Getting Plowed: My Freshman Year at Princeton

Colleges and Universities A-Z Princeton University
1

<p>Princeton is a difficult place.
I am a rising sophomore and my freshman year at this prestigious institution was a roller coaster. </p>

<p>Here is my story.
In high school, I was your typical overachiever - perfect SAT scores, tons of AP courses, valedictorian, science olympiad nerd, whatever. And that got me into Princeton (ditto). </p>

<p>Prior to stepping foot on campus, I felt invincible. </p>

<p>But my freshman year at Princeton, I took a bad beating. I was a fish thrown out of water. The strange new east coast, suburban environment. The towering gothic buildings. The intense competition among everyone. The amount of accomplishment, social skills, and refinement that everyone around me seemed to possess. </p>

<p>I picked hard courses without giving a second thought. I struggled a great deal academically. My courses were a great deal harder than I ever envisioned. Things started to spiral out of control here. I began to withdraw socially (not that difficult, considering that I had a single) and tried to focus entirely on my schoolwork. Soon, I started exhibiting symptoms of depression. I found it difficult to bring myself to go to classes and have energy to focus on my work. As soon as I would begin studying, I mentally gave up. In the back of my mind, I felt that my attempts would be hapless because there was no way that I could absorb all of the information to get an A grade (which was what I was so used to in high school). I refused to accept that I was average. I tried and tried and spent countless hours in the library trying to decipher textbooks.</p>

<p>I grew more anxious as I found that my classmates who got the top grades in my courses spent significant time having fun with their friends instead of studying. I felt like my world flipped upside down. I was so driven to succeed academically that I did not feel comfortable doing anything else if my academics was not up to par. I continually doubted that Princeton was the right place for me. I saw my friends at more "normal" colleges having the time of their lives, settling down into solid relationships, and starting their lives with some self confidence. As for me, I felt that Princeton had torn every bit of self assurance and sense of stability from me. I felt more and more insecure about myself and my future. </p>

<p>After a long bout of emotional pain and depression, I accepted myself and my abilities. While studying one day at the library, I sat at a desk where students wrote graffiti. Someone wrote "I'd rather be stupid in my next life than do this again." Then it struck me that many other students suffered like me. It struck me why some students go through their four years of Princeton hating every moment of it. I would not be one of those people. I would accept myself and my abilities. I would accept being average. </p>

<p>Eventually, I began to feel better. I spent more time meeting people, hanging out with my friends, and participating in different activities. Although I did not ace all of my courses, I was happy. I didn't agonize anymore about getting that A, yet still ended up with a decent GPA. I found time to enjoy myself and my surroundings. I became less cynical toward my peers and realized that people were more genuine than I suspected. I viewed Princeton through a different lens. I began to understand why some Princetonians cherish every moment on campus. </p>

<p>For those of you rising freshman at elite colleges, don't made the mistake that I made. Know that college is a time to develop not just academically, but personally, emotionally, and interpersonally. Made new friends and spend time with them. Try different things. Be open. Accept your abilities. I learned the veracity of these cliche pieces of advice the hard way.</p>

2

<p>I like your post! I too started at an elite and did not do so hot… I chose to move to the South and chose my college by how close it was to the beach. Im not going to say that it was super easy, but the more chilled out atmosphere and the more friendly and noncompetitive people sure made me calm down.</p>

<p>I would not recommend my give up and move to the beach strategy to everyone, but it worked for me.</p>

3

<p>Great post. Very insightful. Just wondering, how can a course be THAT hard? I’m asking this respectfully. You had perfect ACT scores and were valedictorian. What exactly is it that makes the work that draining? I know Princeton is one of the absolute best schools in the nation, but if you could give me specifics on why it was that difficult to get an A, that’d be great.</p>

4

<p>@liv4physics – Princeton is notorious for grade deflation. So much so that there is a set number of As (sometimes as low as 1 or 2) per class. Naturally, only the best of the best-- people that are extremely talented at the subject-- will get that coveted “A”. As a result, many Princeton students grow extremely frustrated, just as Tiger 2014 did, because they are used to getting straight As and will often not settle for less. Choosing an insane course-load for his/her first year didn’t help much either. In fact, many Princeton students don’t get A’s till their Junior or Senior year, if even then, and there are very, very rarely students at Princeton that graduate without getting anything lower than an “A”. Grade deflation is a thing that many Princeton students gripe about, but at the end of the day, employers and graduate schools realize that a 3.6 from Princeton is equivalent to a 4.0 at Brown or Harvard (where there is alleged grade inflation). Tiger2014 is in no way stupid and is suffering through the same academic pain that many, many other Princetonians do. </p>

