<p>We visited the campus last week and find it is breathtakingly beautiful. Son loved the place and found a very homely feeling as he noticed how friendly the squirrels were. Admission office and financial aid office were very informative. The place seems to have a vibrating gibe to it. We definitely have a positive feel and now up to son whatever he decides to do.</p>
<p>Yes, isn't the campus just gorgeous? I think it is the quintessential college campus--what you imagine when you think of a typical/ideal campus.
Funny that you mention the friendly squirrels; someone told me that the most frequent crime they encounter is when squirrels break into dorm rooms (a note on how safe Princeton is) lol</p>
<p>Before you decide, I would wait to rate the squirrels at other locations as well. Their "friendliness" is a function of how hungry they are and how dependent they are on passers-by either feeding them directly, or feeding them indirectly by dropping trash in the vicinity.</p>
<p>The same goes for pigeons, seagulls, bears etc.</p>
<p>Byerly, I find it amusing that your tone suggests that not even Princeton's squirrels are good enough for you.</p>
<p>Oh I'm sure the Princeton squirrels are fine - maybe ever world-class - but it seems pretty pathetic to be claiming them as a strong plus factor for Princeton vs other elites, which may well have squirrels of equal "friendliness."</p>
<p>LOL I doubt that squirrels are going to be the deciding factor for anyone! It was just a casul remark, not a "strong plus factor" and nobody even mentioned any other elites.
I personally don't even like squirrels (rats with tails) nor pigeons (rats with wings) haha maybe I'm just not an animal person</p>
<p>HAHA...I had a history teacher who told my class the story about how she ran over a squirrel three times. She first ran over the squirrel, then her friend said, "Oh my God! You ran over a squirrel!" She asks, "What?" and drives back over the squirrel so she can look at the squirrel. She sees the squirrel and drives forward again, running over the squirrel a third time...</p>
<p>:eek:
Was the third time on purpose?</p>
<p>Wow... haha, one of my friends accidentally ran over a squirrel on the way to school, and she was traumatized for a week. She kept saying, "And it was lying on its back, twitching like this..." <em>makes little twitching paw movements with hands</em></p>
<p>Some call the squirrels friendly, but when they get too friendly, some call them vicious. :p</p>
<p>Wild animals in new york are especially vicious. Pigeons aren't scared of people anymore, so when I drive, I'm so afraid of running them over because they don't until the last second. And my friends were feeding squirrels one day and said that they are quite vicious...fighting for food, making you fear for your hand, etc.</p>
<p>those pigeons are evil and if you run over them theyre asking for it! theres an area on 60th and 2nd right by serendipity where they always congregate and then fly into the air all at once as you walk by. i always run through with my hands over my hair. no pigeon is pooping on me.</p>
<p>I 100% agree with the negative comments about the "friendly" squirrels, and also the pestilential pigeons.</p>
<p>Even worse - in my daily experience - are seagulls and geese. Those of you who enjoy a similarly scenic seaside setting know whereof I speak. </p>
<p>The gulls corrosive droppings can ruin a car's wax job, and nothing is worse than a vast expanse of green lawn (Princeton-like in its lushness, as described by Alumother) that is covered with goose poop.</p>
<p>There is a saying that memory, like a sundial, "records only the sunny hours." I suspect that through the haze of happy memory of her bright college years, Alumother recalls the green lawns but forgets the goose poop.</p>
<p>Byerly:</p>
<p>hahhahaha we would be seeing Harvard squirrels too! However, the financial aid is the factor which trumps the friendly squirrels.</p>
<p>You don't need to live near a scenic seaside to have to deal with goose poop. There are some geese that are in Van Cortlandt Park (filmxoxo, you must be familiar) blech</p>
<p>This is the funniest thread I have ever seen on this board. I am trying to think of some witty comment about goose poop but the entire discussion is so absurd I am at a loss. </p>
<p>And besides, there wasn't any goose poop. God, the alliteration alone is too funny.</p>
<p>There are lawns however.</p>
<p>And as redstar says (I remember your post about your son redstar - he sounds like an amazing applicant) the financial aid trumps the squirrels.</p>
<p>yeah zante i once had to play a lax game there. in addition to goose poop theres also like crack needles. lol. ugh.</p>
<p>I just <em>knew</em> Alumother's selective memory would have deleted the goose poop from her internal hard disk!</p>
<p>Speaking of poop...</p>
<p>Its the NYU cross-country team that really has to deal with the goose droppings, etc. Even the occasional corpse!</p>
<p>You know, folks, there are some areas in which Princeton just can't compete with Harvard. I don't know why you even try. I mean, Princeton's squirrels are friendly and all, but they don't hold a candle to Harvard's rodent life: <a href="http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=349700%5B/url%5D">http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=349700</a>
"The discovery of rats in Quincy House last month has Harvard administrators taking steps to stop the rodentswho are already causing problems for Cambridge health officialsfrom further infiltrating University housing.
"The Quincy House Superintendents Office caught four rats last month while looking for mice, according to Gary P. Albert, who is in charge of pest control at Harvard."
Of course, the pest control director attempted to put a positive spin on it, thus beating Byerly to the punch:<br>
"Alpert put a positive spin on Cambridges new furry visitors.
'It demonstrates that wildlife is returning to Cambridge with the cleanup of the river,' he said."</p>
<p>:D</p>