Stanford vs. Princeton

Colleges and Universities A-Z Princeton University
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<p>minderbender, if there is one thing I’ve learned after two years on CC and going through the college process with two kids, is that you cannot judge a college by either a brief campus visit OR a few CC posters that rub you the wrong way. Those both lead to very superficial impressions that should not sway one in what far too important and complex a decision.</p>

<p>I know I’m in a minority on CC when I disagree that the typical campus visit is a good way to judge whether a kid is the right “fit” for the school. Most people here recommend that you go to the school and see if you get that vibe that tells you if you could be happy there for four years. I happen to think now that this is BS–for good or for bad, your college experience is so much more than the school’s setting and the mood you are in when you visit. It would be like judging a person based on your first meeting and then being able to guess if you’ll turn out to be really great friends or not. My D also was not so impressed with Princeton after the visit. We actually didn’t go on the tour (went off on our own a bit to look at the empty August campus) because after the info session in what seemed a stodgy, pretentious hall, my over-tired, atheist, liberal daughter was not really interested in continuing.</p>

<p>As for CC, it is an echo chamber for stereotypes and shallow impressions that get bandied about on every college forum. The whole idea that people that go to one school are a certain personality type is so overblown on here as to be ridiculous. Do certain schools have more of an attraction for a certain type of people? Possibly. But how much that actually affects the ratio of that type on campus is questionable. For decades now, selective universities have made point to foment diversity, not just in race and geography, but in culture and interests. Stanford, Princeton and all the rest do NOT want any “typical” student to represent them…and you can bet the make an effort to counter those impressions. What’s more, they all take “character” into consideration, through recommendations, essays and interviews, so while many kids with lousy personalities still get through, no one can claim that one school is better at filtering them then another. </p>

<p>You, in fact, seem to be very much a part of that echo chamber…You made one visit to campus and think you know the overall culture of the school, and to back you up, you use the comment of another poster who has yet to attend the school and admits his impression is based on reputation. You seem to have created an account to make your post, as it doesn’t sound like you are new to CC. Shall we judge all the people at Stanford based on this cowardly behavior?</p>

<p>My D didn’t really start looking closely at her options until after April 1st when it came down to between three great choices. I can tell you that of those, she knew the most about and loved Brown, but that was definitely based on superficial perceptions and reputation. When she started looking into what Princeton has to offer in the way of resources, research and academic experience, as well as reviews from students and alums in person and online. She knew that it provided the best shot of giving her the best overall experience. No guarantees–and she might have been very happy at Brown or elsewhere, but for her particular goals and interests, she made a judgement based on tangible factors. </p>

<p>Maybe many kids who are fortunate enough to have excellent choices make their decisions based on the intangibles and their “gut” but to use the comments of anonymous posters, who vary from helpful to obnoxious on all college forums, as an excuse not to attend a school is dumb.</p>

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<p>gedion, again, there is nothing in your statement below that convinces me that for UNDERGRADUATE school, Harvard and Yale are much more prestigious as you have previously stated. Remember, we are not talking about Harvard Med, Business and Law schools or Yale’s Law and Med schools here. We are discussing undergraduate schools.</p>

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<p>minderbender, so lets see, you are going to attend Stanford this fall and you claim that you never applied to Princeton.</p>

<p>and you claim that Stanford is much better than Princeton because Princeton is more WASPY and the tour guide spent 20 minutes inside the Chapel, a building that happens to have the most incredible architecture of any building at Princeton.</p>

<p>Is this correct?</p>

<p>Ok, thanks…</p>

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<p>Minder one thing I hope that you learn at Stanford is to think before you open you mouth. Conduct proper research before you express uninformed opinions. While I have had a family member that attended Stanford and I have visited the farm I would not make generalizations about Stanford the way you have about Princeton. It is better to remain silent than provide the evidence that you are a fool.</p>

