Student Profile
Andrew
- Class: Sophomore
- Major: Psychology
- Gender: M
- High School: Paul D. Schreiber High School
- Transfer Student: N
Big Picture
The best thing about Princeton is that is is really an amazing place for academics. The amount of brain power on campus is pretty astonishing, and you often forget that almost everyone you meet has something that they are very very good at. The professors are great, because they're often at the top of their fields. It is really great to have the opportunity to live in this kind of atmosphere, and interact with such great minds. At the same time, there are aspects of the social life here that I would consider unideal. The eating clubs play a huge role in the social life. This can get a bit redundant, as the majority of partying on campus occurs in the same clubs with very little variation. The clubs also promote a somewhat exclusive atmosphere, as they are very selective not only in admitting new members, but also in allowing people in on any given night. The selectivity is also exacerbated by the small size of the campus, and it sometimes feels like everybody knows everything about everybody else. But in general, the people here are pretty nice and cool, especially if you look for friends in the right places, which may not be certain eating clubs. I know that I have found some great friends here, and the people I regularly hang out with It is largely the type of place where you can make of it whatever you choose to. There are so many opportunities to be taken advantage of that it would be very difficult to summarize the school. Politically, the campus is somewhat more stagnant than I may have expected. People are interested in politics, but the campus protest or demonstration is pretty rare. This may currently be due to the fact that Princeton is relatively conservative, compared with other schools.
Academic Life
Academics are a big deal here. Everyone is very focused on them, and there is a general expectation that academics are going to be a very high priority. Many people spend a huge amount of time on academics. Due to recent changes in policy, grade inflation is being combated. This means that it is very hard to get an A, as there is actually a limit to the percentage of any given class that can receive one. This increases the intensity of the academics, because there is an element of competition built into the system. While it is not too difficult to get B's in classes without a ridiculous amount of effort, it because very difficult to get an A. This is because you know everyone else in the class is working really hard, so unless you do too, it's hard to keep up. The courses are very interesting, though, and manageable in difficulty. As long as you take them seriously, you really can get a lot out of them pretty painlessly. The professors are amazing, because a lot of the time they are the leaders of their field. I recently took a class with Peter Singer which was unbelievable. I really can't stress enough that it is amazing to learn from these people.
Student Body
There is a certain degree of segregation on campus. But I feel that for the most part, the campus is pretty accepting of different groups. In general, there is a pretty good amount of diversity, so there is nobody who really feels too out of place. However, it is not uncommon that athletes tend to stick to themselves to a certain degree. The same is true of other groups too, but this is just in general. There is a lot of intermingling on a daily basis.
The Best Things
The academics are great, and you meet a ton of really awesome people all the time.
The Worst Things
The social scene can sometimes be a little bit restrictive and overwhelming.
