Getting Plowed: My Freshman Year at Princeton.

College Search & Selection
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<p>This is a thread from the Princeton forum. I post it here because I think it is relevant to selecting colleges. For those of you aiming at super elite colleges, know that some of them can be very challenging and crushing from the start. Many people cannot comprehend why students wouldn't be happy at a place like Princeton, Harvard, MIT, Yale etc. To the layperson, these students' lives are set. But sometimes, beneath the prestige exists prolonged feelings of instability, incompetence, and insecurity. </p>

<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>

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<p>I will be attending the University of Chicago and I will remember this posting.
Thank you and good luck to you at Princeton.</p>

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<p>Will try to remember this for Caltech where I am certainly not one of the best.</p>

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<p>Excellent post. So many high school students think that it will be all downhill once they get into their dream college. Little do they know that getting in isn’t the hard part; getting back out with the diploma is.</p>

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<p>This definitely applies to many top schools. Lots of people struggle academically at Cal, especially in engineering, which is supposedly neck-to-neck in rigor/prestige with MIT and Stanford (though at MIT you get pass/fail your first year, and it’s known that Stanford grades are inflated. I’ve spoken to engineers from there, who agree that their grading is more loose). Princeton’s grade deflation is probably most similar to Berkeley’s harsh grading. I’ve seen people with top talent (2300+, valedictorian, turned down HYPSM, etc) struggling significantly here at Berkeley. I also think that many CalTech and Chicago students experience similar difficulties.</p>

<p>Good luck with the coming year. Your post contains valuable wisdom for students and graduates alike.</p>

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<p>“For those of you rising freshman…” understand that by definition, 49.9% of you will be in the bottom half of your college class. </p>

<p>That is true at ALL colleges. (Stats 101)</p>

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I correct my statement. </p>

<p>For those of you rising freshmen at elite colleges who are used to being at the very top in high school, </p>

<p>First of all, 99% of high schoolers are not in the top 1%. Therefore, this post may not apply to the bottom 99%.</p>

<p>Also, MOST colleges do not consist almost solely of the top 1% of students. Obviously Podunk University is more representative of the entire spectrum.</p>

<p>It is more difficult for the top 1% of students to accept that they are average than it is for the top say 50% of students to accept that they are average.</p>

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I read the title thinking this story would be kinda sexy, but I was sorely disappointed.</p>

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<p>Sure it does, and that is the point that you are missing. Even if such Podunk students were used to being at the “top 1%” of the B’s in HS, 49.9% of them will end up in the bottom half of their college class. It HAS to happen. No different than those that attend a community college or buy-a-degree online program. Half of them will end up in the bottom of their college class.</p>

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<p>Thank you Tiger2014 for sharing this valuable story! This will help future students applying to colleges and will help them choose wisely. Personally I think students should be picking the college that is a match for them rather than go for the reach. For example, you maybe ranked #1 at your HS, but keep in mind that there are thousands of HS students from other HS around the country and around the world are applying to the same college and when you’re mixed in with them, you are no longer #1. As they say, you never know what the end results going to be.</p>

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<p>This is the most disappointing thread I have ever read on CC.</p>

<p>This inspiring story of self-discovery does not overcome my deep disenchantment at having been cheated out of what could have been awesome erotic fiction.</p>

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<p>So is this officially a Princeton hookup thread yet?</p>

<p>No, but seriously, as an incoming college freshman, I’ll keep this in mind. I’m taking a maxed out schedule, but I’ll try to keep things in perspective if it doesn’t work out. I’m sure I’ll be meeting some intimidatingly bright people in three weeks.</p>

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<p>Oh man oh man. Any advice on schedules and extra-curriculars then?
For example, is Math 203 (advance multivariable calc) a bad idea first semester?</p>

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<p>You should have researched your colleges. Stanford is where the grade inflation is at. -.-</p>

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<p>I will remember this next year at Devry thanks.</p>

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<p>HAHAHA</p>

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<p>How would you know? Nobody knows what Stanford’s grade inflation statistics are, because they haven’t been released in many years. Even the 2005 data from gradeinflation.com was a very rough guestimate. The only ones who know what Stanford’s grade inflation is like are those who have attended, and even then people wouldn’t agree with you. If they were to name a place with grade inflation, it’d be Yale or Harvard. Stanford’s focus in STEM fields means it won’t be among the most grade-inflated.</p>

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<p>Nope, it would be Brown, which has the highest mean gpa known to man (3.6+). (Yale is a close second of major research Unis.) Of course, some LACs are up there too in the 3.5+ stratosphere.</p>

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<p>Check the school’s math department for recommendations (they may have sample final exams of various courses to test your math knowledge). But the students who got a 5 on AP Calculus BC and thought it was easy often have no trouble going straight into more advanced math courses. Those who struggled to get a 3 may be better off starting over.</p>

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<p>Brown’s unique grading structure does not lend itself to responsible or meaningful comparison in such a way. The absence of pluses and minuses on grades at Brown and the option to take any class credit/no credit (effectively pass/fail, yielding no grade) are most responsible for this. Even independent of any institutional grading differences from its peer schools, Brown’s open curriculum would be expected to encourage better grades because no student is being forced into any general institute requirements or distribution mandates; interest fosters success.</p>

<p>But to look merely at GPA changes over recent years (which is the more common intended meaning of grade inflation and one that would serve to limit the confounding effect of Brown’s grading idiosyncrasies) reveals that, according to the numbers found [url=<a href=“http://gradeinflation.com/]here[/url”>http://gradeinflation.com/]here[/url</a>], Brown’s average GPA has gone up .09 over the last available eight years, that Harvard’s has gone up a similar .07 over its most recently available eight years, that Dartmouth’s has gone up .11 over the last available eight years, that Chicago’s has gone up .09 in the last available seven years, that Cornell’s has gone up .15 in the last available eight years, that Penn’s has gone up .21 in the last available eight years (and .25 in the last available nine years), and that Duke’s has gone up .11 in the last available eight years.</p>

<p>In light of the statistics on the schools’ grade inflation over time, the singling out of Brown as a place of grade inflation seems unsupported. What’s safe to say is that Princeton’s lack of grade inflation (along with, perhaps, MIT, though its recent data are hard to find) is unique among the Ivies and their peers; the data do not suggest a salient counterpart to Princeton that has unusually significant grade inflation.</p>

<p>OP: Thanks for sharing the challenges that you faced and your eventual growth over your freshman year at Princeton. Good luck to you as you move further.</p>

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<p>@UCB alumnus: I’ve checked the course guide but I can’t seem to get enough information. I’m just wondering if any other current princeton student has taken advanced multivariable calc over regular multivariable calc (or honors linear algebra even).</p>

<p>Is it murder even for someone who was good at math in high school (but not an IMO medalist), or is it manageable if you put in enough work?</p>