<p>by the way, there is a mcdonalds on 101 nassau boulevard, that has a princeton address and zip code. there are 19 more within 15 miles of princeton. this IS new jersey, after all.</p>
<p>i note, incidentally, that the difference between princeton and new haven is reflected in their treatment of chain stores: new haven trumpets when it lures a new GAP store, while princeton cheers when it rids itself of one (see hulfish street store).</p>
<p>As much as I might crave a Big Mac, scottie, I probably wouldn't drive 15 miles for one.... might even be forced to settle for one of those upscale $9 salads at Saladworks.... particularly since they have those charming pictures of Olde Princeton rather than the usual, tasteless Saladworks decorations.</p>
<p>You are right about the contrast between prim Princeton and gritty New Haven. It was front page news in the YDN when WalMart came to town.</p>
<p>of course you wouldn't: you'd go to the one in princeton.</p>
<p>Byerly, I think the topic of the absence of a Burger King in Princeton has been grossly underreported here. Surely you ought to be starting a new thread to be sure that potential applicants will be aware of this devastating reality. If you are lucky, the moderators will even make it a featured thread at the top of the page. :rolleyes: It is certainly true that for anyone who likes chain stores, Harvard Square is becoming an ideal destination these days!</p>
<p>Byerly, I expected more from a New Englander like you. ;)</p>
<p>Surely you jest, scottie: that McDonalds is out by the Mercer Mall on Rt. 1, more than five miles from Nassau Hall! </p>
<p>Any little tiger or tigress willing to walk five miles for a Big Mac and fries would be a determined creature indeed. </p>
<p>Rather, I suspect, most would just surrender to the inevitable and glumly settle for one of the upscale salads at the old Burger King site.</p>
<p>Byerly, you quote the Princeton professor Stanley N. Katz as if he is the prime representative of the university, while quietly leaving out the fact that not only did Professor Katz do his undergraduate degree at Harvard (graduating Magna Cum Laude), but also received his master's and doctoral degrees from Harvard as well.</p>
<p>As for the importance of fast food (which you can easily get from the closest mall, or just across Route 1), I already feel my arteries getting clogged from too many McDonald's meals for lunch during high school. Not unlike most students, I assume, I'll be relying on my meal plan to save money (no one eats fast food when they're going out), and then of course the eating club the last two years.</p>
<p>As for fast food, Hoagie Haven is far superior to any fast food chain, and as an added bonus, you can get a decent meal from there for cheaper, as well.</p>
<p>Anonymous, if Princeton's eminent Professor Katz is tainted in your eyes by his undergraduate college affiliation, perhaps you might place greater faith in the Daily Princetonian, which reported Ms. Rapelye's assessment thusly:</p>
<p>"Based on information obtained from students admitted to the University who chose not to attend, Rapelye confirmed that most of Princeton's cross-admits choose Harvard, Yale, Stanford or MIT over Old Nassau.</p>
<pre><code>Losing students to Harvard is nothing new, said Chris Avery, a professor at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government who researches the college admissions process.
In a 2000 study of 3,000 highly-qualified students admitted to the nation's most selective colleges, Avery found that in head-to-head battles, schools almost invariably lost out to Harvard.
"We found [that] essentially Harvard was winning most of the competitions for students," Avery said in an interview."
