Should I be feeling something?

Colleges & Universities A-Z Princeton University
1

<p>I was wondering how important it is to subjectively "like" a school.</p>

<p>I visited Princeton for the April Hosting as well as took another day off the week previous to visit the campus separately.</p>

<p>Nothing really struck me about Princeton.</p>

<p>I know that the academics/ec's offered/professors/experience/etc...
would likely be amazing. On paper, it all looks very good, and perhaps a very good match to my interests.</p>

<p>So, what's wrong with me and what should I do?</p>

<p>I'm still waiting for that epiphany.</p>

2

<p>what are your other options? Did you like any other schools significantly more? </p>

<p>I kind of know how you feel, seeing as I'm not overly enthusiastic about anything. the fact that you asked if you should "like" a school almost makes it sound as if you dislike Princeton. Is that the case? If it is, you probably shouldn't matriculate, although I find it hard to actually dislike Princeton unless you're maybe looking for a more urban atmosphere or larger student size...</p>

3

<p>I don't not like Princeton.</p>

<p>I am currently anticipating majoring in CS, but am rather not sure. Not at all. At Princeton, it would probably be easiest to adjust my interests. </p>

<p>Other schools I could look at would be Cornell Engineering, UPenn SEAS, and Columbia SEAS.</p>

<p>But, I don't know.</p>

<p><em>sigh</em></p>

<p>:P Procrastination.</p>

4

<p>Selecting a college is very subjective. Personally, I believe clicking with the school is very important. When I went to Princeton's CPW, I fell in love with the school. I felt completely at home.</p>

<p>When I went to Harvard, however, the student body rubbed me the wrong way, and the feeling simply wasn't there. It was odd, especially considering Harvard had been my dream school for a long time.</p>

5

<p>Well, Princeton may not be right for you. You have to live and thrive there for 4 years. If it's not hitting you in the slightest you'll be emotionally and mentally (as well as academically) better off at another school.</p>

<p>Try Columbia. The excitement of the city may positively contrast with the quiet, country-club esque Princeton.</p>

<p>At the very least visit you're other schools. More often than not you'll go to a place that where really click with you. You can't learn to love a school. You can learn to endure a school, but not honestly love. And you're only an undergrad once in your life, so better to go off and enjoy than stay and endure.</p>

6

<p>There's a lot more to Princeton than you can learn in just a weekend, though. If you DON'T like it, then different matter; the same goes if you like Cornell or Columbia significantly more. But don't count out a great place because of a weekend. You might end up regreting it.</p>

7

<p>If he doesn't like it, he doesn't like it. Some kids immediately dislike a campus within minutes of first seeing it. He's clearly giving it a solid chance and he's not feeling it in the slightest. And that's as good a reason as any to turn a different school out. Don't antagonize him about it.</p>

8

<p>I'm in your situation.. I like Princeton's academics, but I feel like I like MIT's (my other main choice) people and intellectual atmosphere more.. And I'm supposed to be sending out my reply cards tomorrow.. =/ (and hey, I know it sounds a bit pessimistic, but you can transfer out of Princeton, but you can't transfer in..)</p>

9

<p>TetrisMan, the OP clearly stated

[quote]
I don't not like Princeton.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>I hate to ask this, but what's your grudge with Princeton? Nearly every single one of your posts seems to criticize it.</p>

10

<p>I agree with TetrisMan that the OP should visit his other choices, to see if he connects with one school more than the others. However, I understood him to say that he doesn't dislike Princeton, he just didn't fall in love with it. </p>

<p>In the absence of a school that you somehow love, I think that you should make a choice based on interests, strength of departments, location, size, financial issues, student body and attractiveness of the campus (you have to live there after all). While all of your choices are excellent schools, I believe that Princeton offers wonderful academic possibilities in the event you change your choice of major. All departments are strong and there is close interaction with the faculty. The junior papers and senior thesis are terrific intellectual experiences and the freshman seminars are not only stimulating courses, they are also great bonding opportunities. As you obviously have seen, the campus is beautiful and there are tons of extracurricular activities available.</p>

<p>Lilia, I hope that you find a school that feels totally right for you. However, if you don't, then you should definitely consider Princeton because I think you would be very happy there.</p>

