<p>Hey guys! The 2008-2009 application season is starting to hit full swing, and hopefully many of you are applying to Princeton. This is a thread for you to ask current students whatever you'd like to know about admissions, academics, student life, and anything else related to Princeton. Since certain questions spring up so often, I thought I'd post them myself and try to answer them as definitively as possible. Below is a "Table of Contents" for the FAQ. Clicking on one of the links will take you to the post which responds to that question. It will not take you to another thread. If your question is not in the FAQ, then ask away, and we'll do our best to answer. Best of luck with your applications!</p>
<p>There are no minimum grades or test scores required for admission. Princeton accepts applications from students who have not yet begun studying at another university and have not been accepted under another college's binding early decision program. Most applicants are high school seniors, but Princeton will also consider applications from those who wish to leave high school early. Princeton recently eliminated its early decision plan, so all applicants apply under the same regular decision plan.</p>
<p>Very Important
[ul][<em>]Rigor of secondary school record
[</em>]Class rank
[<em>]Academic GPA
[</em>]Standardized test scores
[<em>]Letters of recommendation
[</em>]Essays
[<em>]Talent/ability
[</em>]Character/personal qualities
[li]First generation[/li][/ul]</p>
<p>Princeton has signed an agreement to give the Common App equal consideration. Any college which accepts the Common App is required to do this (Source</a>). Some people say "Well why do they bother having their own application?" or "Couldn't Princeton still give an edge to people who use the Princeton app?". Princeton has no incentive to give an andvantage to those using the Princeton App. It seeks to enroll the most talented, accomplished, and diverse class it can. The bottom line is that you should use the application that you feel best allows you to showcase your talents and abilities.</p>
<p>Princeton has need-blind admissions, which means that students are admitted without regard to their ability to pay. Princeton meets 100% of each student's demonstrated need, and financial aid packages do not include loans. Princeton is one of only six schools across the country to meet the full need of international students. Financial aid is "citizenship-blind."</p>
<p>Many students wonder how Princeton's financial aid compares with that of other top schools. Harvard and Stanford do not require parental contributions from those with annual family income under $60,000 (Source</a> 1, Source</a> 2). "Princeton is currently "tuition free" for families with incomes up to $100,000 and asks for no parental payment for families with incomes up to $75,000" (Source</a>). Harvard recently overhauled its financial aid program, with the goal of making itself more accessible to middle and upper middle income families. Families with incomes between $60,000 and $180,000 can on average expect to contribute 10% or less of their income. Princeton has not made any similar guarantees, so it's unclear how well Princeton is competing with other top schools in the upper-middle income range. You can use the Princeton</a> Financial Aid Estimator to get an idea of how much financial aid you could be awarded. Remember that the Estimator is designed with US and Canadian citizens in mind since purchasing power varies widely across countries.</p>
<p>There's no evidence to suggest that the policy has changed, and many CC posters have reported that admissions officers have told them at information sessions that ninth grade is still not considered. One poster wrote the following:</p>
<p>First, let's make sure everyone know what eating clubs are and how they work. Eating clubs are places where juniors and seniors take their meals and where, along with other locations, the entire student body socializes. Midway through sophomore year, students decide if they want to join a club. Of the 10 clubs, 5 are selective and 5 are not. The selective clubs are called bicker clubs, and the non-selective clubs are called sign-ins. The first step in the membership process is deciding whether you want to join a bicker club. If you do, you go through the bicker process at one and only one club. Roughly 2/3 of students who bicker are accepted. Those who want to join a sign-in club rank the sign-in clubs in order of preference, and a lottery process is used to assign students to each club. This is called the first round of sign-ins. After that, students who bickered a club and were not accepted have the chance to join one of the sign-ins which still have spaces open. There are always eating slub with spots open, so you don't have to worry about not being able to join a club. </p>
<p>Approximately 80% of juniors and seniors are club members. Although the clubs are more expensive than a standard meal contract, juniors and seniors on financial aid receive a $2,500 increase in their aid package to make up the difference between the average cost of board at a club and the cost of the standard meal contract. Those who don't join a club have a number of other options: living and eating in one of the four year residential colleges, joining a coop, and being independent. Independent students cook their own meals and have access to kitchen facilities, often in their dorm rooms.</p>
