<p>Hi I'm just curious as to whether or not current Princeton students find the student body to be "cliquey". I have heard that wealth can be a large constituent when it comes to friend groups. Is this true? And are there other large factors for friend groups (i.e. sports--only jocks hang out together, ethnicity etc.)? </p>
<p>Also what are some adjectives you would use to describe a Princeton student's personality? I know the student body is diverse but there must be some commonality amongst the students, otherwise the school's identity would be lacking (which it isn't by any stretch of the imagination).</p>
<p>Hmm. My take: after freshmen year, people increasingly break off into smaller social groups and spend a lot less time trying to meet new friends, and cliques form pretty naturally in that sense. I think that’s probably true of most schools. (This gets shaken up by eating clubs though, for example; junior year is very different socially for many people because of that, I think.)</p>
<p>I haven’t seen wealth really playing a role in my social life personally. I expect that it does at the more exclusive eating clubs (e.g. Ivy?) but I’m just guessing. Mostly I’ve seen divides based on athletes vs non-athletes (which makes sense to me), and also by eating club in the upperclassmen years. Ethnicity, also yes – particularly with some of the Asian student groups. I think that it’s unfortunate. But in general I haven’t found the student body to be cliquey, no. You WILL see people hanging out with others from vastly different backgrounds, majors, interests, etc.</p>
<p>I do think that the expansion of the finaid program under our current president has greatly increased the diversity finances-wise of the student body, which I am very grateful for. At reunions, even looking back 5, 10 years, it seems that Princetonians used to be a bit more elitist. Or maybe that happens post-graduation?</p>
<p>The student body IS incredibly diverse. But since you asked: driven, spirited (Princeton students as a whole LOVE Princeton), talented, and yet pretty normal (socially) despite that. You’ll have jocks as well as intellectuals, and a few who are both. Oh, and often mildly stressed, but that’s to be expected. ;)</p>
<p>Whether someone is wealthy or not is not something that is not something that people care about at Princeton, perhaps because there are many from wealthy families. I found out that the company my friends father owned was over $1-billion after I graduated, and they were on my companys customer list. No one goes around telling how great their father is.</p>
<p>Even those with parents who are celebrities attract little attention, especially after the first couple weeks.</p>