<p>Thanks for sharing this with us, Tiger2014. It was a very personal and honest reflection of your first year at Princeton-- something people aren’t very frank about on the internet, or even in real life. I can relate to your situation, but mine was not of such a great magnitude. I chose extremely difficult classes for my Sophomore year (my counselor said no student at my school has ever chosen such a difficult course-load in their second year) and messed up my first semester. By the time the second semester came around, I learned to let go, not be stressed 24/7 and study for the sake of learning and not for an “A” grade, which resulted in my grades going up and being able to find more time to be social.</p>

5

<p>I’m also a rising sophomore. Tiger2014 (ha, we picked similar names, huh?), this post is really important; I didn’t have quite as bad of a time of it, but I came close a few times. I’m glad you managed OK in the end!</p>

<p>The thing is, Princeton is HARD. What’s a hard class in most high schools, really? (There are obv. some exceptions, but my school was not hard for me, at all.) I was also top of my class, high school 4.0, etc. But at Princeton, for the first time I had to fight tooth and nail to not get a C in my hardest class. Funnily enough, though, studying works much better when you’re studying for the sake of learning the stuff…not cramming…</p>

<p>@liv4physicz: Amount of work done != quality of work done. Amount of time spent != ability to do anything useful. You will, I suspect, learn this in college. And yes, blah blah grade deflation but honestly I feel like my grades so far have reflected my expectations.</p>

<p>My takeaway from freshman year was: do not forget about socializing. Prioritize your own happiness. Work hard, play hard, and also take time just to breathe. And yes, duh, study a bunch, but very few people at Princeton have problems with not doing that. And you will not be entitled to A’s. I have only received A’s from classes I thought I did really well in. Can’t speak for the upperclassmen years yet, but, I don’t think a few B’s ruin a Princeton GPA.</p>

<p>(Also despite work I should say that I had a freakin’ blast freshman year. I don’t mean to contradict the OP here; I mean to say that people both have a lot of trouble, and have a lot of fun, and sometimes those people are the same and sometimes they’re not.)</p>

6

<p>Dear everyone, don’t show up at Princeton thinking you’re going to get a 4.0. Not a single member of the Class of 2011 maintained a 4.0 for all four years. And while a 4.0 is not necessarily unobtainable, the people who do graduate with 4.0s are normally concerned more with completing graduate coursework and conducting research than working tirelessly to maintain perfect grades. They are normally just so ridiculously talented that A’s still come relatively easy to them on a consistent basis, while this will not be the case with most mere Princeton mortals. You have to remember that half the people at Princeton have grades below the median, and a full fifth of each class has grades in the bottom quintile. So even if you’re working really hard on your academics but you wind up in the bottom quintile, you have plenty of company. </p>

<p>I think what might be more important than anything you may learn in any math or politics or engineering course is how to set reasonable goals for yourself and to maintain a balanced lifestyle. These are extremely important to success both at Princeton and in the future. Take care of your classes, but don’t obsess over them. Make time to hang out with your friends, whether out on the Street or in your dorm’s study room, where you’re actually spending more time on Youtube and Sporcle and just shooting the breeze than on actual academics. Go to sports games and performing arts events. Take advantage of the ridiculous amount of free stuff on campus. Get involved with things you love. Try things that you’ve never heard of. Debate things with your friends, even if the topics seem stupid or useless. Look at the stars. Play in the snow. Laugh. And try to fit some sleep in there, too.</p>

7

<p>I appreciate these responses. tiger 2014 said it:

In high school, I could get the top grades simply by studying a lot. If I felt like I was falling a bit behind, I knew that I could fix this my studying more. I had this same mentality at Princeton, and that killed me. Prior to Princeton, I believed that accomplishments were a result of nurture. Princeton definitely shed light on the credibility of the “nature” side of the argument for me. There is only so much effort that you can exert studying. I underestimated many things at Princeton.</p>

8

<p>What’s an example of a difficult assignment?</p>

9

<p>“Not a single member of the Class of 2011 maintained a 4.0 for all four years.”</p>

<p>@FightTheTide11 where did you find this statistic? I remember reading it somewhere, but I can’t find it for the life of me.</p>

<p>And I agree with everything said above. Freshmen year was definitely the toughest year I’ve had academically my entire life, and my courseload was nothing too rigorous (by Princeton standards). Once you accept the fact that you’re not going to be the top of the top and become more realistic, life will become so much better. Everything, from social life to grades, will improve drastically. Even though my grades probably aren’t the best after freshmen year, I still can’t wait to go back and cherish my remaining 3 years at Princeton.</p>

10

<p>^ I agree, Stride is the best</p>

11

<p>@Stride
That actually may have been a bad assumption on my part. Last year’s valedictorian announcement said that the valedictorian had a 4.0 GPA, but this year’s announcement did not say the same thing. Looking at other valedictorian announcements, none of them other than that for David Karp '10 stated that the valedictorian had held obtained a 4.0. Of course this may be because the academic year normally has not been completed before the valedictorian is named.</p>