<p>Most of those who are in sign-in clubs joined in the first round. It's not as if the sign-in members couldn't get into bicker clubs. Each club has its own unique characteristics, and most students base their decision of what club to join on these factors rather than on a desire to join a bicker club. </p>
<p>One of the most common charges leveled against the clubs (and Princeton in general) is that they are elitist. For example, one prospective applicant recently asked:</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>The short answer is that the elitist stereotype is outdated, and the eating clubs are much less exclusive than their counterparts at Harvard and Yale. I'm only a sophomore, so I can't tell you what it's like to be a club member. But I can say that after spending a year hanging out at the clubs on weekends, I have not gotten an elitist vibe at all. Even at the clubs where I probably wouldn't fit in, the members have been very welcoming. Below are some of the most insightful past posts on the subject:</p>
<p>
<p>Many of the negative stereotypes of Princeton are aimed at the eating clubs which are characterized as exclusive, secretive and highly selective. This would provide plenty of laughs for current undergraduates. While I didnt belong to an eating club, I spent plenty of time in most of them. When most juniors and seniors are members of these clubs and when more than half of them can be joined simply by signing your name on a form, they can hardly be said to be exclusive. For most of them, the cost of membership is approximately the same as the cost of a food services contract, so even price is not really an issue.</p>
<p>Still, dont take my word for it. Here are links to three recent articles from the Yale Daily News which do a very good job of explaining the Eating Clubs at Princeton, the Final Clubs at Harvard and the Secret Societies at Yale. I think youll find them useful and objective since they werent written from a Princeton perspective.</p>
<p>In addition to social exclusivity, the charge that Princeton is extremely preppy is also commonly made. You might be surprised to learn that Princeton has fewer prep school graduates than many of its most prominent competitors, including Yale.</p>
<p>As for Princeton being the choice of rich students, well, Princeton has the Ivy Leagues highest percentage of students on financial aid for its incoming class (measured as the total number of students receiving grants from the University). There is a very broad range of family incomes represented. My own large family was quite lower middle class (though proud!) and my father never finished high school.</p>
<p>As for the implication that Princeton is homogenous and overwhelmingly white, again, there is simply no truth in it. Princeton has approximately the same racial distribution as its competitors with students from across the globe. When speaking specifically about minority students, you might note that Princeton was recently recognized by the Journal of Blacks in Higher Education as the third best university in the nation (after only Duke and Emory) in terms of attracting and providing support services for African-American students. It also had the highest black enrollment in the Ivy League for the freshman class entering last fall. Princeton was also ranked by Hispanic Magazine (March 2006) as the second best school for Hispanics in the group of 25 leading national universities surveyed. Princeton came in second only to Harvard. Princeton was also just recognized by a leading gay and lesbian magazine as one of the 20 most supportive universities for gays, lesbians and transgender students.</p>
<p>Does any of this sound like the university being described by some of the posters above?</p>
<p>All students should visit and make their own judgments if at all possible. If not possible, call the Princeton Admission office and ask to arrange to speak with a current student. Theyll be happy to assist and youll be able to get a far less biased view than youll often get from postings on these threads.
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<p>For balance, here's a more critical take on the clubs:</p>
<p>
<p>As a disclaimer, I'm not a member of a club, but I eat in the clubs routinely - at least three times a week at both sign in and bicker clubs. I'm frequently guested in by friends, and on occasion I just walk in and join my friends when there's no mealchecking (some clubs simply don't care, and many people are just lazy about the whole meal exchange system). In terms of bicker clubs, I've actually participated in the bicker process and frequented the clubs during party nights. So that's what I know. Take it with a grain of salt if you want.</p>
<p>To address some of the concerns about the eating clubs, I will go out and say this: they are definitely real.</p>