<p>Princeton was recently recognized by the Journal of Blacks in Higher Education as the third best university in the nation (after only Duke and Emory) in terms of attracting and providing support services for African-American students. It also recently had the highest black enrollment in the Ivy League for the freshman class. Princeton was also ranked by Hispanic Magazine (March 2006) as the second best school for Hispanics in the group of 25 leading national universities surveyed. Princeton was also just recognized by a leading gay and lesbian magazine as one of the 20 most supportive universities for gays, lesbians and transgender students. </p>

<p>Princeton improved it’s financial aid policies to allow students from low income families to attend the university. If you spent more time talking to students you would have discovered a diversity of geographic origin, race, religion, and country. The OP was a QuestBridge applicant, another way Princeton is seeking a diversified campus. </p>

<p>If you took the time you would have found the diversity of Princeton alumni include Michelle Obama '85, Sonia Sotomayor '76, and Anthony Romero '87. Anthony, a Stanford Law grad, is the first in his family to graduate from high school, and is the first openly gay man and Hispanic to be the executive director of the ACLU.</p>

<p>Do not take the opinions of students that have not attended Princeton to be representative of a Princeton graduate. A college education and real world experience makes you more understanding the of the difficulties that some students must overcome to go to college.</p>

<p>I found that Princeton University chapel to be a beautiful calm oasis on the campus. I would attend the afternoon organ concerts because the music was so beautiful. Even if you are an agnostic I would hope that you could appreciate the majesty of Bach organ toccata.</p>

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<p>Love the chapel. Yes, Stanford has more diversity(no doubt about that), but I found there to be ALOT of segregation among ethnics groups at stanford. Asians were together. Blacks were together, etc. Princeton may have a little bit less diversity, but it appeared to be very integrated (much to my surprise) when I visited. And with that being said, I can see why outsiders would see Princetonians as snobby. But when you’re part of the Princeton family, you don’t see any traces of exclusiveness. You’re welcomed with open arms. Tigers are fierce, powerful, tight-knit, and majestic.</p>

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<p>So why just indict me? I don’t disagree with this point, but did I ever profess to claim that I knew everything about Princeton? I was giving my honest opinion about my impression of the school, which is what these online forums are made for. Are they not? </p>

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<p>Very astute observation, although the conclusion you draw from it is incorrect. I felt like my previous account was compromising my identity to some extent- e.g. my high school and class rank within that school- so I created a new one. I intend to let my previous account disappear into the CC abyss. I did not, as you claim, create this account for this specific post; it just happens to be the first post I’ve made with the new account. </p>

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<p>Perhaps. But by this logic you should direct your comments at iCalculus and Baelor, too. The only difference between their comments and mine is that theirs have been generally positive about Princeton and mine have been generally negative. Otherwise, all of our comments are based on our impressions about the school from our short visits and perhaps, in their case, Pton’s Preview days. the fact that you only called me out on this point reveals that you aren’t looking at this debate through the unbiased lens you want me to think you’re looking through.</p>

<p>As for PtonAlumnus’s comments, I can only say that I was expressing my IMPRESSION, which is what all of us who are not pton alumnus or students/parents are doing. OF COURSE Pton is a fantastic school- I know all of those people graduated from there- but, for me, that didn’t mitigate the impression I got about the school. I still stand by the statement that I think Pton is more WASPy and elitist than any other Ivy, or Stanford. It’s fully within my rights to express this viewpoint.</p>

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<p>Yes, Princeton is more elitist and snobby, which is why it’s a top ivy league school.</p>

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<p>Case in point. Thank you iCalculus</p>

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<p>I am a student at Princeton. I have countless friends at Stanford. So no, we are in comparable in any way.</p>

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<p>iCalculus = ■■■■■. So before you make judgments about him or his school, I would reconsider your belief that he even is a Princeton student at all.</p>

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<p>my bad</p>

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<p>HAHA! Alright. We’ll go with that.</p>

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<p>Nope, I’m an outside observer/college picker</p>

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<p>exactly what I said you were, iCalculus. Again, thank you.</p>

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<p>So why would iCalculus be a source of information for you about Princeton?</p>

