determined by your group of friends.

There are many extracurricular opportunities at Princeton. The club sport scene is great for making friends and is much less stressful than high school sports. Everyone realizes that your priority in college is schoolwork and is very understanding. Having been a member of the Princeton University Band, I can say that the sporting events are not particularly well-attended. This is not Notre Dame for football or Duke for basketball. You can still go to the games and enjoy yourself (especially as part of the very friendly and off-the-wall band), but you might be one of the few Princeton students in the audience.

People party a lot, but that's college. The eating clubs are where it all goes down and they are possibly the most fun organizations in the world. Frats and sororities exist but they're extremely low key. Sports teams have as much social importance as your average frat. Most socially aware girls do a sorority, but compared to your average southern sorority, Princeton sororities are like the girl scouts. They're just a way for fun girls to hang out with other fun girls. If you want to get hammered every night of the week you'll be in good company, but if you never want to alcohol to touch your lips then you'll be fine too. No one goes off campus for much except to New York and Philly which is pretty common. Those trips could include anything from club hopping to visiting the Met to seeing a Yankees game. There are too many traditions to go into, but in short, it's a fun time here.