<p>Which college has the best sense of community or is the most close knit of the following colleges that I'm considering?</p>
<p>Harvard
Stanford
Caltech
Princeton</p>
<p>I really want to be at a place where life long friends are made. Thanks for any advice you can give. I'd especially appreciate input from current or former students.</p>
<p>I’d say Princeton.</p>
<p>@barrk Why is that? Is it just the residential college system? What about Harvard’s residential college system?</p>
<p>I don’t see how you could go wrong at any of these four. Have you been accepted to all of these? Such a tough dilemma! Good luck!</p>
<p>I have been accepted at Caltech and likely letter from Harvard (which stated I WILL be admitted). Waiting on Princeton and Stanford. </p>
<p>There are things about each’s community that I like. Caltech is, of course, very small and the house system would seem to promote community. A similar ideas with Princeton and Harvard with their residential colleges. I also like how all Harvard freshman live together. For Stanford, I like how almost everyone lives on campus, but their seems to be less continuity as housing changes yearly. Thoughts?</p>
<p>I think Princeton is closer knit because it has the residential colleges and is smaller than Harvard student wise.</p>
<p>I think you’re drawing a connection between two things that are pretty unrelated. Whether there is a campus-wide sense of closeness has little to do with whether lifelong friends are made. Even at a tiny school like Caltech, you won’t be lifelong friends with your whole class. What matters for lifelong friends is the sub-community you belong to – whether that is your residential college, your eating club, your team, your fraternity, or (in my case) your singing group. You are going to have amazing lifelong friends no matter which of these schools you attend.</p>