Snobs at Princeton

<p>I heard Princeton is rife with snobs, perhaps the most rampant out of all the Ivies (Dining clubs, the so-called "bickering" process). Can someone here tell me more about this wonderful topic and enlighten me more about this life at this heavenly institution?</p>

<p>Well, the first thing you have to know about snobs is that they like to use a thesaurus, “qualifying” words, and lots of adjectives.</p>

<p>^ haha .</p>

<p>Hmm… -_-</p>

<p>Almost no one would perceive our culture/traditions as “snobby” if they were found at a state school.</p>

<p>Harvard has more “snobs” with the final clubs. There are fewer slots, more competiton to gain entry.</p>

<p>[Princeton</a> University - WikiCU, the Columbia University wiki encyclopedia](<a href=“http://www.wikicu.com/Princeton]Princeton”>Princeton University - WikiCU, the Columbia University wiki encyclopedia)</p>

<p>lol, nice link! :D</p>

<p>It’s a lot like the Bushwood Country Club in Caddyshack . . . just not as funny and without gophers.</p>

<p>Every school has snobs.</p>

<p>walk down nassau st.</p>

<p>It’s so WASPy, it’s unbelievable</p>

<p>I was actually really concerned about the “snob” factor when I first applied – on the surface it does sort of look that way with all the grandiose, collegiate gothic buildings that you see on the tour, and yes Nassau St. is pretty ridiculous. It didn’t help me that on the day I visited I happened to get a tour guide who was kind of snobby as well, so I was really turned off initially.</p>

<p>HOWEVER. Once I was accepted I spent a few days on campus with Princeton Preview (then known as “April Hosting”) and got to meet some actual Princeton students. It turned out, most people here aren’t snobby at all, and I think if anything the student body is characterized by what I would call “interestingness,” not snobbiness. While yes, there are a few people like that on campus, it’s definitely not the dominant culture and most of us just laugh at those people. (In fact, the twice-annual event known as Lawnparties is basically a chance for us all to dress up in our preppy best and poke fun at ourselves.)</p>

<p>Long story short, I wouldn’t let that deter you from applying if you want to come here.</p>

<p>Princeton’s snobness is kinda… meh… I’ve heard stories from friends who actually visited Princeton, and it’s rather discouraging. Oh well… -_-</p>

<p>Okay, here you go.</p>

<p>[Undercover</a> at Princeton?s Eating Clubs | The New York Observer](<a href=“http://www.observer.com/node/36783]Undercover”>10 Best CBD Companies to Buy From in 2023: Honest Reviews & Guide | Observer)</p>

<p>An article to feed the original post.
Nothing in the article is untrue. But a slant, of course.
The lesson to me here is that Ivy League students aren’t a bunch of brainiacs who don’t act foolish or have fun. My daughter made sure she had a bikini wax before her initiation. Enough red meat for you all?
By reputation, my daughter and her boyfriend are members of the snottiest of all eating clubs. She is a self educated (home schooled) young lady who is returning from two terms at Oxford. He just graduated Phi Beta Kappa and had his Senior Thesis (a piece of original fiction) directed by Joyce Carol Oates.
Neither one of them have had family incomes approaching $100,000 a year. Most often, far short of that.
At a place like Princeton, what counts as prestige is not what one would imagine.</p>

<p>Just to add some historical context to the thread, re: the New York Observer article.
F. Scott Fitzgerald was a member of Cottage, and in “This Side Of Paradise”, described the Ivy Club as “detached and breathlessly aristocratic”.
Sound familiar?</p>

<p>I found that article rather unsettling. I was unaware Princeton had a social culture like that.</p>

<p>I think there is a general assumption that Ivy League students don’t have fun or act foolish. Maybe because we teach high school students that they better trod the straight and narrow to access such places? I don’t quite get the misconceptions on the part of the general public, just the same. These are college students. I’m not sure what people expect.</p>

<p>I believe Princeton is currently in the process of reviewing their relationship with the eating clubs.</p>

<p>[Princeton</a> University - 18 to serve on task force reviewing University-eating club relationships](<a href=“http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S25/41/97G60/index.xml]Princeton”>18 to serve on task force reviewing University-eating club relationships)</p>

<p>I don’t know. I find it a little unsettling that people so readily equate getting blasted and nude with “fun.” I always thought of “having fun and acting foolish” as MIT hacks and that sort of stuff. Mischief, you might say.</p>

<p>This has been an issue since Woodrow Wilson’s day, at least.
In my experience, university administrators have always been uncomfortable with areas that they cannot control. At Princeton, it’s the eating clubs.
These venues have been so student controlled and backed by former students that they have not buckled over time.<br>
There is a long-standing power struggle between bureaucrats and students. In my opinion, there will not be major changes in the near future at Princeton.
To swerve the discussion in a different direction, why shouldn’t 18 to 22 year olds have a time in their lives in which they have a say in the environment in which they develop? The powers who have chosen have decided that these are the leaders of the next generation. The last three Supreme Court justices (I’m guessing) just for an example. I’m willing to pit Princeton students vs. the committees that admitted them on brain power, passion and dynamism.<br>
If we can’t trust these people, who have excelled by every measure we set up for them, we should be chagrined, or even better, get out of the way.
One parent’s opinion.
By the way, Princeton, unlike MIT, hasn’t yet had an alcohol death.
Or the suicide rate of an MIT or the U of C. Just to stir the pot.</p>