<p>Good luck with your decision.</p>

11

<p>Look, in the past few weeks I've seen COUNTLESS kids going through these tough college decisions. Almost everyone I see is considering:</p>

<p>A) The place they really like</p>

<p>B) The less risky choice</p>

<p>In many of these decisions, Princeton is option B - not because it's a bad school, because it's such a GOOD school. People think that they can go to quiet, safe Princeton and get a tremendous education in whatever interest they wish. That's probably a valid analysis. </p>

<p>But I hate to see kids who know what they want, choose something else because of insecurities. I can assure you, I have nothing against Princeton, but when a kid tells me he loves business and gets into Wharton and wants to go to Wharton, I'm going to tell him to go to Wharton. When a kid tells me he likes the excitement of a city, and feels bored in suburbs, I'm going to be honest and say Princeton is probably not for you. And when a kid tells me he feels nothing at Princeton, I'm definitely going to tell him to seek other choices.</p>

<p>So many of these top tier students are determined and intelligent enough to be accepted at multipled Ivies. And I get the feeling that many of them apply to solid matches, and then Harvard or Princeton just because of godly rankings. That's their choice, but when you have a match, take it. Don't shy away from it. No school's perfect, but I think students will be significantly happier at places where despite the lows, they can thrive on the highs that put them in that match in the first place, as opposed to going to another school on the middle ground where they will always wonder "what if." </p>

<p>If a kid really wants to go to Princeton, I'm going to advocate Princeton. But if there is indecision and THEN the name Princeton comes up as an alternative, I'm to inquire about that first choice and push for it if its a fit.</p>

<p>In this case the OP is being very honest with that while they harbor no ill will towards Princeton, its not a true fit. They doesn't feel that twinge of excitement and intrigue that higher education should provide. And they have every right to feel that when they go to school, so let's put our heads together, pool our resources, and figure out the place that's going to truly inspire.</p>

<p>I'm not anti-Princeton. But I am pro higher education.</p>

12

<p>
[quote]
Nothing really struck me about Princeton. I know that the academics/ec's offered/professors/experience/etc...would likely be amazing. On paper, it all looks very good, and perhaps a very good match to my interests.

[/quote]
Not sure I can help you. But maybe you should put things in perspective. Princeton is a school. It is not a lover. So I really disagree with all this hyperemotional stuff about falling in “love” with a school at first sight.</p>

<p>If I were you, I’d assess the school’s raw academics by reading about the school’s offerings. Then, after determining, as you have, that “the academics/ec's offered/professors/experience/etc...would likely be amazing”, I would put Princeton in the “likely” column. Then I would spend time reading as many attitudes as I could about Princeton from its professors and valid students. I would particularly seek out the worst things to see if I could find them being reported widely. If no real red flags go up, I would visit if possible.</p>

<p>Now at the visit I am not looking for Princeton to sweep me off my feet and make mad love to me into the night. Princeton is a school. I am not even looking for whether the students are friendly, or whether there are bars nearby. I know that people are people wherever they happen to be. So on any campus I am gonna be pretty confident I will meet people I can enjoy. I also will look forward to this challenge. So that will be no problem at all. What I will be looking for is to see the surrounding areas. Any nuclear plants nearby? Are we near a ghetto? I will be looking to attend classes. Are profs engaged with the students? Are students interested in their work? Do they collaborate with each other and with professors? I am also interested in the basic facilities. Are they comfortable? I will be interested in talking with students about their school to see if attitudinal patterns emerge. If I can’t visit, then I would seek this stuff online as best I could.</p>

<p>As for social life, the main thing I would be interested in is whether I will have the flexibility to make my social life fly as I want it to. It is really pretty boring to just find a bar scene and then join it. So when students talk about happening bars and stuff like that as being a positive for a school, I am thinking “yeah. One semester later and that narrow-minded stuff will grow very old to this poor kid.” Nothing more pathetic than seeing college kids doing the same old bars, the same restaurants over and over again because they just can’t think of doing anything else.</p>

<p>What I want to know is, can I find like minded folks to actually do life broadening stuff, you know, stuff that will make me a really interesting person and that I can dig into over a four year period. If I can’t find evidence that people like this exist (via clubs, etc.), then what I want to know is whether Princeton is flexible enough to allow me to start the thing myself and invite people into it.</p>

