<p>Printing is free, and it's fast. Your computer prints directly to the printer via the Princeton network. The only bad thing is that some buildings might not have printers, so you have to go outside.</p>
<p>The bookstore is the Princeton Ustore right now. You get a 6% there for joining the coop. Changes are coming in the fall, however. Labyrinth books is taking over as Princeton's official bookstore in November, but I sont know if they offer anything such as price matching (which the Princeton bookstore does).</p>
<p>Printer: no, save yourself the money. You might be doing a lot of packet printing too (100+ pages), so get used to going to the cluster.</p>
<p>Furniture: every place around Princeton is incredibly expensive. I suggest you find a friend and go to the closest Salvation army to buy stuff. You can just pick out a couch there and they'll deliver it to you for a small fee. Way better than $300 futons.</p>
<p>Picking up furniture at the end of the year is also a good tactic. All the rich students just throw their stuff out and don't bother storing it. I found a nice futon, bookshelf, DVD player, electronic keyboard, and two lamps in an afternoon of walking around campus.</p>
<p>I can answer a lot of the music questions and some of the engineering ones.</p>
<p>--Engineers can definitely study abroad, although not a lot do. Normally they go to England or Australia. Some Engineering majors also qualify for the Oxford Exchange.
--You can get certificates too, whether in Physics or something like Music (I'm doing a music certificate).
--Three out of the six engineering majors don't actually have to write theses . . . we do "independent work." I'm MAE so I don't write a thesis, I just get to play around in the lab.</p>
<p>--You can get a lesson subsidy if you're in the Glee Club, the Orchestra, Sinfonia (a secondary orchestra), and any of the Jazz Ensembles (unfortunately not the wind ensemble, Chapel choir or any a cappella groups).
--Not all lessons require an audition-- just the most popular instruments. I play guitar and had no trouble as my teacher only had three students anyway. It's tough to get voice lessons though, and some of the other popular ones.
--Definitely send a CD. I sent one with some voice and guitar, and thought that nothing came of it . . . however when I got to Princeton in the fall, Richard (the director of Glee Club) sent me an email telling me that he had heard my CD and spoken to admissions about me, and that I'd better audition for his choir. It was kind of scary actually.
--You can go and audition for Richard if you want. If you're really good he might give you a push. However he doesn't impress easily and he's very moody.
--A CAPELLA is awesome. I'm in the same group as glinda above-- the Katzenjammers. Our website is under construction but it's <a href="http://www.princeton.edu/%7Epukatz%5B/url%5D">www.princeton.edu/~pukatz</a>. It's a ton of fun, but it's not for everyone. It's a big time commitment and seeing the same people all the time can get wearing no matter how great they are/how much you love them. But it's been a really rewarding experience for me and I really encourage you to come audition for us in the fall!</p>
<p>General advice-- don't get a printer (unless you live really far from a cluster), go to Trenton for used furniture, and yes, definitely go see the nassoons because they're awesome. Then audition for the katzenjammers because they're awesome too :)</p>
<p>I'm trying to make plane reservations for the return home at the beginning of winter break. I know I may need to change the date of my flight later, since I don't know what my course schedule will be, but I want to get something in place using frequent flier miles. I see on the calendar that Mon, Dec 17, Thursday classes meet; and Tues, Dec 18, Friday classes meet; and that the winter recess officially begins after the last class on the 18th. In reality, what day do most students leave campus for winter break?</p>