<p>Hello. I'm a prospective Environmental / Civil Engineer (course 1) and I'm really kind of stuck. I was thrilled to get into MIT (it was my top choice) but after CPW and a kind of dissapointing financial aid offer I'm considering Princeton. Here's some more background:</p>
<p>I'm into math and science, but I still love history and some literature and am not too technology savvy. I really want to be part of an active environmentalist type movement at college, and would consider a minor in a social science.</p>
<p>I love MIT's community / quirkiness (capture the flag & the marching band, among other things, were awesome) but I'm afraid that the quirky people and the more conventional college type people are divided (I got the sense that an entirely different social scene exists across the river at the fraternities and that those frat members don't really converse with the quirky people from, say, East Campus or Random House). I'm not a super geek / nerd, but I am a geek / nerd, and I feel like that divide leaves a void for a person like myself(CPW for me was not the awesome experience of the century that it was for many of my peers). Furthermore, I like sleep / am not big into working my ass off until the end of time, and I don't like cats or cigarettes (theyre all over random and EC!)</p>
<p>On the other hand, I've never been to princeton. I hear it's nice, but I don't really want to live in suburbia anymore (central= New Jersey sprawl) and I'm not a preppy tall white kid / I like to be quirkyish and stuff. I'm Like a semi-hippie, but without the drugs and laziness.</p>
<p>Any insight as to where is best?!!
I know both are amazing academically, and MIT better at engineering while p-ton is better at my other interests.</p>
<p>What you say about MIT is definitely not true! There is no void... the people who go there are great (and smart! as I'm sure you are).
Princeton is definitely not a rural no-where town, although it is definitely a suburb of... well I'm not really sure... but it's like an hour from one of the major cities.
I'd say MIT since you are interested in math stuff, but if you change your mind before now and May 1st, go to Ptown.
I wouldn't worry about the MIT social scene.</p>
<p>thanks for that... any other thoughts?</p>
<p>2 points:</p>
<p>1) how much difference is there in money? you will make a lot coming from both universities most likely, but debt is a big issue.</p>
<p>2) do you want to WORK as an engineer? a lot of princeton engineers work in other fields cough finance cough, but many mit engineers stay in the practice. although, come graduation, you will have job opportunities in business or engineering from either school.</p>
<p>and just to mention, princeton has no city feel whatsoever. but you can hop a train to the city which is an hour away.</p>
<p>Princeton is much more diverse, in backgrounds and interests, academic and extracurricular, than people stereotype it to be. I can honestly say the school doesn't have much of a "preppy" culture anymore. Maybe the sheer number of students from California and the western states have changed the social dynamic considerably over the last 5-10 years, nobody knows for sure.</p>
<p>In fact here are so many clubs, advocacy groups, and other organizations that you can find numerous niches among the student body. For example, I'm an officer of the Princeton Astrobiology Club, a member of the advocacy groups for animal welfare and the environmental awareness group Greening Princeton, among others. Its great to be able to traverse all these groups of people and have so many different discussions during the week, it really gives a lot of potential for a vibrant social and intellectual life as a student. </p>
<p>Also, I think chicagoboy12 is generalizing Princeton SEAS unfairly. Although ORFE gets a lot of attention, Princeton has one of the best mechanical and aerospace engineering departments in the country, and many SEAS graduates do go on to do significant work in the private sector and government, including the military. I wouldn't even say a majority go into finance or become pure consultants initially. </p>
<p>At Princeton you will be able to get your degree in a very good civil & environmental engineering department, and simultaneously take some interdisciplinary courses at the Woodrow Wilson School and the Princeton Environmental Institute (PEI) where you can do internships in the public sector and get a Certificate in environmental studies. Check it out here: PEI:</a> Princeton Environmental Institute</p>
<p>Princeton is making significant investments in these areas, especially in light of the times, so it is a good time to attend the school for someone with your interests and aspirations.</p>
<p>thanks for the post tokyo, it helped... but I visited Princeton (and I've been to MIT now) and I still can't decide! </p>
<p>The town, with the J-crew right outside the gates to old nassau, freaks me out.</p>
<p>How many hippies would you say go to Princeton?
any socialists? I didn't see any real hardcore activists or anything on the campus, which is a little discomforting! I guess I should have applied to bezerkly....</p>
<p>All that stuff is superficial really. The residents of Princeton borough are the ones that decided to put those stores there, not the students. In fact, you will hardly ever see students shopping in the boutiques on Nassau St. and Palmer Square...too darn pricey. Students frequent Nassau St. for the food, since there are a lot of good eateries that are relatively cheap (and especially cheap at Hoagie Haven and Iano's). </p>
<p>You will find many people that take part in the progressive "neo-hippie" culture at Princeton. For example, my friend who is the President of the Princeton Band is doing his thesis on Freeganism (Freeganism</a> - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) and he actually lived with Freegans for the better part of a month as a part of his research. </p>
<p>However, if you are looking for a hardcore activist campus, Princeton is not the place. You will find people discussing all kinds of viewpoints here, from all colors of the spectrum, but things like walkouts and protests just aren't done at Princeton. Instead, students will hold forums, have formal and informal debates, and write editorials in the various Princeton news publications, especially the Daily Princetonian, American Foreign Policy,Tiger Magazine (entertainment/satire), and Nassau Weekly. The one exception was the "Filibuster Frist" campaign, which started on campus and continued all the way to Washington D.C at the Capitol. We * can * do it, but we often choose not to. </p>
<p>One of the greatest things about Princeton is that people who have unconventional viewpoints on any subject are invited and encouraged to speak up, rather than be buried. This is true among students and between students and faculty. At Princeton you can guarantee your opinion will be respected and even appreciated by faculty. </p>
<p>So, I ask you: Isn't a place where you are valued for what you bring to the table rather than what buttons you wear the way college should be?</p>
<p>
[quote]
I love MIT's community / quirkiness but I'm afraid that the quirky people and the more conventional college type people are divided
[/quote]
</p>
<p>There are actually plenty of quirky people in the frats and future Goldman Sachs investment bankers on East Campus. Remember all students have to spend freshman year on campus. Each living group, dorm, frat or sorority, has its own culture. At the same time, bonding occurs more often than not with students in your study groups as nearly all freshmen take the same GIRs. </p>
<p>Sure the workload at MIT is pretty heavy, but Princeton is certainly no cakewalk. Both have a reputation for grade deflation, deserved or not. At MIT some students thrive on taking on an insane amount of work, and with no grades first semester, exploratory options, liberal drop dates, P/F for some classes and the absence of any ranking or latin honors competition for grades between students is virtually non-existent. Everybody graduates and unless you are premed, nobody really cares about your grades. Many double major, often combining engineering and economics or management at the Sloan School. </p>
<p>Social activism in various forms is very popular on campus. Just this past week, they had the first Millenium Campus Conference dedicated to fighting extreme poverty. Millennium</a> Campus Network Last week they had a big energy conference. Solutions</a> that Scale to Meet the Energy Challenge; The 2008 MIT Energy Conference. Today was the Boston marathon which is major vehicle for fundraising for various causes.</p>