<p>I have a question about them: How well are they divided along the different sports? I don't play any sports beyond fencing for recreational purposes only. If I wanted to join an eating club that uses bicker as a selection mechanism, what are the chances of that happening? I'm also not rich (upper-middle class) and from the Northwest. I saw mentions of clubs as catering to Southerners and Northerners, to football players and lacrosse players, but what about non-athletes who don't come from the East or South?</p>
<p>It's possible. Cottage and Cap (and TI to some extent) have a lot of athletes, but the rest of the clubs aren't dominated by them. Ivy does tend to attract a lot of blue blood New Englanders, but there are plenty of kids from other parts of the country who get in because they join the right frat or sorority freshman year. Tower is probably your best bet if you don't play a sport and don't want to join a fraternity. I'm going to go out on a limb and claim that Tower's membership is more representative of the general Princeton student body than that of the other bicker clubs. Cannon is supposed to reopen as a bicker club this spring. Before it closed in the seventies, it was similar to TI (hard partying), but obviously no one knows what it will be like when it reopens.</p>
<p>I'd also like to point out that there's nothing wrong with joining a sign in club. There are five of them, and in any given year, probably two of them will fill up in the first round of sign ins, and others might fill up after round two. Quad is the only club that doesn't attract many members. Every club has something unique to offer, and just because a club is bicker doesn't make it better. Many rowers like to join Cloister, a sign in, even though they probably wouldn't have too much trouble getting into bicker clubs.</p>
<p>^Oh, of course. I was just wondering to what extent the club memberships were determined by certain characteristics (according to the article, very). Wow...it seems very connection-based for the bicker ones. Especially Ivy. o.o</p>
<p>More precisely, I just want to know if I want to join XXXX Club (and it happens to be through bicker), what that means. I didn't realize how much they involved stereotypes. There are probably many exceptions, but I just didn't realize that the trends were so prominent. If someone makes it their goal to get into TI or Ivy or something, it seems like that would govern at least freshman and sophomore years -- as you say, joining the right fraternity or at least making good connections with the people in the particular club. Is this a correct interpretation of your post?</p>
<p>Yes that's a correct interpretation. You might also be interested in this thread:</p>
<p>^ Thanks Weasel, you've been really helpful. I'm just worried because I'm definitely applying to Princeton, and something that I always thought was really great about it was the eating clubs. I just didn't know how much they played into their stereotypes. Could a preppy boy from the West who is not loaded but not poor (or lower- to middle-class) and with few connections find a niche at the clubs, even those I would theoretically bicker into? The answer seems to be "Yes," but I just wasn't sure. Of course, I have to get in first. :p</p>
<p>The answer is definitely yes. My advice is to check out all of the clubs during the first few weeks and decide which ones you're interested in. If you like Ivy, TI, or Cottage, you should probably rush a frat.</p>
<p>^Thanks. I guess social climbing at Princeton starts right away. :p</p>
<p>One more thing, and then I'll probably be out of questions: How do connections formed with eating club members last? As in, Skull and Bones at Yale clearly affects graduates far after leaving Yale. Is there a sense of bonding that extends beyond campus and after graduation? Or is it something you enjoy while at Princeton, but comes to an end at commencement?</p>
<p>Thanks for being so patient with me!</p>
<p>I'm not really sure since I haven't joined one yet. :p I'm a rising sophomore.</p>
<p>Ah, never mind then. Are you looking to join any one in particular? I can't remember whether you mentioned that earlier in the thread or not...</p>
<p>I'm still undecided.</p>
<p>Alums that return during reunions go back to their eating clubs and relive many of their college years. I think the inherent bond between Princeton alums is already very strong and there is a great infrastructure for alumni connections (local clubs, an online database, etc.)
I would say that many of the friendships formed in eating clubs are long-lasting, but it is much more of a personal relationship (similar to the ones you have with your college friends...since, you know, your club should be full of your friends) rather than an official alumni network or many organized activities. Among alumni, one of the first questions they ask each other is probably what eating club they belonged to, and it could lead to some bonding/reminiscing. It's definitely a big part of your life at Princeton, but definitely not as intense as something like the skull and bones in terms of connections. </p>
<p>I think that while some of the clubs have certain stereotypes, there are always people that aren't part of a certain team/frat/sorority that still get in. Of course it is harder and they invest a lot of time during freshman/sophomore year making these connections, but to answer your question it isn't impossible. I would second Weasel's comment that you shouldn't feel like you HAVE to bicker, and you'll have plenty of time to decide what club (if any) is right for you. As for Tower, it is probably the most representative of the student body (though its stereotype is toolish woody woo/finance people) but because it is the most "accessible" of the bicker clubs (in terms of not having a hard-set stereotype) it gets the most bickerees, many of whom do it just for the sake of bickering, so in the end it ends up still being very selective purely because of the numbers.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the info!</p>
<p>I never knew this! I thought the eating clubs were a down to earth socializing place</p>
<p>They are a down to earth socializing place if you belong</p>
<p>...and anyone may belong. </p>
<p>"Five of Princetons eating clubs have first-come, first-serve membership called sign-ins. Sophomores who wish to join an eating club list the clubs in the order of their preference, with up to 11 friends. If more students sign in than a club can accept, a lottery is held and members are chosen at random."</p>
<p>Let me add a small caveat to previous posts...since eating clubs only consist of juniors and seniors, there is basically a 50% turn-over each year. So the dynamics of the social situations in eating clubs can change very rapidly. The Ivy or Cap of today isn't necessarily anything like it was 4-5 years ago, and obviously the current members are all new.</p>
<p>eating clubs..haha the first time i heard this, i said "thankk you..promoting big girls!" haha but obviously, it just had to be another group that constitutes microcosm of the university. yayyy us!</p>
<p>"I never knew this! I thought the eating clubs were a down to earth socializing place"</p>
<p>The eatings clubs are a good way to go out, party, and probably see your classmates and friends.</p>
<p>The bicker clubs are generally harder to get passes for. However, they're far from impossible. Just meet some upperclassmen and don't be shy about asking them for passes. In terms of actual membership, they may be more exclusive but it really isn't that hard to get passes to go and party there during a weekend.</p>
<p>Sign-ins are generally open to all students. I feel this is pretty inclusive. I feel like Terrace is especially down to earth.</p>
<p>@princeton12:</p>
<p>I don't mean to rip on you or anything but like... you're confusing me.</p>
<p>"The bicker clubs are generally harder to get passes for"... "[the bicker clubs] may be more exclusive but it really isn't that hard to get passes"</p>
<p>So like I guess you're saying it's relatively harder to get passes to bicker clubs than it is to get passes to sign-ins but it's still not that objectively hard? </p>
<p>In any case, of the sign-ins, I have only ever seen passes from Quad and Cloister, 'cause like you said, sign-ins are generally open - but then why did you say its generally harder to get passes for bicker clubs?</p>
<p>Because it is. </p>
<p>Cloister is sometimes on pass. The others are occasionally (not often) "members only" after a certain time.
Bicker clubs are often on pass.</p>
<p>It is harder to get passes for bicker clubs.</p>
<p>However, if you make any effort to meet upperclassmen, it is not THAT hard to get passes to one of the bicker clubs. I've had the hardest time with Cottage (on list) and Ivy.</p>