<p>It's true that the eating clubs are pervasive. With about 75% of students joining a club, it's hard when you're not part of the system but your friends are. At Princeton there is a sizeable group of people who simply do not care about the street and live happily in independent housing. There are also some people who have many friends at the street. By junior year, you'll see your friends much less than before if you're not in the same club or part of the street system. The University is trying to remedy that with the four year colleges, as well as giving all upperclassmen three meals a week in the dining halls. This allows anyone to eat with anyone else. Before then, those who were not part of the street had to count on their friend's four or so guest meals every month as the only opportunities to eat. Not eating everyday with your old friends is hard to get used to at first, so it takes a proactive effort to eat weekly meals with them. It used to be me calling them, but now they call me up on a regular basis to plan meals.</p>
<p>There's definitely a divide in the clubs. There was a recent New York Observer article published about the street. Those characterizations are largely true. Simply put, people prefer spending time with people who are similar. Clubs, whether bicker or sign-in, all have their cliques. Cliques and greek societies are a way of getting into clubs -- no one on campus disputes that football guys overwhelmingly prefer TI and Cottage, SAE frat boys like Ivy, and Triangle kids pack into Tower. Even Colonial, a sign-in club, has plenty of Asian cliques, and Charter is known for a strong engineering and band contingent. I hate to stereotype, but it's pretty to make an accurate guess which guys and girls will bicker which clubs within a few weeks of school. After three years and countless nights at the street, you learn that like attracts like. (Just an note: club populations do evolve, but they do so over longer periods of time. Within four years I havent seen much change, but talking to older alums from years before me show that club compositions definitely evolve).</p>
<p>As an RA at Princeton, my main qualm with the club system is that some people figure out the street immediately and become obsessed with it. Social climbers and children of the well-off immediately notice that bicker clubs overwhelmingly possess prettier, richer, and more party-hard types. Thus within a few weeks of orientation, the newness of Princeton wears out and you see the cliques already forming. Kids try for the next three semesters working on getting into these clubs. Sure, there are plenty who don't care too much, but there's a sizeable contingent who do. People are devastated when they don't get into a club, and it's even worse when all your roommates or your best friend does. I've talked to students who think that their social lives are ruined because they didn't get into a club. As these students enter junior year, they face conflicting feelings and pressures about re-bickering a club. Oftentimes, theyre forced to live through rejection again, since fall bicker acceptance rates are quite low.</p>
<p>Some bicker clubs have tried to make their bicker process more egalitarian and less degrading, but I can attest that its only a mild improvement. Tower Club has led the way with positive bicker, which means that no negative comments are made about bickerees during the discussion process. However, even the best rules cannot eliminate internal bias, and Ive seen several questionable incidents regarding the bicker process to raise an eyebrow at. Among the Asian American community, more and more are actually bickering, but the rate of admittance remains far below that of Caucasians. Is it overt racism? Probably not. But like it or not, these clubs have an image to consider, and oftentimes a large Asian population is not in line with their image. Ill leave it at that.</p>
<p>Now that I'm a senior, I've found that another major barrier to joining eating clubs is economic. I have several friends quitting eating clubs because the money is beyond them. Yes, Princeton has upped the financial aid, but the prospect of dropping out altogether at saving $5000 is just too tempting for those struggling to pay for college. I never joined a club because of my financial circumstances. Even with the increased financial aid now, it's not worth it for me to pay $5000 as an RCA to get 10 meals a week and a place to party. Senior year also comes into play too - many people express fatigue with the street as early as junior year, and many seniors slowly drift away from the street to work on theses or party with those closer to their age. Not surprisingly, a high percentage of students who quit or do not join clubs are low-income and minority.</p>
<p>Princeton's eating clubs arent all bad, however. This is definitely not meant to push people away from Princeton, or not apply at all. There's always free beer, some great parties, and even getting into a lot of the bicker clubs only requires knowing some members who will give you passes. The sign-in clubs are all open every Thursday and Saturday, and all it takes is an ID to get in and start partying. In this way, it's no different (and possibly better) than many frat systems at other universities. One needs to just party there, have fun, and accept that the bicker process should never serve as an objective evaluation of the person you are. Shirley Tilghman is also taking a proactive, if not somewhat controversial stance, by pushing the four year college system, free dining hall meals, eating club financial aid, and integrating upperclassmen into the campus system again. Its a good step for now, but itll certainly take many years before you see big changes. Despite not being in a club, Ive had plenty of fun there in my last three years and will certainly leave with some great party memories.
