Hi-do First years ever get singles? what is the housing like for first years generally? thx
Once admitted and prior to enrolling, all freshmen receive a form to fill out for housing with your preference. You can request for a single room, but given the availability of single rooms is limited, it’s not guaranteed. Your chance of receiving a single room, however, is greater with the request than not. Which residential college you’d be assigned to is entirely random. All residential colleges have pros and cons, so I wouldn’t worry about which one you get assigned the first two years. After your sophomore year, you can choose to be in the affiliated upper class residential college (my son was in Forbes for his first two years, then chose to stay in the affiliated upper class residential college, which is Whitman) or off campus housing of your choice. You can also choose to join one of the eating clubs for dining at that point or in the affiliated upper class residential college or your own choice of off-campus dining.
Thank you! How is the quality of the dorm rooms and food? (not the eating clubs)
The quality of the dorm rooms (and food) varies depending on which residential college you end up in. Forbes, for example, where my son’s been at for his first two years, is rather old (originally Princeton Inn that was later converted into the current dorm with the money given by Forbes), so the quality of his room wasn’t something we were impressed with. Still, it wasn’t too bad with the wooden floor. Besides, it had its own bathroom and a shower. Whitman, on the other hand, where he’s staying now, is a much newer dorm and the quality is definitely better. The newest dorms that Princeton is in the process of constructing to accommodate more undergrad population, of course, would be even better.
As for food, Forbes is known to have excellent Sunday brunch. Again, residential college food varies, too, and the subject of food is highly subjective. My son has a rather high standard for food, and they basically fall in his judgement of “okay.” One thing for sure is that Princeton has a plenty of food at all hours of the day, especially during tests. You’ll never go hungry there.
There are pretty good restaurants in the town of Princeton and around the campus when you want to dine out to take a break from the dorm food once in awhile. In general, we found them to be much higher in price for comparative food from our hometown, however. My son and his friends like to hop on a train from the Princeton Junction to NYC (one hour each direction) for exploration and a great variety of dining experience, as well.
Thanks so much! Great info.