Princeton University Top Questions

there is lots to do, too much in fact. its a great in that sense.

Princeton social life is fun but the Street can get boring. The fraternity and sorority scene are important in a certain scene of Princeton (Tiger Inn and Ivy) but otherwise play a small role in the social life. Bicker can make for a very unpleasant environment with social climbing and pettiness frequenting themselves. There are many University events that are organized but are not heavily attended

The eating clubs are the center for social life for most people.

I was in a dance group called Naacho all four years of college. It seems like most people have one main activity/group that they are part of, and this was mine. Student groups at Princeton are completely student run, which may make you think that they are not that organized. However, the student groups at Princeton are actually taken very seriously and professionally. People become very attached and committed to their main activity/group and put a lot of work into it. So when they perform, all their friends come to watch and support them, which is great. And then out of respect, you often go to all your friends' performances as well. So you get to see a lot of unique activities and interests that you weren't exposed to prior to coming to Princeton. Also, eating clubs were a large part of Princeton life when I was an undergrad. That is where everyone went on weekends to party. However, I actually had a lot of friends who were not part of an eating club, but still went out to the clubs on the weekends. So you don't have to be in a club to enjoy the Princeton social life.

There are so many groups and organizations, it's hard to say what's most popular. Almost everyone is immersed in something, whether it be a singing group, dance group, theater group publication, or any level of athletic activity. I was very involved with the club field hockey team, and really enjoyed my experiences. At Princeton, club teams are run almost entirely by the students, so the success of each team depends on the involvement and enthusiasm of the members. It's great to be able to compete against other schools while not being involved with varsity athletics. I met my closet friends through various things ranging from neighbors and groups that I was involved with to friends met through other friends. Socially, there are many options. Frats/sororities are a very small portion of the social life, but they do exist. People go out anywhere from multiple times a week to once or never. Thursdays and Saturdays are the big going out nights on campus. There's a lot to do that doesn't involve drinking including any type of art/theatrical event (dance show, play, etc) and movies that often play. Special events are held fairly regularly that range from events like "Asian Night Market" to class formals for freshmen and sophomores, etc. The eating clubs are a huge part of the social scene at Princeton. Off campus, the main attraction is NYC because it is conveniently a train ride away. Philadelphia is also a great option. Immediately off campus, there are many restaurants/shops which are accessible by car.

Lots of different groups are popular: athletic teams- esp. women's lacrosse, football, womens soccer, men's lacrosse..., Daily Princetonian involved people, Nassau Literary Review, international student group. There are always a lot of guest speakers, and plenty of dance and theater shows to go to. Not much dating goes on except among certain crowds, but this is normal for secular campuses. there are lots of great traditions on campus, including reunions, pre-rade, P-rade, Deans Date. Frats and sororities exist but arent huge. people party twice a week on average, thurs and sat. there is tons of stuff to do that doesnt involve drinking. off campus you can visit NYC, go out to eat, go shopping, get ice cream, go for a jog.

-The social life is centered around Princeton's "eating clubs"- between the 10 of them, you can find something going on any night of the week. Thursdays and Saturdays are typically the most popular nights people go out to "the street," as Prospect Ave (the street containing all the eating clubs) is called. The eating clubs host various formals and other social events, the biggest one being Houseparties- a weekend in the spring (usually the first weekend in May) where Friday and Saturday night are formals (dinner, cocktails, bands, etc.) and all day Sunday is Lawnparties... an entire day spent outside listening to music and hanging out at the different clubs. -Frats and sororities do exist, but aren't as big as the eating clubs. A number of people choose to rush their freshman year as a way to meet people. -Tailgates are bigger than the football games themselves. However, if Princeton beats Yale and Harvard in the same year, they plan a huge bonfire in the middle of campus in celebration. -Depending on the year, basketball games can attract a big following. -Hockey and lacrosse also pretty big. -Princeton has several acapella groups on campus (all-male, all-female and co-ed) who usually hold weekly acapella performances called "arch sings." -Alcohol Initiative plans events (probably about once a month) on a Thursday or Sunday night- with TONS of food, non-alcoholic beverages and some sort of fun activity as an alternative to drinking. -Really cute little town right next to campus with great restaurants and high-end shops. -Overall the social life is great... I think having 99{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of the student body living on campus for all 4 years contributes to this. Everyone is always around (creating a great sense of unity) and everything takes place on campus (so very social/communal). Also, I would say that mealtime is a popular time to socialize... whether it's in the dining halls as underclassmen or eating clubs as upperclassmen. With everyone's busy schedules during the week, it's sometimes the one time you have to relax and hang out.