<p>AND YOU SHOULD REALLY THINK BOLD HERE! You should think fresh and amazing. Start a club of brand spanking new aspiring pianists, designed to take people who want to be really good after four years. Get music folks to help you design it. Plot a course for the club, plan your first recitals, concerts, etc. PUT YOUR NAME ON THIS. That way, when you leave the school, years later, you will still be there. Your vision should be to establish some great thing that never existed before. Then, when you are making your millions, you can send money back to keep building up your club and your school.</p>

<p>Choose one, maybe two things at the most and see if it exists at Princeton. If not, then that is NOT A NEGATIVE. It is the greatest POSITIVE because it means you can now make it yourself and put your mark on the school. Once you see all of this, with a minimum of red flags, you will know you belong at Princeton and have a mission to accomplish. That is how you will love your school.</p>

<p>I know what folks are saying here about all this emotional stuff. I say forget it. It is crazy. All this “love” at first sight and “electricity in the air” stuff sounds really weird to me. You don’t want no blasted electricity in your air. You want it in the classroom where it belongs. You should be very cerebral at this phase. You can control your heart. But if the basic academics and other stuff ain’t there, you can just hang it up.</p>

<p>And besides, all this syrupy “ooh I just fell in love” stuff fades REAL fast in ALL cases because you are gonna have some seriously tough days wherever you go. Make sure you are as clear thinking as they come about the school’s basic stuff. Then find how you can make Princeton better for your having attended. You will have a wonderful ride for four amazing years.</p>

<p>I am so convinced of this, that I am willing to make a commitment to you on it. Now this is really scary for me, so I want you to take it seriously. Okay. Here goes. If you go to Princeton and later discover I am wrong about it, and if you can then convince Princeton to make it possible for me to take your place as a student there, I will go ahead and suffer the four years enduring Princeton in your stead. I know, I know it’s a risk, and know you aren’t so cruel as to force me to make this commitment to you. But I really want to do this. I just want to show you how confident I am of it. I mean it. You can count on me here. I will take this punishment like a man, because after having convinced you of all this stuff, I will have deserved it.</p>

<p>LOL!</p>

<p>(I'm wishing you well...)</p>

13

<p>you truly are a man of many words, dross. i applaud your effort, and i add that i particularly enjoyed these ones:</p>

<p>"Now at the visit I am not looking for Princeton to sweep me off my feet and make mad love to me into the night. Princeton is a school."</p>

14

<p>Yeah. many words. I'm really sorry about that. It is just harder to write with few words. And I'm not gonna pretend I can do it.</p>

<p>Also. I don't want people to feel insulted by my views here. I think I put them a bit too strongly. If someone thinks falling in love is needed, I really am not one to argue over it. Someone here said it best when he/she said all this is subjective.</p>

15

<p>Fwiw-- totally anecdotal -- my d only went to Princeton because, more than any other school, it had everything she wanted on paper. Now I think she bleeds orange. ;)</p>

16

<p>then she probably should go see a doctor immediately...</p>

17

<p>Drosselmeier, thank you very much for your input.</p>

<p>To all the others:
It is a great help to me to be able to view my situation from all of your perspectives.</p>

<p>My hat's off to youz.</p>

<p>Yes, I think I will be attending Princeton this fall.
And no, I won't be eating too many carrots in the meantime.</p>

18

<p>"You don’t want no blasted electricity in your air."</p>

<p>Har har.</p>

<p>And in all honesty, your guarantee is one of the strangest things I've ever read at this website.</p>

19

<p>
[quote]
And in all honesty, your guarantee is one of the strangest things I've ever read at this website.

[/quote]
Hmmm. That you took it seriously is one of the strangest things I've ever read on this website.</p>

<p>C'mon man. Lighten up. It's called "fun". You were supposed to smile or maybe even hazard a chuckle. The idea was to show the OP confidence in my position by promising to endure what is obviously a wonderful... oh just forget it...</p>

20

<p>
[quote]
Drosselmeier, thank you very much for your input.

[/quote]
Liliachencko: Have a great time. Work hard! And live this next four years as fully as you can. :)</p>