Princeton University Top Questions

Best thing about Princeton is the diversity. It's not just for show, it makes it a much more interesting, satisfying environment. Not just racial diversity, either, but diversity of wealth, nationality, etc. The town of Princeton: cute. Not a college town exactly, but I can't complain. It's got some great restaurants, a nice movie theater, and pretty scenery all within easy walking distance. It's secluded enough to get academic stuff done, but also an easy hour-long train to Philly or NYC. Best kept secret? Not exactly a secret, maybe, but the tow path. Just south of campus, in between Lake Carnegie and West-Windsor practice fields, a path runs alongside the lake and for miles in either direction. The varsity athletes all run here, but everyone should know about it. I've had some great runs and walks out there, and seen some beautiful sunsets. It almost feels like you aren't in South Jersey.

Princeton definitely has a brand-name value. When I tell folks where I go to school, their eyes light up with recognition, and my intelligence is given the benefit of the doubt. I like the size of Princeton: it's big enough that I could find a whole new group of friends and start afresh socially if I so choose, but small enough that I run into people I know while walking to class. I spend a lot of my spare time hanging out at Terrace F. Club, one of Princeton's eating clubs. It's a super chill social center that serves as the university's main venue for rock concerts. The town of Princeton is boring. It is clearly designed for the few rich students and the wealthy suburban citizens. The main stores in town are J.Crew, Ann Taylor, Kate Spade, Nine West, and other fancy-pants establishments of that nature. The saving graces of Princeton is the Record Exchange, an awesome little record shop where you can buy cheap music, and Small World, a cool free-trade coffee shop that also serves delicious soup!

There's a few things i loved about Princeton. It's just the right size so that every person can find their niche without getting lost. That's what was most valuable to me, i was able to find where my interests were and become a leader in them. It also offers really amazing opportunities- shows, famous speakers and professors. As far as academics go, I couldn't have asked for a better place. I liked the social scene for a couple of years and then got tired of it. Princeton is in a small town and there's nothing to do off-campus. On-campus the eating clubs take over- it would have been nice to have more options and more opportunities to meet new people.

The best thing about Princeton is the culture. Everyone there wants to learn, but everyone is different too. You are always being challenged, but you can always find something to do that you enjoy. I think the school size is just right. It's not so small that everyone knows everyone, but its not so big that you dont really know anyone. You can often become friends with so many people who do so many different activities. I think people all react differently when I tell them I went to Princeton. Usually people think its really cool haha. I spent most of my freshmen and sophomore year around my residential college, and then junior and senior year I spent a lot of time at the street. I think an issue of big controversy on campus has been the four year college system vs the eating clubs. There is a large amount of school pride, but its not always necessarily evident at sports events. There are two experiences about Princeton I'll always remember - 1. The bonfire in 2006 when we beat Yale and Harvard and won the Ivy League Championship. 2. Graduation and walking through the gates!

The best thing about Princeton is the money. Princeton's enormous endowment allows the school to offer unbeatable financial aid and resources to its undergraduates. Funding for summers abroad, thesis research, extracurricular groups, social events, you name it, are all readily available for those with a little initiative. I think the school is a nice size with around 5000 undergrads and 1000 graduate students (a fact that perhaps shows how undergrad-oriented Princeton is). Everywhere on campus is walkable, and you're likely to run into someone you know every time you venture out to class.

The best thing about Princeton is definitely the students! Each student is more incredible than the last. You're surrounded by people with incredible accomplishments the moment you step on this campus. And, the best part is that these students are incredibly down to earth and more than happy to share their passions with you. The school's size is just right - although there is an entire portion of the population that I never see. The sociable population however is quite nice. Small enough that you are always surrounded by people you know but big enough that you still meet new people every day.

Princeton is probably just the right size for the consummate college experience. It is a medium-sized school, but smaller than most of the other Ivies. Princeton has 4800 undergraduates and only 2000 graduate students, which means that we have all of the University's attention and resources. This smaller community allows Princeton to have almost a liberal arts college feel but with the resources and advantages of a full fledged, world renown research institution. The fact that every faculty member, no matter how big his ego or how famous, is required to teach undergraduates is something that sets Princeton apart from other schools. There is something to be said about a school that has the most loyal alumni in the United States. More than 15,000 alumni return to campus every year for Reunions, and more than 60{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of all living alumni donate annually, which is the highest among any other school in the country. On a per capita basis, Princeton has the highest endowment dollar to student ratio, higher than that of Harvard or Yale.

The most common misconception about Princeton that I hear when I tell people I go there, is that you have to be really rich to go there. In reality, it has THE best financial aid in the country, and there are kids from ALL kinds of financial backgrounds here. Students complain mostly about piddly quality-of-life stuff that shows you how spoiled we truly are: the one-ply toilet paper in all campus bathrooms, the early closing time of the library (midnight), clothes disappearing in laundry rooms (but you never hear gratitude expressed about our free laundry), etc.

The best thing about Princeton is that there are so many things to get involved with. Something is always going on, and you are never bored. I think it is just the right size. You feel like you know most people, but then you are meeting new people on a daily basis. People don't really go "into town" very often. Town is basically just Nassau Street. The shops and restaurants are kind of pricey. People go on Rte. 1 (a few minutes away but must go by car) for anything and everything they need.

Best thing: academic. I loved the fact that I was learning from the best minds in the world and that I was sitting next to future presidents, scientists, etc. Change: the snobby, elist people at Princeton. I liked the size of Princeton, just big enough where I would meet new people in my senior year, but small enough that I knew, at least by name or face, a lot of my classmates. I get one of three reactions when they find out I went to Princeton: 1) OMG, you went to Princeton. You must be so special and so smart. 2) YOU went to Princeton. Yeah right. That's impossible. 3) You went to Princeton. Well what do you think of the theory that Marx presents in his treatise blah blah blah. I spent most of my time in Frist or at Firestone. I have no opinion or P-ton's admin. I have a huge respect for VP Dickerson, but I didn't know any other admin well enough to say more.