Not enough students attend lectures by phenomenal guest speakers. They rotate through campus so frequently that it's easy to become desensitized and say, "Oh, I'll just go to the next one..." That mentality can be a slippery slope... I definitely had to adjust to the party culture at Princeton; it was puzzling (combination of amazing and alarming) to me how some students could drink as much as they did and still function in the library the next day. The "work hard-play hard" approach holds true, and one of my biggest pet peeves was that students felt they had to make excuses if they didn't want to go out. I think social alternatives to the Street became more prominent throughout my time at Princeton, though, which is great. Choice abounds in all dimensions of life at Princeton; having this variety in social scenes is natural. Daily life at Princeton is awesome: dorms are generally clean, the campus idyllic, the gym close by, laundry free.

Something for everyone, blah blah blah, diverse student interests, bah bah, other platitude to sell Princeton, *vomit in mouth*. But really, GO SEE QUIPFIRE! IMPROV COMEDY SHOWS! It's the most fun thing you can do at Princeton. And try out, if you can muster up the courage... you won't regret it.

The eating clubs tend to be quite popular. I was involved with The Daily Princetonian, which includes a rather eclectic group of people who are the editors. Students leave their dorm rooms open more in the beginning, but after fire safety fines them, they tend not to bother anymore. Athletic events vary in popularity. Guest speakers vary in popularity depending on how well known they are. Theater is quite popular amongst the theater crowd. I met my closest friends through rooming with them and becoming friends with their friends. Tuesday 2am I would be working or at the newspaper. Fall houseparties, spring houseparties happen each year. The perception is that people party every Thursday and Saturday. Fraternities and sororities aren't that important but there is a push for them at times since they can act like feeders into eating clubs. Saturday nights can just be fun hang out nights in friend's rooms or watching a play in McCarter Theater. I rarely left campus, mostly to go to NYC.

To belabor a point well-written about in the Daily Princetonian, the alcohol and hookup scenes at Princeton are a major blow to real fun in the social life of most Princeton students. As recent McCosh stats have shown, STD rates are as high at Princeton as they are anywhere, and McCosh's medical facilities always reach their peak capacity on Thursday and Saturday nights, due almost exclusively to alcohol overuse and abuse. In sum, many of the intelligent people at Princeton tend to turn off their intelligence when they leave the lecture hall or library carrel. There's a big work-hard, play-hard crowd here. It's always puzzling to me that students I know with astronomical GPAs still find it in their conscience to black out drunk in an eating club. People get the impression from these students that alcohol abuse (once the hangover is over) is relatively consequence-free. This is obviously implausible, practically speaking, but it remains a prevalent misconception.

eating clubs, music groups some students leave doors open athletics are somewhat popular, not hugely 2 am: working, watching tv, or about to go to bed party once-twice a week frats/sororities are not very significant went out on saturday watch a movie, go to a performance

The eating clubs dominate the party scene. There are frats and sororities that dominate a small portion of the social life in the clubs, but if you avoid that (or it happens to be your cup of tea) then the eating clubs can be really great. There are 5 "bicker" clubs -- you have to go through a selection process to join -- and 5 "sign-in" clubs that accept everyone who signs up (unless they have too many people, then they use a lottery system.) The clubs are great because there is always (or at least any Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday night) a place to go with your friends to hang out, dance, listen to tunes, and drink free beer. Alcohol is a big deal in the clubs (at least at night) but depending on the club, it's more or less overwhelming.

