Princeton University Top Questions

I'm sure the most talked-about aspect of Princeton's social life is the eating clubs. The eating clubs each have their own personalities and styles and attract corresponding types of people. There's a club for water sport teams, a club for actors and performers, a club for artists, a club for engineers and a club for snobs (just kidding...sort of). If you want to be in an eating club, it becomes apparent fairly early on which ones you most connect with. Going out freshman year will help orient you to all the clubs and will give you a sense of what types of people hang out where. If you choose to be independent, there's a big support net of people who have made the same choice, and certain dorms are conducive to communally-cooked meals. I joined an eating club with a group of friends, although other friends chose different clubs. This allowed us to meal exchange and take turns eating at each others' clubs, thereby meeting new people. Regarding parties, the eating clubs are definitely the center of weekend social life. It can be difficult sometimes to get into the more exclusive clubs unless you have friends and can get passes. If you don't drink, you can still go to the eating clubs for dancing or seeing people, or there are likely to be dance shows or plays or friends' room parties to check out.

People around Princeton are really open and friendly. It's not odd to walk down the hall and introduce yourself to your neighbors, especially when it sounds like there's a bunch of people hanging out in one room. A good thing about Princeton is the proximity to New York City. There's a train station on campus, and it's really really convenient to just hop on the train and head into the city for a night of non-Princeton activities. After all, the city nightlife has a much greater variety of activities than Princeton, though there are always interesting shows that various campus groups put on.

My door has remained open every day for the past three years I have been here. Nothing has ever been stolen (knock on wood), but I've opened my door to find flowers, candy, and presents from people left anonymously. People party every Thursday, and Saturday. Wednesday, Friday, and Tuesday are also days that some people go out. It is nice that people don't go out that often during midterms and finals- less pressure to go out.

A capella and dance groups are really popular on campus - it's pretty common to go to an "arch sing" or dance performance on the weekends before going to parties. People in these groups are generally respected and considered cool by the student body. Pretty much any sports team receives a lot of respect and recognition as well. I'm involved in a sorority, which is pretty low key compared to other universities (we don't have a house, aren't recognized by the university, and mostly just function as a social group). Students in dorms leave their doors open all the time - campus feels very safe and secure. Athletic events are fairly popular, although the tailgates (for football and lacrosse) probably draw bigger crowds than the actual games do. Princeton hosts several guest speakers; on any given afternoon, one can probably find an interesting talk to attend. There are also occasional famous speakers (like Kofi Annan). Theater is also pretty prevalent. The dating scene is scarce: there are a few select guys who have the guts to ask girls out, the rest just rely on getting drunk and having random hook ups. The majority of students are single. My closest friends are my roommates and girls in my sorority. If I'm awake at 2am on a Tuesday, I am probably reading or writing a paper. Big traditions include Lawnparties each fall and spring, and "bicker" where sophomores compete to get into eating clubs. People party mostly Thursday and Saturday evenings, but it's easy to find something to do on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Friday as well. Fraternities and sororities are somewhat important, but probably not as much as at other schools (people affiliated in these groups tend to be affiliated with a lot of other groups too). Last weekend I went to my eating club and partied for a few hours. Saturday nights, one could go out to the clubs without drinking, or attend a number of shows, concerts, or other activities funded by Princeton's "Alcohol Initiative." Off campus, I tutor elementary school students once per week.

Everyone who is anyone parties thursday and saturday, Friday is the time to chill out with friends, hang out with that special someone you've been hookig up with, whatever. there is a tuesday and wednesday party scene, but its much more low key and epeneds on everyone's work load that week whether you do out or not. Monday and sunday stay pretty quiet.

