<p>To the OP: all of the math majors I know at Princeton are very happy. Of course there are exceptions, but I haven’t met them. Also, grade deflation pretty much does not affect upper-level math classes from what I can tell, so that can be encouraging. </p>
<p>About the social life: that’s only part of Princeton. Yes, there are rich social climbers, but there aren’t that many of them, despite their visibility. In fact, I’d say there are more nerdy, awkward, and introverted kids at Princeton relative to any other group. The reason that Princeton isn’t know for that is because that they are by nature not the most vocal group. Take MAT 215, form a study group, and I think you’ll be fine.</p>
<p>I was deciding between schools and the Prince comments very nearly drove me away - (in my defense, I was dying for differentiating factors). (But Princeton '17!!!)</p>
<p>Go Tigers! Do you think SO MANY of us would come from around the world to Reunions if we hadn’t loved the place? Look at the P-Rade photos. The Old Guard. The young recent graduates. That’s really the key indicator of our experience.</p>
<p>Hey OP, I feel ya. I’m actually typing from Prinecton right now. It’s a beautiful spring weekend and the street is filled with young people impeccably wearing exactlty the right clothes and executing perfectly timed hearty laughs while drinking the right cocktails. Frankly, this place scares the hell out of me.
Call Yale asap.</p>
<p>This particularly weekend is lawnparties, when Princeton students dress up and listen to tons of bands. It’s a lot of fun, but I don’t think it’s exactly a typical weekend.</p>
<p>Here are some pictures taken at the event. It looks as though everyone was having a great deal of fun but you can judge for yourself! Click on the right and left hand sides of the pictures to move to the next image.</p>
<p>And then there was the time when Phil Lesh of the Grateful Dead and his sons played at Terrace, the eating club for people who laugh ironically, or emotively. I hear the harmonies were amazing. Oh, this was because one of Phil’s sons was Class of '12, and a Terran.</p>
<p>Sweet heavens this past weekend was lawnparties - a biannual event at the beginning and the end of the school year. It is not IN THE SLIGHTEST representative of your average day at Princeton. I dressed “preppy” for the first time in my life for this event, and there’s no way in hell I plan on doing so again until lawnparties next year.</p>
<p>Atomicproperty, as a freshman who will be a math major, I want to reassure you about the social scene here at Princeton. I had the same fears as you, but it turned out that this stereotype about Princeton is false. The majority of people on campus are not like that, ESPECIALLY with your future math major friends. There is literally no one who will be snobbish or preppy or whatever in the math department. You might find a few somewhere else though, just like at any school. DON’T WORRY. YOU’RE GOING TO BE FINE (in Fine hall).</p>
<p>Actually, considering the suburban environment of Princeton and the intense focus it has on academics, a slightly shy, nerdy, and introverted person would probably have a better time here than at Yale/Harvard. I’ve talked about this with my friends before, and they all agree.</p>