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<p>And finally, what I consider the best post on what the clubs are really like:</p>
<p>
<p>Like many CC viewers, I was fortunate enough to be admitted to Princeton, Harvard and Yale. I selected Princeton for academic reasons. Its not that I didnt consider a colleges social life to be important - I very much believe its vital. I just figured that anywhere there were bright, interesting students, I would find my niche. And I still think thats true. But in high school, I didnt know an eating club from a secret society from a finals club from a hole in the ground. I congratulate those CC posters who have such fully developed opinions on eating clubs. They are much more knowledgeable and sophisticated consumers than I ever was back then.</p>
<p>I absolutely loved my eating club experience and so did the vast majority of people I knew at Princeton. Why? Well, why do P, H and Y have residential colleges to subdivide their student bodies? To create smaller, more intimate communities in which students can feel more at home. I think residential colleges are a great idea. Eating clubs are a logical extension of the same concept.</p>
<p>Residential colleges at P, H and Y generally have 400-500 students. Eating clubs have less than half that number of members, usually about 100-150. Theyre even closer, warmer social infrastructures. The most descriptive word I can think of to convey my eating club experience is comfortable. I was very good friends with almost every single member of my club. (Yes, there were a couple of jerks, but you take the bad with the good.) Its quite literally true that its almost impossible to be in an eating club and not have at least a hundred very close friends.</p>
<p>Even a residential college of 400-500 students is large enough that you cant know everybody well. Its about the size of a typical high school class with many of the same social phenomena taking place. In particular, it further subdivides into the usual cliques. Weve all been to high school. You know what Im talking about. But once the number of people in a group gets down below 150, a different social dynamic takes over. At that size, you really DO know everybody well. You see them and eat with them every day. If your high school cafeteria is like mine, after you buy your lunch, you head to the same table every day and eat with the same 10-15 close friends. Well, in an eating club, that same table is the whole dining room. Theres no need to synchronize going to meals with your friends because some will always be there. You know EVERYBODY. Its a fantastic social environment.</p>
<p>Obviously, Princetons clubs are self-selected in a way that residential colleges arent. But the criticism that they therefore are divisive does not logically follow. By the time you join a club at the end of your sophomore year, youve already been in a residential college of roughly 450 randomly assigned people for two years. Youve had a broad experience and made a variety of friends. Those friends dont go away. You eat at their clubs and they eat at yours using meal transfers -- very simple. You spend time at all the clubs, especially on party nights. Junior year, my girlfriend was not in my club. Senior year, she was (different girlfriend, that is). No big deal. Of my eight roommates junior and senior year, only one was in my club. I loved the fact that I had a circle of friends from my dorm, a different group from my eating club, a third network from my academic department, and two further circles from my two major extracurricular activities. These various groups of friends overlapped, but were separate and distinct in a very healthy way.</p>
<p>I concede that eating clubs are probably most appropriate for people who by their personality are joiners and that not everybody is one. Thats why 25% of Princeton upperclassmen choose another option, whether it be staying in their underclass residential college for another two years, joining one of two student-run co-ops, or cooking for themselves. Some people just eat at the Frist Campus Center. No problem. Different strokes for different folks. But I submit that most Ivy League students by nature ARE joiners. And those people who want to be more independent have a wider range of options at Princeton than they do at almost any other school. If youre a joiner, you win. If youre not, you still win.</p>
<p>Hey, eating clubs arent for everybody. But I think that the vast majority of the kind of high-achieving, sociable people who are drawn to the Ivy League would LOVE them. My point isnt that everyone should attend Princeton or join a club. But if youre thinking about Princeton for academic reasons (and, yes, I think I chose correctly), then dont be dissuaded by any CC eating club nay-sayers.</p>
<p>Think about it. Princeton and Harvard have the highest retention and graduation rates in the country. Princeton has by far the highest alumni donation rates. The totally unscientific and anecdotal Princeton Review lists Princeton in its happiest students category. If youve ever attended a Princeton reunion, you know that alumni are wacky in love with the institution. If Princeton students and graduates are THAT fond of the place, how could eating clubs be anything but a great experience for the vast majority of people who go through there?</p>
<p>But dont take my word for it. Visit the campus, talk to the students and form your own opinion. Just dont take as gospel the word of anybody who criticizes the eating clubs from the distant vantage point of New Haven or Cambridge, okay?