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<p>Clearly he got the same impression of the school that I did-- he just liked those attributes where I strongly disliked them. If we both got the same impression about the school, don’t you think there’s perhaps an ounce of truth to it? </p>

<p>Furthermore, I’m not using him as a source of information about Pton in any way. It’s not like he’s forming my perception of the school-- I already had a distaste for Princeton before I ever read his posts. He’s merely enforcing my already existing opinion, and he seems to be coming through to help me prove a point every time I need him (Thanks iCalculus!)</p>

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<p>Perhaps, if I believed that that impression were created in the vacuum of Princeton, which I do not.</p>

<p>So for me to believe it, I would need to believe that you had NO preconception of Princeton at all until you visited.</p>

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<p>I can’t speak for iCalculus, but for me-- no. I did not have a preconceived notion about Princeton before I visited. Believe it or not, but I didn’t. I hardly knew anything about it, besides the fact that I might want to go there because I knew it was a great school. My perception stems FROM MY VISIT, and only after that does it stem from what I’ve heard and read about the school subsequently.</p>

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<p>“It’s fully within my rights to express this viewpoint. “</p>

<p>The principle problem I have with CC is that people make comments about universities based on first impressions or second hand gossip. The discussions often head toward the gutter with multiple uninformed comments made one after another. The Bill of Rights guarantees your right to express your opinion; I am suggesting that Internet forums are more useful to high school students when current and alumni provide specific answers to prospective students.</p>

<p>Minder, in HS teachers would encourage you to express your opinions since you were one of the best students. At Stanford the professors will strongly suggest that you should be able to back up your comments with facts and other supporting data. Unsupported comments will not get you very far.</p>

<p>I attempt to provide verifiable facts about Princeton. The class of 2009 is from 49 states and 37 countries. Students of color represent 35.2% of the class. 20% of students neither parent went to college. 7% of students are the first in their family to attend college. I have never seen a religious breakdown of Princeton students; however there are 17 campus ministries 11 student religious organizations. </p>

<p>Minder, since you continue to defend your first impressions can you share with us and provide links to substantiate “Pton is more WASPy and elitist than any other Ivy, or Stanford”.</p>

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<p>none of these posts are helping us decide whether to choose stanford or princeton (at least not me) so please stay on topic if you are going to post.</p>

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<p>Certainly true. You know what;</p>

<p>To the OP-
Please disregard my comments. I mean this honestly. I’m not informed enough to pass judgment on Princeton, and my remarks are not intended to inform your decision, but merely to express my own opinion.</p>

<p>I don’t know how many times I’ve said that I’m only expressing my impression about Princeton from my visit there. Can a person not have an impression about a school and then, god for bid, post it on CC! <em>Gasp</em></p>

<p>But seriously, you want facts? Here:</p>

<p>From Stanford’s common data set, 49.25% of students are minorities (and that’s when I factored “nonresident aliens” and “race/ethnicity unknown” into the “white” category, so I’m sure it’s actually higher, because certainly not all internationals and unknowns are white). [Stanford</a> University: Common Data Set 2009-2010](<a href=“http://ucomm.stanford.edu/cds/cds_2009.html]Stanford”>http://ucomm.stanford.edu/cds/cds_2009.html)</p>

<p>If you want me to look up the other Ivies I can do that as well. </p>

<p>PtonAlumnus, you’ve got to understand something. I have a profound respect for Princeton, as for all the Ivy League institutions. I, for one, get extremely mad when people claim that those who went to places like Harvard and Princeton are somehow “out of touch” with the common man (you see this a lot in politics). I just personally didn’t like the vibe of the place, and CC is a conduit through which people express their opinions (including me). This is exactly what I’m doing. I would never claim that my perception of Princeton is based in cold-hard fact. In fact I’ve professed the opposite; that it’s all opinion. As the adage goes, “everyone is entitled to their own opinion; just not their own facts.”</p>

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<p>And, I might add, I have a great respect for you as a graduate of Princeton (which, by the username, I’m assuming you are). Please don’t take any of this personally</p>