College Descriptions

Colleges and Universities A-Z Princeton University
1

<p>I think it might be cool if we could post our own images of some different Ivy League colleges (and then some more). Add your own if you so choose.</p>

<p>Princeton: Although Princeton has historically been a home for the wealthy white elite, it has now become diverse. It seems to have a well-rounded bunch of students, although some aura of competitiveness still surrounds the campus (which, while we are mentioning it, has sexy curves). Princeton seems like the exemplary East Coast campus, although a high early decision rate might have encouraged strong leanings toward the wealthy.</p>

<p>Harvard: Harvard seems to be a prideful institution, though not without reason. The college seems to be well aware of its high position, and in many cases, lives up to it. The professors at Harvard are legendary, but can they be--at times--too legendary? The students seem to be a mix between hard working all-rounders, maladroit geniuses, and the children of budding dynasties. </p>

<p>Yale: People are typically driven from Yale's gritty surroundings, and I would say this is one reason to dispel the college's image as a host for Kerry, Bush, et al. Yale seems significantly down-to-Earth, and the students that go there seem to be those who are hunting success more than prestige. The facilities seem to cater toward more artsy students, although the fact that Princeton attracts most students of humanities (:) ) seems to leave Yale with all-rounders. </p>

<p>Stanford: A college for all types, Stanford seems the most naturally diverse. The Californian location seems to be one that doesn't force a sense of diversity, and the students at Stanford seem to be smart enough to create their own gauges for it. Stanford's youth has protected it from the reputational snobiness of the Ivies, but has bestowed it with a reputation into which it must grow. Stanford has the academic horsepower to be a Princeton or Harvard--it just needs the same attitude; or, perhaps, that attitude is what attracts its student body. </p>

<p>MIT (I haven't had the pleasure to visit Cal Tech): MIT seems to hold the newness of Stanford, but the Boston chill seems to have worked its way into the Techers. MIT seems to be a school of application. Aside from that, the campus seems to have oriented itself toward breaking ground--MIT seems vigorous, but it also retains some of the brand power that Cal Tech (due to its age and location) has not yet attained in the public sphere (job employers worship degrees from both institutions, I suppose). This seems to give MIT a more serious air (though hardly one as serious as, say, Princeton or Harvard).</p>

<p>I know, they're controversial, and to many, inaccurate. Correct them if you please, or just comment if you're lazy :)</p>

2

<p>Princeton - hot sexy people =P
Harvard - prestige whores
Yale - arrogant asses
Stanford- jocks
MIT - nerds</p>

<p>mwa ha ha ha ha ha</p>

3

<p>Damn it, this post can't be this boring!</p>

4

<p>brown - flag burning lefties</p>

5

<p>Damn, I ought to have applied to Brown.</p>

6

<p>Princeton: tennis racket-carrying white men in polo shirts
Yale: prodigies with nervous tics, holed up in their rooms
Harvard: party animals pretending to be diligent and conscientious about their schoolwork
MIT: gluttons for punishment
Stanford: laid-back genius kids</p>

7

<p>no-one has mentioned Columbia Uni yet. I wonder why it is the least popular ivy.</p>

8

<p>Its not the least popular! But I forgot it...Columbia reminds me of really ethnic people walking around NYC in white bowler hats and suits. I think of Langston Hughes artistry mixed with Denise from the Cosby Show...
pardon the spelling</p>

<p>Brown reminds me of the kind of Socialites that might get arrested...you know, the people who are intellectual, but aren't conventional....I like it. It gets me thinking about...its hard to say. haha, nice description kane5187!</p>

9

<p>off the top of my head</p>

<p>brown: crazy kids, but with good leaders.
harvard: doesnt' take care of its undergrads.
pton: does take care of its undergrads
cornell: the small college that admits 1300s easily but is more respectable than people give credit for.
MIT: slavery! Lots of Taiwanese kids.</p>

10

<p>No! This thread is bad, bad, bad! I'm trying to stay neutral between my choices among Pton, Yale, Harvard, Columbia, and Brown until April 1 in case I really don't get a choice...or don't get into any! This thread is reminding me why I want to go to certain colleges, and I'm trying to avoid these thoughts right now...</p>

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<p>Princeton: Atmosphere is highly intellectual, but students are down to earth. The school supports undergraduates moreso than the other ivies. Because the students mostly seem to have chosen the school based on qualitative, rather than reputational, factors, the student body remains very academically motivated, while at many other similarly prestigious schools, students are known to slack off and rely on the easy grading scales. Opens lots of doors for grad school and research opportunities because the school is known to take an active role in helping to advise/guide/find opportunities for its students. </p>