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<p>For many years, Princeton was deserving of its elitist stereotype, but times have changed. Princeton is now an incredibly diverse place, in terms of its racial, socioeconomic, and ideological makeup. I won't pretend that you won't run into some extremely wealthy people here, but you will also meet students from extremely disadvantaged backgrounds. More often than not, it will be something in between.</p>
<p>High schoolers often see something mystical about the Ivy League, believing it to be almost otherworldly. Tagging Princeton with the snobby label is one way of making these views seem justified. The truth is that Princeton is not all that different from any other college. Sure, we have a bigger endowment and our students have higher test scores. But once you're here, you go to class during the week, unwind on the weekends, and take exams at the end of each term...just like you would anywhere else. Fundamentally, Princeton is made up of students trying to get an education, many of whom share the same passions, goals, hopes, and fears as yourself.</p>
<p>The administration has instituted a policy under which A's and A-'s are supposed to account for no more than 35% of all grades given in undergraduate courses.</p>
<p>This does not mean that in every class, only the top 35% get A's. It means that across all classes, only top 35% are supposed to get A's. Some classes, generally the smaller ones, will grant more A's, while others, generally the large lectures, will grant fewer. For example, let's say that the politics department offer three courses: a large introductory course on foreign affairs which has 100 students and two small seminars, one on nation building and the other on socialism, which both have 15 students. If 30% of the students in the foreign affairs class get A's, then 50% of the students in each of the seminars can get A's. Remember that 35% is something the University is working towards. Some of the departments are there already, and some are not. The humanities departments still lag behind the science departments in implementing the policy. </p>
<p>I have not found the environment at Princeton to be cutthroat. Students do their best and are open about the fact that they work very hard. But the general attitude is "I'm going to study so that I can get the best grades I'm capable of" and not "I'm going to study so that I do better than Jack." Students form study groups to prepare for exams, and collaboration on problem sets is common and often encouraged by the faculty. </p>
<p>Most students dislike grade deflation for the obvious reason that it makes it harder to get good grades. I have mixed feelings on the subject. I don't believe that the policy will adversely affect me after I graduate. Princeton has worked hard to inform</a> graduate schools and employers of the policy and there is [url=<a href="http://www.princeton.edu/odoc/faculty/grading/faq/#comp000047219e980000000b7278c0%5Devidence%5B/url">http://www.princeton.edu/odoc/faculty/grading/faq/#comp000047219e980000000b7278c0]evidence[/url</a>] to suggest that Princetonians are not being negatively affected. And as a math/science major, it's nice to know that students in the humanities aren't getting significantly higher grades. But at the same time, I am troubled by the effects the policy has on student behavior. As I said earlier, I'm not really talking about competitiveness in class. I took a very large premed course and still did not come across the cutthroat atmosphere that some have warned of. What troubles me is how the policy has affected my friends' approach to course selection. I have no data to back this up, but many of my classmates stick to classes within their major and are reluctant to take classes which are perceived to be hard. There may be no evidence that the policy has negatively affected career prospects, but students fear that it could, and they have changed their behavior accordingly. It's worth noting that a more generous P/D/F policy would go a long way to fixing the course selection problems I described.</p>
<p>Awesome!!! Will post questions as soon as they keep creeping up!</p>
<p>For now, does Princeton give more importance to 'achievers' or medal-hoppers OR to people who have dedicated themselves to good, meaningful work like research and community service, but abstain from medal-hopping??</p>
<p>Both types are well represented on campus. But I don't understand why you seem to dislike those who win medals and awards. Just like you may have passion for your community, they have passion for a specific subject.</p>
<p>I personally feel that passion for some subject is better represented in working in various areas of that subject, exploring new ideas, creating some, etc and not solving Olympiad questions. That's my take anyway. Thanks!</p>
<p>I have a question. Do African-American males have a better chance of getting into Princeton with a 1770 SAT score than a Caucasian male does with a 2100 SAT score? And let's say that they have the same extracurriculars, work experience, and GPA.</p>
<p>Why are you applying as a junior? To accept you, Princeton will want to see not only an outstanding, compelling application, but also some very good reasons for you leaving school early. Until we know more details about you, we can't really help much.</p>
<p>Several questions: Would Princeton be a good college for those thinking of majoring in premed or math? for those who are thinking in becoming doctors/physicists/neurosurgeons/etc. ? Also, are college classes taken in high school, as well as AP Exam Scores (5's, national ap scholar) taken into account? How can I show princeton my ap scores and college class grades? Thanks!</p>
<p><strong><em>How does Princeton look at Native American's?</em></strong>* I've got a 32 ACT (36 Math, 34 Sci, 28 Rdg, 29 Lang), so i'm fairly happy with that, my weighted GPA is a 94.80/100 (no 4pt scale for some reason...) but my class rank is like just barely in the top 10%, but because the top 10% kids want to go to UT and only need to be in top 10% to get in so they take regular classes. I've got loads of AP classes, I've taken harder curriculum than the Val and Sal even. Eagle scout... All of my clubs at school pretty much revolve around Comm service... I'm stuco secretary.</p>
<p>Would all that and my URM get me at least a serious look? Not asking for chances, just if my application will be seriously looked at and not just chucked out right off the bat.</p>