<p>i'm choosing between the two and time is running short! i am not 100% sure what i want to study but i think it will be economics with the goal of some kind of business career.
i want to have a great college experience, so I am looking for some place that will give me a great 4 yrs. i am a non-drinker.</p>
<p>opinions?</p>
<p>(cross-posted)</p>
<p>For awesome undergrad experience, pricneton cannot be beaten, especially if you are not a party-hog. I recommend going Princeton undergrad, and then Harvard grad since your interest is in economics and business</p>
<p>One of my prof friends (he teaches at Columbia, has taught at Yale, went to Harvard for undergrad) seems to think Princeton is the best for undergrad and is sort of pushing for it if I get in there. He tells me it's the place where you're most likely to be taught by academic stars even in your freshman year. This is, of course, all what HE says, and I have no idea if he's right, but I trust that he knows more about it than I do at least... so I just thought I'd pass it on.</p>
<p>Princeton undergrad, Harvard grad. The most perfect experience.
But of course, you can't make a wrong move. Good for you. I'm sure you earned it.</p>
<p>Choose Princeton. Harvard grad. That's what I'd do. But of course, it's up to you in terms of which school you feel you would enjoy more.</p>
<p>For any business career, Princeton's proximity to NYC is invaluable.</p>
<p>Doc, I'd tend to agree with the Princeton consensus. Be warned though that as a non-drinker you will see a lot of alcohol both at the eating clubs social scene and in the dorms (some rooms even line up dozens of gray goose bottles in the windows as trophies.) Drinking in the social scene, of course, is typical of most any college except religious based ones. My April Hosting students requested a substance-free hall so they didn't have to worry about anything (and got a really nice room that most underclassmen wouldn't have gotten without pledging substance-free!)</p>
<p>If you want to do business, you will probably be looking at Wharton and Harvard Business School for your MBA. If I were in your position, I would want to make sure I went to different places for undergrad and professional school, so I would choose Princeton.</p>
<p>I'm a non-drinker, and I've never felt the slightest pressure to drink at Princeton. Incidentally, today is Newman's Day, when some hardcore people try to drink 24 beers in 24 hours (or something like that), but I haven't noticed anything out of the ordinary today. There really is a lot of choice as far as the social scene, and you will be fine whatever your preferences.</p>
<p>And Princeton is awesome for Economics!</p>
<p>Echo: Princeton undergard, Harvard grad. Nothing beats the Princeton undergrad experience. Where else do you have freshman seminars taught by people like Cornel West?</p>
<p>Princeton is 2/3 undergrad, 1/3 grad students. Harvard is 2/3 grad, 1/3 undergrad. Approx. </p>
<p>Princeton's alums give at a greater rate than at any other school in America, including Harvard. Why do they leave and love it so much? Money talks. </p>
<p>There are substance free residence halls.</p>
<p>Classes at Princeton tend to be smaller, even during freshman year. There are two seminars freshman year.</p>
<p>Excerpt: "Student satisfaction at Harvard College ranks near the bottom of a group of 31 elite private colleges, according to an analysis of survey results that finds that Harvard students are disenchanted with the faculty and social life on campus. An internal Harvard memo, obtained by the Globe, provides numerical data that appear to substantiate some long-held stereotypes of Harvard: that undergraduate students often feel neglected by professors, and that they don't have as much fun as peers on many other campuses."</p>
<p>No matter what the posts say on the Harvard thread, you'll see nothing as objectively authoritative as this article, reflecting as it does the results of an internal Harvard report.</p>
<p>To be fair, that survey was conducted in 2002. You can bet that Harvard has taken steps to correct the problem. Still, I think Princeton offers a much better undergraduate experience.</p>
<p>yes, they've since hired a "fun czar" to try to turn things around.</p>
<p>The University of Chicago may not be the only place where fun comes to die. Harvard Universitys recent hiring of what one Harvard paper designated the Fun Czar exemplifies another elite universitys effort to revive its sagging social life.</p>
<p>The Fun Czar, a.k.a. Zac Corker, is the newest member of Harvards administration. Only one year out of Harvard College, Corker finds himself back at his alma mater, serving time on the other side of the fence. The schools decision to pursue this unprecedented administrative position was catalyzed by a letter Corker had written to the college in which he thanked them for the exemplary education he had received, but suggested that they focus on the schools depressed social situation. Harvard responded by hiring Corker to do the job himself.</p>
<p>This is the Princeton forum... umm... we're going to tell you Princeton.</p>