</code></pre>
<hr>
<p>And I readily concede that only we ordinary people crave an occasional Big Mac; unlike "Princeton types", such ordinary people do not have "eating clubs" from which the riffraff are excluded! As aparent candidly observed: "students who really need a Burger King during the four years of college should avoid Princeton. It will be a big disappointment to them. Really."</p>
<p>People who don't want competition to be the hallmark of their college experience should avoid Harvard, just as those who do want the hallmark of their college experience to be Big Macs should avoid Princeton.</p>
<p>Life is that simple:P.</p>
<p>Be aware, Alumother, that it is a rough world out there, and that being confident in your ability and being able to handle competition can stand you in good stead.</p>
<p>Likewise, hard as it may be to believe, there are some places in the world,where an upscale salad is simply not to be had!</p>
<p>So its a matter of educational philosophy, I suppose: do we quickly expose our little darlings to real world challenges in hopes that they will respond, or do we keep them in the nest - or the cocoon - as long as possible?</p>
<p>How fortunate for the alufamily that the choice didn't have to be made!</p>
<p>Byerly, I can promise you, little buddy, I have engaged in brutal competition. Do to this date. I can promise you, I have spent month upon month, alone or in company, in places where even a simple salad will cause you to regret lettuce forever as your insides express extreme distress. But there is a concept that is perhaps more recent than your educational era. Developmentally appropriate. </p>
<p>I have always loathed the guys who stand at the sidelines of their 6-year old son's soccer game screaming, "You gotta be tough!". Toughness is critical. And there is a time and place.</p>
<p>I believe the kids who have a shot at HYP also know themselves. In their hearts. And they know what place, what environment, what atmosphere is right for them. They know how to prepare themselves to fight, to face competition, to deal, to cope. Maybe they should go cutthroat at 17, maybe they will wait until 25, maybe they will have quiet genius that never have to fight. That's why I tell the prospective applicants to visit the campuses of universities they are interested in, instead of following the "brand".</p>
<p>And as I have said before. Do Not Mention My Daughter. I am fair game. Have at it. Leave her, and anyone near and dear to me, out of this.</p>
<p>Aren't you up kind of late?</p>
<p>you didn't have a choice either, did you?</p>
<p>and he is late because he forgot his medication today.</p>
<p>Byerly, choose Harvard if you wish to go to a school where nearly everyone is honored and the grades are so diluted effort becomes meaningless. What you fail to realize about this cross-admit battle that you so adore is this: Some of Princeton's top students apply ED, thus they don't have a chance of getting in to Harvard. On the other hand, the SCEA policy allows students who prefer Harvard initially apply to both and the majority of those students do indeed choose the school. Since the number of cross-admits is so small, the difference in early policies proves quite substantial.</p>
<p>This whole representation of Harvard being cut-throat and Princeton "sheltered" is new to me. I thought that Harvard was where grade inflation was rampant and Princeton had the anti-grade inflation policies. </p>
<p>Really, how does a lack of Burger King mean students are kept in a coccoon? </p>
<p>I really agree with whoever said that the "best college town" thing is a subjective, personal decision. Growing up in New York, I didn't like any other cities. I've always hated Boston and disliked the Harvard campus when I visited. I wanted something suburban, with lots of green lawns and quiet, and Princeton has that. Plus, don't make it sound like it's in the middle of nowhere when students clearly have access to New York and Philly.</p>
<p>I have a theory. This theory goes: most young people just graduating from high school (for the most part suburban and rural types), are looking for a little excitement. The city looks exciting, so we think we want to go to college there (hence Harvard wins cross-admit battles). But once we get to college, many realize that the city is overrated, and suburbia is underrated (hence Princeton students are statistically happier than Harvard students). What do you think?</p>
<p>They win cross-admits in part due to overzealous alums who have nothing better to do with their life than to defame peer institutions.</p>
<p>No one would ever go to Harvard if they only person they knew from there was he-who-must-not-be-named (for fear of Roger Dooley sending me a warning).</p>
<p>This quote just bugs me a little...</p>
<p>
[quote]
Based on information obtained from students admitted to the University who chose not to attend, Rapelye confirmed that most of Princeton's cross-admits choose Harvard, Yale, Stanford or MIT over Old Nassau.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I mean, technically, that means people who choose not to attend chose those schools, but it doesn't mean that most of the cross-admits reject pton...does it?</p>
<p>Zante, I've thought similarly for quite some time. Im glad that you are more perspicacious than that old hag.</p>
<p>Good, close reading, Zantedeschia. What it means is that those who chose not to attend Princeton chose the usual suspects, rather than, say, Podunk Community College...or Columbia, Brown, or Penn.</p>
<p>Thanks. 4feynman, you haven't been around for that long, have you? I'm afraid I know nothing about you :(</p>