<p>Is having a lot of preppy students a defining character of Princeton's social life? More so than other elite schools perhaps?</p>
<p>Although preppy kids do define parts of princeton (especially some of the bicker eating clubs), there are opportunities for everyone. 54% of students at Princeton were on financial aid last year. It is far from the 'old boys club' that it once was.</p>
<p>I get the impression that, because princeton has the best financial aid system of any ivy league school, its preppy image or stereotype is very outdated.</p>
<p>Certain clubs are extremely preppy. The student body in general is more preppy than a lot of the other Ivies.</p>
<p>Do you really think the student body is a lot more preppy? Why?</p>
<p>I think that Dartmouth and Yale are more preppy, Penn the same, Cornell and Harvard and Columbia less so.</p>
<p>This is from observation - except Cornell which I have never been to.,</p>
<p>It feels to me that the general student body is also preppier than at other campuses... this is largely based on clothing (which defines a large part of the word 'preppy' anyway, doesn't it?) and surprisingly popular sports (squash!)</p>
<p>I think we are definitely preppier than Harvard, Yale, Columbia, and Brown. I can't comment on the others.</p>
<p>Yale is awfully preppy - even the statistics show it has more actual prep school kids than Princeton.</p>
<p>Yale is just not suburban. Princeton is suburban. Don't confuse suburban with preppy. It's really hard to walk around wearing black and piercing your eyebrow when you are going to a school with beautiful lawns and a suburban mall across the street.</p>
<p>The thing to understand is that the "preppiness" at Princeton isn't elitist. It's just kind of wholesome and if you like to be edgy AND in the mainstream Princeton isn't the place for you. Brown and Columbia are better, Harvard OK.</p>
<p>Also both those who like and those who don't like this aspect of Princeton ought to take into consideration that the administration is upping the number of students, and focusing on neuroscience and performing arts, as well as instituting the 4-year resident colleges to compete with the eating club system.</p>
<p>All of these changes will continue the move the university has made away from its traditional culture. However, for the next 25 years at least, Princeton will be in a suburb. So it'll never be as edgy as the urban campuses and that's something to understand.</p>
<p>yeah i guess it's sort of preppy sometimes but.. who cares? you will be fine not being preppy if you don't want to be. no one is going to make fun of you for not wearing jcrew.</p>