<p>@liv4
Examples of hard assignments either I or my friends encountered this past year include the Fourier series problem set in math 215, the unix shell assignment ([COS</a> 217: Unix Shell Assignment](<a href=“http://www.cs.princeton.edu/courses/archive/spr11/cos217/asgts/07shell/index.html]COS”>COS 217: Unix Shell Assignment)) in computer science 217, some game theory problem sets in econ 200, the gyroscope problem set from physics 105, and many writing seminar assignments that require either lots of individual research or the deconstruction of a known scholar’s argument. These assignments are typically long, involved, and very conceptually challenging.</p>

12

<p>Haha well I don’t understand anything in that CS assignment, but that’s probably in part because I’ve never had any exposure whatsoever to it. It certainly appears challenging. I think I’ll reconsider my potential application to Princeton.</p>

13

<p>The thing with these assignments is that you’re not necessarily expected to be perfect. Exams especially can be very difficult, but they’re designed that way to challenge everyone and inspire people to really think about and learn the course material. Challenges are good for you, and you shouldn’t be scared of them. In fact, if you attend a top school, you probably won’t be able to avoid them. With a 35 ACT, you should definitely be able to make it academically at Princeton. Going for the hardest courses may not always be your best option, and your grades probably won’t be perfect (mine sure aren’t), but not very many people opt for these kinds of courses much less ace them, and that’s okay.</p>

14

<p>I doubt I’ll get in with my 3.67 UW. I’ll probably never get the chance to see one of those little assignments and experience it as my own. By the way, maybe you can clarify something for me. Does Princeton or doesn’t Princeton look at freshman grades?</p>

15

<p>Awww, these posts are rather empowering. I’m about to study for a summer course I’m taking at college, and I’m really glad I stumbled upon this ‘tips from the pros’ thread (although of course it is much more profound!) Thank you for sharing your experiences, and best of luck to your next few years at college! :)</p>

16

<p>On the topic of difficult assignments, </p>

<p>I expected to be spoon fed new information. I looked at the new material and thought, this won’t be so hard as I learn it step by step, right? Wrong. I was used to high school courses, in which my teachers would teach difficult concepts beginning from the rudimentary level. At Princeton, some courses went lightning fast. The material taught in those courses became less comprehensible to me as new topics were delved into constantly. I was falling behind and simply did not have enough time to study to catch up and stay on top of everything. Instructors expect you to learn fast, and to have a good knowledge foundation prior to taking the class (which is a very great expectation to have). </p>

<p>The fall of my freshman year, I enrolled in a difficult math course. Midterms creeped up as soon as I was getting comfortable with fundamental concepts. You could say that I had my first experience with bombing an exam. I never had trouble with math before Princeton, having taken calculus AB as a sophomore, then self studying for BC, and going on to take multivariable at my local college.</p>

17

<p>Tiger2014, I find your posts extremely helpful, and truthfully I can see myself oh so easily falling in your footsteps. I like to think of myself as a hard worker and, though maybe not the most gifted student in natural ability, has always tried to make up for that lack of ability with my hard work.</p>

<p>I think what I am getting at is, do you regret your choice of colleges? My number one priority in an education is to learn, and I always thought Princeton was the best place to accomplish such a task, but it would be no use if I am not able to learn due to fast- paced courses and mental breakdowns (which, in a way, I have already experienced when studying for math tests, though probably not to your degree). </p>

<p>I could just way too easily see myself having similar fallacies as yourself at first, but if you find such challenges worth it in the long run maybe I will as well.</p>

18

<p>Wow, Princeton scares me. My grandfather, who went to Princeton, told me a story about a paper he had to write once where he literally spent three straight days writing it! 72 hours! When he finally went home he sat down and just fell asleep in his chair for like twelve hours. That’s insane.</p>

19

<p>brainiac, that actually sounds like what some juniors (those who don’t manage their time very well) end up doing to write their junior papers. Many departments, in the social sciences and humanities especially, require juniors in the department to write a paper, normally between 30 and 40 pages (it may vary widely by department), each semester as an independent research project. These JPs build up to the senior thesis that all arts and sciences students and some engineers must complete. I’ve heard a few horror stories of people who waited until as late as possible to actually start writing, which doesn’t happen often since most JP advisers require a draft earlier in the semester, and ended up writing nearly nonstop straight through the few days before Dean’s Date. But after two years at Princeton, these papers can seem more exciting than scary as they provide the opportunity for juniors to deeply explore topics that really interest them with the help of a professor in the department.</p>

20

<p>30 to 40 pages?! How can they even expect so much from you? Princeton does sound insane! My cousin’s wife apparently went there (literally just found this out, and they’ve been married for like 10 years…she’s a housewife) and she had never struck me as smart. I can’t believe she qualified for and went through this…I had no idea people out handling that absurd of a workload even existed until now. Are all Ivies/ elite schools this bad?</p>