<p>I'm deciding between Princeton and Harvard and I know everyone says Princeton's social/party scene is infinitely better than Harvard's, but I'm worried there isn't as much variety in small, suburban Princeton as there would be in Cambridge. Wouldn't eating clubs get old after four years, or are there other places where you can party? Also, I visited during Princeton Preview, and are all of the parties like the one at Quad where it's just a bunch of people grinding in a way-too-small dark room, or are there more social parties at the eating clubs? Thanks for any input.</p>
<p>There are certainly more social parties at the clubs. Often there will be various room parties, usually starting around 10-10:30, which eventually move out to the clubs around midnight. Also, usually about 2 or 3 clubs have some sort of theme on any given night. </p>
<p>Certain clubs are more like what you experienced; the Cap dance floor is notoriously similar to what you described above, but at many other clubs (esp Terrace, Tower, Charter, and Ivy), there are quieter rooms to relax on any given night. Terrace is a great place to hang out if you don’t really feel like grinding.</p>
<p>To be honest, eating clubs surprisingly don’t get as old as you would think. Though in my time there, I did find myself heading to NYC or Philly for the occasional night out and into town (Ivy Inn karaoke = tonsss of fun!). </p>
<p>Thankfully, most eating club parties aren’t really like Quad parties. When the weather gets nicer, the backyards of Cottage/Ivy/Tower are really chill and fun places to grab a drink and chat with some friends. Terrace’s basement makes you feel like you’re in the Village (though it is a fun dance floor) and the upstairs always has rooms where people are just hanging out on a night out. The clubs also bring in bands a lot and thats always fun too. I’m guessing you already know about Lawnparties/Houseparties and the Formals so I won’t go into that. Meanwhile, there are also always a ton of room parties/frat parties which are exactly what you’d expect them to be. I def didn’t get tired of the scene at Princeton…might as well enjoy the free beer while its there?</p>
<p>Good luck with your decision!</p>
<p>I don’t think college location should matter much because the majority of students stay on campus most of the time. I have friends in Harvard and they don’t really go out to Boston/Cambridge much bc of everything that’s happening on campus. The same is for Princeton, there are tons of stuff to do on campus, and if you need a change then you can go out to NYC or Philly.</p>
<p>I agree with the other two posters. I’d like to add that the Street is a really convenient social scene because it takes most of the partying away from residential life. This becomes especially nice if you don’t feel like going out on a given Thursday or Saturday night, because there isn’t as much of an expectation to have room parties lasting until 2 in the morning, because we have the clubs! But, the best part about the eating clubs clubs are that you’ll see a much larger variety of people than you would at a room party. Somehow it really doesn’t get old, because there’s such a variety already on the Street. </p>
<p>Good luck with your decision, and I hope you come to Princeton!</p>
<p>Also, as a senior (AKA over 21-- most places card + look at your puid for dates) there is some social scene in princeton. A lot of seniors go out to ivy inn wednesdays for karaoke, and triumph tuesdays. There’s also A&B, and several pub nights sponsored by the senior class at winberries and sotto. </p>
<p>Quad is really the only clubs which is just freshmen dancing-- cap also has a dance floor that is used a lot, but also has a lot of space upstairs and downstairs to chill out.</p>
<p>To the OP- One thing to remember about Harvard- the final clubs do not allow outside men into their events- almost all parties are restricted to the male members. Freshman men are not allowed into any, as they are not “punched” until late fall of sophomore year.</p>
<p>From the girls standpoint, they are allowed to visit most of the male clubs, however there are frequent “list only” events. Some clubs have nights when they only allow non-Harvard girls in. (There are vans/buses of BU and BC girls who are seen as easier targets.) The idea generally is to get a very high female to male ratio so the girls have to “work” at getting the attentions of a FC boy. It is very stilted, and much less conducive to a natural social experience.</p>
<p>Having had a DD at each school, the Princeton eating club experience provided D1 with a great four-year social life. At Harvard, the clubs have few members, (60-100) each, much smaller spaces with tiny, if any, outdoor space. And they promote and covet an elitist and exclusionary sense. (There is even one FC which prides itself on being so exclusive, it does not even host parties! )</p>
<p>Only one of the women’s clubs has a building, a second is in the process of renting something, so they do not have much of an effect on social events.</p>
<p>Princeton wins heads up for a thriving social scene.</p>
<p>@aboutthe: The party scene is NOT what you saw it to be - the administration strictly manipulates and sanitizes Princeton Preview Weekends. A normal night at Quad does have some people dancing and grinding, but it is absolutely not as crowded as it was when you were there. On a normal night at Quad, lots of people play beer pong next to the dance floor and it’s a good place to go if you’re having trouble finding table space at say, Charter or Cap. If you don’t particularly like dancing or playing drinking games and would prefer to just sit around and talk, look no further than Ivy. Btw, I’ve almost never met anyone who started out liking eating clubs and then got sick of them. The Street is definitely one of my favorite parts of Princeton and I hope you will fall in love with it as well. Oh and PimpDaddy is right - when it’s balmy at night, drinking on the balconies of various clubs is very surreal.</p>
<p>@Silver: Isn’t the pool room upstairs at Cap pretty quiet? Also I feel like lots of people makeout/grind in Terrace’s taproom.</p>