I'm involved in the Princeton radio station, WPRB 103.3, and although most students have never heard of it, it's kind of a big deal: oldest fm college station in America! I'm really happy to have stumbled upon this organization, because aside from the awesomeness of djing my own radio show and dictating what music the audience listens to, WPRB offers a great social community of students who love music.

I was in 2 dance groups, and that took up a lot of my time. I thought dance was really big on campus, there were certain events that almost eveyrone would go to, and also a bunch of events that put different dance groups together (international festival, etc). Dance groups are also really nice at princeton because it gives you a chance to be a leader in something, while at the same time you don't have to be amazingly talented to be in a group. I think theater is the same way. I also did volunteering through the student volunteers council. I mostly did a different activity each semester. Trenton is right next door so there's lots of volunteering opportunity and on the whole i thought community service was a pretty big activity at princeton.

There are too many groups and organizations to pick out the most popular ones. I was involved with cheerleading, and it was a great way to meet a caring group of girls. I was also very involved with StressBusters peer health educators - a group dedicated to reducing stress and depression on campus. I left my door open in the dorm, but it's actually against fire code. I think if it wasn't, more people would do it especially once you know more people in your dorm. There are always guest speakers coming to Princeton to speak, comedians, bands, you name it. The dating scene is hard at Princeton. "Dates" aren't really common. I met my closest friends in my dorm and in my eating club. On a Tuesday at 2 am, I'm either studying, hanging out with friends, or hanging out at my eating club. The major tradition at Princeton would be reunions!!! Eating clubs seem to be more important than sororities or frats. On a Saturday night you can go to the UFO, attend a campus play or show, hang out with friends and have game night, or go to New York for the weekend. There's not too much to do off campus except nyc.

Princeton is well-known for its system of eating clubs. Freshman and sophomores eat in their residential colleges, but juniors and seniors may choose to take their meals in eating clubs, and many do. The eating clubs aren't just places to eat though; they're social organizations that sponsor lots of events for their members (and often for nonmembers as well). I was an eating club as a junior and senior and had a great experience, but I am supportive of Princeton's efforts to promote residential college life for juniors and seniors which by extension undermines the eating clubs. Although I liked being in my eating club, I think they are generally exclusive and divisive. Eating with members of another club requires a "meal exchange", which is an annoying formality that makes it that much harder to socialize with whom you want whenever you want. More importantly, eating clubs are expensive, sometimes prohibitively so, and although financial aid is now available, it just seems wrong to me that you should have to fork it over in order to have lunch with your buddies.

The eating clubs are fantastic. I know they are often seen as problematic but in reality they provide a great, safe social meeting place. Clubs are on tap any given day of the week. I met my closest friends through who lived near me and in my sorority. The eating clubs through lawnparties nad houseparties every fall and spring, respectively. lots of great opportunities to dress up for formal events. Off campus, I eat out with my boyfriend. I often go into the city for museums, classes, dates, or just to get off campus.

One unique aspect about Princeton students compared to our peer schools is that we seem to be, on the whole, much more social. Perhaps it is because of our eating clubs or our greater proportion of varsity athletes?

My closest friends came from my freshman year hallmates--we had a great RA who organized lots of fun study breaks that let us get to know each other really well. I am also close to the girls on my sports team, in my Christian group, and upperclass eating institution. Frats and sororities are only a big deal in some circles. I actually don't think it is at all necessary in order to be fully plugged in to social life here--it is mostly a way of getting into certain eating clubs. There is plenty to do if you don't drink (and I don't): there are ALWAYS more plays/atheletic events/study breaks/lectures/parties/movies to go to than could possibly fit in anyone's schedules. Plus there's always the option of hanging out somewhere like Murray Dodge Cafe, Wu Cafe, Frist, etc. It's often the spontaneous games of ping-pong or trips for ice cream that are the most fun and memorable in the long run.