<p>Hi,</p>
<p>i am asking about whether princeton stacks up against Harvard and Yale in terms of advancing its undergrads' careers. The main thing that is negative about Princeton is its lack of Professional schools (law, business, med). That means its alumni connections must be smaller in those fields. </p>
<p>Any thoughts about this? I know i cant be the only one disturbed by this.</p>
<p>Jason, you have nothing to worry about.</p>
<p>German_car has posted frequently on this board touting the superior benefits of attending Univ. of Penn so that you can attend the Penn law school. He ignores the fact that Princeton has more Supreme court justices than Penn, Harvard, or Yale. </p>
<p>Alumni connections tend to be strongest among graduates of the undergraduate program. A Princeton alum who attends Penn for graduate school more than likely has a stronger connection to Princeton than to Penn. For example, Elena Kagan was offered a job working in the White House from a classmate from Princeton - not a Harvard Law connection. The loyalty of Princeton graduates to the university is the envy of other universities. If you doubt this attend alumni reunions next June at Princeton to get a feel for the strength of the alumni-school ties at Princeton. The law school students, med school students, and business school students generally have very little interaction with undergraduates.</p>
<p>In considering the undergraduate university to attend give primary weight to the undergraduate experience. Princeton is focused on being the best undergraduate university in the world. It has the highest endowment per undergraduate so the university resources are used to provide the best undergraduate education possible. </p>
<p>Princeton has alumni clubs in every part of the world. A student applying from Peking China, Mumbai India, or London England will be interviewed by a local Princeton alumnus. Most universities cannot find alumni to interview students in New York City or Albany.</p>
<p>More important than the number of alumni in law, business, or medicine is their interest in meeting and helping a fellow alumnus. Various studies have been done which show that Princeton graduates are rank very high in terms of being listed in Who’s Who in business, and the most respected attorneys and physicians. Princeton alumni like each other and can offer professional connections. </p>
<p>If you cannot make an alumni connection after you graduate from Princeton then you may be the first graduate to fail to make such a connection. Be concern about you grades, SAT scores, and ECs but do not lose sleep over the ability of Princeton graduates to make alumni connections!</p>
<p>^^ thanks</p>
<p>the thing is, some people have already done their grades, tests, and EC so they got nothing else to worry about.</p>
<p>Pton, well said…fully agree</p>
<p>this supports a little of what you stated:</p>
<p>2009 Alumni Giving Rates of USNWR top 50 National Universities</p>
<p>60% , Princeton
53% , Dartmouth
51% , Notre Dame
43% , Yale
41% , Harvard
40% , Duke
40% , Brown
38% , U Penn
38% , USC
37% , MIT
37% , Wash U
36% , Stanford
36% , Columbia
36% , Emory
34% , Cornell
34% , Rice
33% , Johns Hopkins
33% , Brandeis
33% , Lehigh
32% , U Chicago
32% , Wake Forest
31% , Georgia Tech
30% , Northwestern
29% , Caltech
28% , Georgetown
25% , Vanderbilt
24% , U Virginia
23% , Tufts
23% , U North Carolina
23% , W&M
23% , Yeshiva
23% , Tulane
22% , Carnegie Mellon
22% , Penn State
21% , Boston Coll
19% , UC Santa Barbara
18% , U Michigan
18% , U Rochester
18% , Rensselaer
17% , U Washington
17% , U Florida
16% , U Texas
14% , UC Berkeley
14% , UCLA
14% , U Illinois
14% , Case Western
13% , U Wisconsin
13% , UC Irvine
12% , UC Davis
11% , NYU
8% , UCSD</p>
<p>I shared an office with an HYP class officer one year, and listened when he was (relentlessly) drumming up contributions.</p>
<p>From this my take is, past a certain point the giving rate has relatively little to do with how these people liked their schools. </p>
<p>It has a lot more to do with them trying to pump their own egos, and make their schools look as good as, or better than,. the schools they feel they need to compete with, or stay ahead of as the case may be, to maximize the ongoing value of the credential on their resume. It is the Harvard-Yale game, played on another turf. US News was cited explicitly in his entreaties, as well as the alleged giving rates of these two or three other schools and also the need to beat other classes within their own school. Competitive types, these. but it was all self-interest and self-ego gratification, Whether they actually liked their schools or not played no role in his solicitation, my sense was it would be just the same.</p>
<p>monydad so are you telling us that the majority of students at HYP that give to the school really hated their experience as an undergraduate but give any way?</p>
<p>Is this what you are saying?</p>
<p>Does the same go for the massive amounts of alumni that return each year for reunions? - those 22,000 Princeton alumni and family that traveled to the 3-4 day Princeton reunions this June really hated their undergraduate experience and want nothing to do with their classmates. Is this what you are saying?</p>
<p>^^ I have worked on Annual Giving a few times and I NEVER used this type of approach. Basically I would call people up and explain who I was and why I was calling. Most of the time that’s all I needed to do. Mostly people would give and sometimes not. But generally I found that whether or not they gave was directly related to how much they enjoyed/valued their Princeton experience.</p>
<p>Princeton Alumni seem to be incredibly loyal to the institution. The cynic would say that the Annual Giving office knows how to keep the bonds strong with amazing reunions and constant updates about the University. Certainly that may be part of it, but also, it really is an amazing institution!!</p>
<p>How loyal are Pton Alumni to each other? So if a fellow Pton Alumni called you at your corporation and asked for help with career search, would you put in a good word for him or at least direct him to someone who can help him or her?</p>
<p>It is difficult to generalize on the success of networking with alumni. You would be less successful with a call out of the blue to alumnus who is extremely busy. However, all Princeton alumni clubs have frequent social events where you have the opportunity to meet alumni with similar backgrounds and interests. The few times I have asked an alumnus for help for example, selecting an attorney, they have been very helpful. If you have normal level of social skills you will find most alumni receptive to providing assistance.</p>
<p>Princeton connections can be very helpful. Since many Princeton students obtain summer intern positions in Washington D.C. the Princeton Washington D.C. Alumni club has a program for Princeton students in Washington D.C. for the summer. This is called the Princeton-in-Washington Program. Even though I was an engineering student, not pre-law, I participated in these events. I was able to meet with senators, congressmen, and cabinet secretaries to discuss in a small group events of the day. When Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito '72 was a junior at Princeton he meet with Princeton alumnus Supreme Court Justice John Marshall Harlan II '20. The trip was arranged by the Princeton Whig-Cliosophic Society, the oldest college debating society in the U.S. </p>
<p>The Alumni Career Network (ACN) is composed of over 4,000 alumni that have volunteered to the university to mentor and help student and alumni obtain career advise. See [Networking</a> «*Office of Career Services « Princeton University](<a href=“Search Opportunities | Human Resources”>Search Opportunities | Human Resources). Every alumnus in the ACN has volunteered to provide the type of assistance you are requesting.</p>
<p>I always go out of my way to mentor other Princetonians.</p>
<p>I would believe that people like Monydad didn’t attend an institution with avid alumni. Try going to a Princeton or Dartmouth 5th year reunion. 75% of the class wiill show up. Go to a Columbia 5-yr and its 20%. HUGE difference that is very indicative of the difference in culture. A much stronger one, I might add, at the higher alumni giving schools.</p>
<p>slipper, heck - you will get a 10-20% turnout at an off-year 12th, or 22nd, or 28th Princeton reunion</p>