<p>Harvard: The school with the name. Out of the students who get into Harvard, the ones who choose to go seem to be highly motivated by the status that the name brings, and they seem to lose motivation once in Cambridge. The friends I have here feel swept under the rug. Although it certainly has many "top name" professors, most of these professors are teaching at the graduate schools, while the avg. undergrad class size is the largest out of PYH, and its undergrad program is generally considered to be below the other top ivies.</p>

<p>Yale: Relatively focused on undergrads. Students like to party. Bad area, but an overall great school. </p>

<p>Stanford: Known for being the most relaxed. Like an Ivy, but with a California attitude. Some people I know like the atmosphere at Stanford, but several find it a little too relaxed: the administration is not known for supporting the students through their academic careers. Students are left to figure things out for themselves.</p>

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<p>Shrek, got it right.</p>

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<p>
[quote]
and its undergrad program is generally considered to be below the other top ivies

[/quote]
Where did you get this info from?</p>

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<p>which school does the quote refer to suburb?</p>

15

<p>If you look back, it's referring to Harvard.</p>

16

<p>What about Dartmouth..Penn...Cornell....Lets not be exclusive</p>

<p>Princeton: Incubator for the perpetuation of the elite class in theory; in reality much less upper-crust and more down to earth.</p>

<p>Yale: Cool</p>

<p>Harvard: Seems to be a really unfun place to be now, with the Summers business and that book that just came out. I can't make an unbiased judgement</p>

<p>Stanford: 2,000 miles away.....no.</p>

<p>MIT: Hell. The galley of a Roman Warship. The Coal Pits of the Titanic</p>

<p>Dartmouth: I'm partial...but D-mout is laid back...very green... and absolutely in the middle of nowhere.</p>

<p>Penn: I'm objective</p>

<p>Cornell: People who got rejected from other Ivies and to this day remain ****ed at the world. Isolated, but still spread out, without a good sense of campus community. Unfun.</p>

17

<p>princeton: i've never visited myself, but according to several people i've talked with who did visit, full of stylish, funny, well-rounded kids that are not nerdy at all. once you start talking with them, however, u realize how amazingly bright they are. (my friends who visited all came back and said i'd like, totally fit in there...haha, i was so flattered)</p>

<p>harvard: bookish. for some reason i think of it as more nerdy, but this is totally a stereotype formed in my head. </p>

<p>yale: i used to think it's a rich kids' playground with fountains running with champagne and hard liquor, until my interviewer fervently changed my view. he said it's very egalitarian, very liberal, and this made me so much more excited about yale. but besides my great interview i don't think there's anything that'll get me in there.</p>

18

<p>princeton: absolutely, breathtakingly beautiful. upon visiting one thinks of a country club or a resort filled with smart, motivated, attractive people. all princetonites seem to be of one type, mostly very smart, upper crust (or wannabe upper crust) partiers. everyone, like the campus, is attractive. princetonians love their school.</p>

<p>yale: imposing. stern, austere, but complex and intriguing people and architecture. more fast paced than princeton, and more artsy. </p>

<p>harvard: proud, headstrong, confident. harvard students sometimes come off as overly proud of the fact that they go to harvard, and defend its superiority with an aloof disdain for all other schools. they are smart, though. the student body as a whole seems to have less personality than y or p.</p>

19

<p>Columbia: not like an ivy at all. lots of "normal" bright kids not looking to impress you with their money or intellect. it is very diverse like a city within a city (the greatest city in the world, btw)... there are a few too many grad students and undergrads are not coddled. the profs are more impressed with the grad students and tend not to socialize much with undergrads (don't expect an invite to their apt for dinner!) Columbia is whatever you want it to be, but it doesn't want you to be anything that you aren't! Alma Mater rocks!</p>

20

<p>I'll probably get on some people's nerves with this, but this is the Princeton board, so here goes...</p>

<p>Penn: Deserves to have people confuse it with Penn State - it lacks real Ivy ambience. The bad location (my friend's brother goes to Drexel, which is next door, and has had his car broken into numerous times) is a turn-off. And then there are the students. I talked to several students at Penn who told me (in a stereotypical, high-pitched, confused, whiny tone) that they came to Penn because they wanted an Ivy League degree, and (in their words) Penn was "one of the easiest to get into" and "most of the students there don't take their work too seriously." But these girls, who loved frat and sorority parties and noted that most of the school did, made sure to tell me that "I think I do know someone who isn't in a frat."</p>

<p>Not for me.</p>

<hr>

<p>Yale: Amazing. Gothic architecture that is not imposing, but an architect's fantasy (I'm going to be an architecture student there come September). Students that are truly excited about being a part of the Yale community. Quintessential Ivy ambience, but with an edge - it certainly isn't snobbish.</p>

<p>Princeton: To me, it was a lot like Yale (it is my #2 choice at the moment), but a bit more isolated - and not necessarily in a bad way. The only thing that bothered me was the eating club scene and the lack of four-year residential colleges, which, I've heard, is changing, so I'm convinced.</p>