<p>i'm an admitted student trying to get the best picture i can of the colleges i'm considering. i think we're all in agreement that princeton's academics are stellar. I have no worries about that.</p>
<p>i would like some more insight on princeton's social life. it is in an incredibly small town and i'm just worried that i might not be able to find anything to do on a saturday night if i don't drink or pay the eating club fee.</p>
<p>so what is princeton's social life. i know it exists. </p>
<p>also i've heard some things about racial and socioeconomic self segregation. If anyone could shed any light on that it would be appreciated.</p>
<p>Princeton kids socialize in numerous ways. There are dance, theater, acapella and sports events going on constantly, and students attend and cheer on their friends. The school also has McCarter Theater, a highly acclaimed regional theater that puts on productions comparable to Broadway and off-broadway. There is a movie theater right across the street from the school, as well as movie showings on campus. There are lectures, symposia and conferences held on campus and there are lawn parties and houseparty weekends. As for the street and the eating clubs, several nights a week at least one club (generally more) has a party open to everyone, not just members. From a parents standpoint, it’s comforting to feel that my daughter is having a fun, interesting and active social life, but that she and her friends are not driving around drunk, or constantly leaving campus either because there’s not enough to do on campus or because the off campus attractions are so enticing (which can happen in NYC for example). And both NYC and Philly are pretty easy to get to and I’d guess that many kids go to NYC at least a few times a year.</p>
<p>One of the great things about going to any school with a somewhat contained and non commuter campus, is that everyone at that college is eager to meet and socialize with other students. My daughter, who loves NYC and wants to live there after graduation, has never been bored at Princeton. If anything, she doesn’t have time to go to all the events she wants to, take all the courses she wants to and meet and socialize with all the people she’s interested in.</p>
<p>you don’t need to pay the eating club fee in order to go to the eating clubs-- its one of the nicer things about princeton. You can get in for free to see bands on the weekends, and you don’t have to drink. By the time you are an upperclassman you will likely have friends in one or more of the clubs, and thus can go to members only events with them as well. </p>
<p>There are also movies, both in Frist and in the garden theater. The residential colleges host parties (ie wilson’s casino night) where there is food and free tshirts. There used to be a dance-thing in blackbox, which is in the bottom of wilcox, most weekends. A lot of people also hang out in murray-dodge which has free cookies and other activities. This is of course in addition to just hanging out in friends rooms.</p>
<p>Unless you join an eating club, no one will ever charge you here for alcohol. It’s considered crass to do so. </p>
<p>Racial and economic self-segregation may or may not exist depending on your perspective, but by no means is it hard to combat on a personal level.</p>