Princeton FAQ: Get your questions answered by current students

<p>For those who have taken the HUM sequence: what was the best thing you got out of it? And were there any potential science majors that took it? Thank you!</p>

<p>Iā€™ll try to answer a bunch of them in one response:</p>

<p>@thehumanist: People at Princeton are extremely involved in activities outside of academicsā€¦whether it be acapella, comedy group, eating club, sports team, etc. Naturally, people tend to have most of their friends that have similar activities to them.</p>

<p>@Hopefuljustice: A lot of students will chillout on campus during the weekends either doing work, playing sports, or doing extracurricular activities. At night, we mainly go out to the Eating Clubs. You definitely can make the trip to NYC or Philly but a lot of people like to go with all of their friends and sometimes itā€™s tough to find a time that everyone has free. Career center is rather helpfulā€¦theyā€™ll look at any resume/cover letter you bring them and give you advice on how to get a job/internship. The residential colleges are virtually identical except for living conditions/location. Thereā€™s nothing really that distinguishes their character etc given that itā€™s all randomly assigned.</p>

<p>@Philo: Itā€™s a very gay friendly campusā€¦I canā€™t really speak for the gay scene myself but I know a lot of them tend to gravitate towards Terrace (an eating club) and itā€™s all very open. The LGBT center is also really involved on campus.</p>

<p>@Baldar: I had a few friends that did HUMā€¦some of them ended up dropping it because it is an absurd amount of reading. Those who are book worms really enjoyed itā€¦those who arenā€™t werenā€™t the biggest fans of it. The ones that did it went on to be english/classics majors.</p>

<p>If you have any other questions, feel free to PM me.</p>

<p>hello helpful pton students! read somewhere that premed acceptance rate to med school is over 90% - is that accurate? (D trying to decide between P and Stanford)</p>

<p>Hi! I have a question about freshman housing. I donā€™t smoke and donā€™t drink, and I donā€™t want to live with a roommate who doesā€¦ Do you think it is better to choose wellness housing? Or itā€™s not a problem? Thanks!</p>

<p>@Verylumpy. Yes, I believe it is around that figure. Keep in mind that when schools report the medical school acceptances, itā€™s for getting into ANY medical schoolā€¦not your top choice.</p>

<p>@Ketusia: Your best bet to avoid having a roommate that smokes/drinks to is to live in Substance Free Housing. Every residential college has zones set aside for this.</p>

<p>philovitist</p>

<p>Iā€™m not a current student, but I believe that Princeton is very gay friendly. In fact, in slightly under two weeks, Princeton will be hosting Every Voice, an alumni conference for LGBT alumni. Hereā€™s a link to the conference info [Alumni</a> Association of Princeton University - Every Voice](<a href=ā€œhttp://alumni.princeton.edu/goinback/conferences/lgbt/]Alumniā€>Every Voice: A Princeton University Conference for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender & Ally Alumni | Princeton Alumni)</p>

<p>Very gay friendly, but not necessarily a ton of gay students, I guess?</p>

<p>Also, Substance Free = your best bet, and thereā€™s no real reason not to chose it.</p>

<p>What do students typically do for holidays when they canā€™t afford to fly home (I live in CA)? I have family sort-of-near in Briarcliff Manor but is it more common for students to hang out together?</p>

<p>Would princeton, say, help me financially when it comes to travelling to and from home?</p>

<p>the financial aid includes money for 2 trips home if you live in the US (>200 miles) or one trip home if you live abroad.</p>

<p>I like computer science, but I donā€™t know much at all about it and Iā€™m no math whiz, either; my strengths at the moment are humanistic and I got in posing as a humanities person getting humanities-based recs. </p>

<p>Iā€™m hearing conflicted things about how hard it would be concentrating in it. I guess I could stick to my guns, but I donā€™t wannaā€¦</p>

<p>@biovball: Plenty of students stay on campus and hang out. Especially upperclassmen. Some students go home with friends, or go on trips together. You definitely wonā€™t be alone in spending breaks at Princeton! Most students do go home but campus certainly wonā€™t be deserted.</p>

<p>@Philo: Personally, I believe that for some people the way of thinking required by CS just ā€œclicks.ā€ Whether or not it clicks has no real relationship to whether or not youā€™ve got tons of prior experience though. So yeah, some people think CS is really hard. Some people take to it like fish to water. Most people fall in between. Try CS! Itā€™s awesome, itā€™s fun, and specifically at Princeton there is a tremendous amount of institutional support for the intro classes. (Free tutors, TAs, office hours, etc.) One of the most talented CS majors I know was originally an English major.</p>

<p>Also, if you do major in the humanities here, taking the intro CS class fulfills a requirement, so it canā€™t hurt to try it freshman fall. ;)</p>

<p>If finances are an issue for you, talk to the finaid office. I donā€™t know anything about your situation, but theyā€™re generally very helpful. Also, keep in mind that well-paying student jobs are plentiful.</p>

<p>Maybe this person I keep talking to is just terrible. >.></p>

<p>The cover story in the current issue of Princeton Alumni Weekly (PAW) is about gay life in the 50ā€™s and 60ā€™s on the Princeton campus. Things were certainly a lot more open when I was an undergraduate, and I imagine itā€™s gotten even more open now. I include the link here for Philovitist and others who might find this article interesting. </p>

<p>[Princeton</a> Alumni Weekly: Hidden lives](<a href=ā€œIssues | Princeton Alumni Weeklyā€>Hidden lives | Princeton Alumni Weekly)</p>

<p>Premed at Princeton?</p>

<p>Is the Princeton Student Number the same as the Princeton ID? When do you get your Princeton ID?</p>

<p>Great article on Why Princeton? in the Daily Princetonian. Worth checking outā€¦
[Dear</a> prospective members of the Princeton Class of 2017 - The Daily Princetonian](<a href=ā€œhttp://www.dailyprincetonian.com/2013/04/11/32896/]Dearā€>http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/2013/04/11/32896/)</p>

<p>What is the Princeton winter break allowance for international students? :)</p>

<p>Winter break is the same for everyone! It runs after last class on Dec 13 to Sun Jan 5. Following winter break is reading period (Jan 6-14) when students prepare for finals. See this link for this fallā€™s academic calendar:
<a href=ā€œhttp://registrar.princeton.edu/academic-calendar/Fall-2013-2014.pdf[/url]ā€>http://registrar.princeton.edu/academic-calendar/Fall-2013-2014.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>So Iā€™m just going to see if I can revive a pretty old thread.</p>

<p>I just got off the Princeton waiting list today, but I havenā€™t visited, which poses a big question for me. Whatā€™s the vibe of the student body? Iā€™m just worried that a quirky, quieter girl wonā€™t be able to integrate into the population at Princeton.</p>