Doors always open- super, super safe campus. Football games are popular, I haven't really gone to others, but people definitely do. Guest speakers and performances are huge here. No dating scene- people really hook up casually. Apparently you're chronically single, or attached and practically married. Closest friends are from random places around campus, really easy to meet people in dining halls and everyone's surprisingly friendly and eager to talk. So many fun traditions and perennial events each year. Sororities and frats play a nominal role here... it's really all about the eating clubs. Saturday nights you can still go to the eating clubs and not drink- there are awesome bands that play live, or you can catch performances, or an arch-sing, go to the little- artsy movie theater right next to campus, or major mega-plex like 5-10 minutes away. LOTS to do, always. Not as much off-campus, but, we are 1 hour away from Philadelphia and New York, so ENDLESS possibilities. We have a train station on campus so getting anywhere is no problem and its so convenient.

Princeton has a lot of opportunities to go out on weekends and party, but I don't do that much, and it's perfectly fine. You can go to the cafe open every night that has free baked goods, go see one of a zillion shows any given weekend, go to New York City for the night and see a show, or even stay in and study for the night. Princeton has activities for basically any interest. The a cappella groups always draw huge crowds, and there are at least a dozen dance groups on campus that regularly have shows. The juggling club recently had a performance even. There are fraternities and sororities here, but since we don't have houses it just becomes a social network and more friendly faces around campus. They don't take over the social scene at all.

Princeton is the party school of the upper Ivy League; we're tough competition for Dartmouth, but we're still a better school. Though some claim our eating clubs to be elitist, they're really exactly the opposite. It's a system in which everyone can be a part of something, where there's always a party you can go to and fit in. As a member and officer emeritus at Tower, the eating club experience has undoubtedly been the best part of my time at Princeton. As far as other groups on campus, most are social supplements to the clubs, not replacements. Sports teams party together, but they always head out to the street afterwards. Fraternities and sororities are great ways to meet people as an underclassman, but are by no means necessary. People at Princeton party as often as they want to. The "traditional" party nights are Thursday and Saturday, but there are reliable parties at the clubs Tuesday-Saturday. As the university has banned or bastardized most great Princeton traditions, it is mainly the ad hoc drinking-related ones that survive, such as Newman's Day and the Prospect 10. Reunions, Houseparties, Lawnparties, Princeton Halloween, Dean's Date, and even the Triangle Freshman Week Showe are also not to be missed. The arts performances at McCarter Theater are superb and many of the student performances are excellent as well. Food off-campus is excellent, and there are a variety of great date spots. However, while dating is by no means uncommon, Princeton also has a very active hook-up culture. Off-campus opportunities in Princeton are limited, but New York is but a train ride away. Why you would want to leave campus, though, I wouldn't know.

There isn't that much to do here that doesn't involve drinking

Most popular orgs...Tower. Kappa and Theta. Club soccer. Triangle. Disiac. A capella. Roaring 20 is AWESOME. We always get the most auditionees and we're pretty cool. As in really cool. We perform on campus and off, do really fun tours, and basically hang out a lot. Definitely the group to be in. Students in dorms leave their doors open sometimes. The university doesn't like it though. Those that can leave their doors unlocked. But the university is trying to change that ability as they renovate. Boo. Athletic events are not overwhelmingly popular, but there are followings. Jadwin Jungle! Guest speakers can be popular. The community attends a lot of them. Theatre is really popular. Most shows sell out many nights. Dating. People are either in relationships or not. Little casual dating. Hookups are frequent though. My closest friends I met through friends that I met on OA and early freshman year. I'm still close with them, but they introduced me to others. And some I just found randomly, for which I am so grateful. Tuesday at 2 am...at Terrace drinking and hanging out. Dean's date runs. Comedy show. I dunno. Not big into tradition. I party 3-4 nights a week. Awesome! Average is about 2. Frats aren't that important, but they have parties. Still, very open to randos. Soroties are bigger, but not exclusive. I have some close friends in them. Last weekend I went to the street, had an arch sing, worked, did some hw, and hung out. You can see shows, go to Murray Dodge, go into the city, and other stuff. I usually stay on campus, occasionally go into the city.