<p>Well first of all, I get the impression that some of the non-bicker clubs are very popular, so it's not like the people in those clubs are all Ivy-rejects. I think it depends on the people whether they look down on other students...</p>
<p>Did you visit the websites of the eating clubs? A lot of them have the information you're looking for.
<a href="http://www.princeton.edu/Siteware/EatingClubs.shtml%5B/url%5D">http://www.princeton.edu/Siteware/EatingClubs.shtml</a></p>
<p>Surveys have shown that more people pass up Princeton because of unease about the "eating clubs" than for any other reason. </p>
<p>Princeton would be far better off if the "eating clubs" were extirpated, root and branch.</p>
<p>I don't think so. I like the eating clubs and so do many people who join them every year. The people who pass up princeton because of them don't know enough and assume that it makes the whole university pretentious. I think that it might do some good to make all eating clubs sign-in, but I think they are an important aspect of princeton social life and they shouldn't be extirpated.</p>
<p>My sister, who goes to p-ton, can confirm experiences with mea- when she was deciding what major to go, what options to take, she mentioned it to her advisor- and was sent various emails from students that took the options, or were in the majors she was interested in, telling her about their experiences. They were all very helpful in providing a clear perspective on her interests. So, overall, i would conclude that pton has an exceptionally strong advising network. On the other hand, i know nothing about Yale.</p>
<p>Byerly, do you have a link to such a survey?</p>
<p>I think the Eating clubs are a good thing. They add diversity! I preffer two year res college and then eating clubs to being stuck around in a college with the same people for 4 years. You get to meet more people and have more perspectives with Princeton's system. At least in my opinion. </p>
<p>Plus Byerly, Eating Clubs are a tradition at Princeton! And I think Princeotn is better sticking to tradition. Traditions are part of what makes Princeton great. </p>
<p>Besides, when both Whitmann and the new Butler colleges will be completed, students will have the chance to choose between a 2 years res college and then eating clubs or a 4 year res college. As three of the six colleges will be 4 year res colleges. You can't beat that. Free choice! Also, if I'm right you can make your final decision after sophomore year. So you don't have to choose from the begining. Free choice, in full awareness! If you want, continue 4 year res. If not, eating club!</p>
<p>Surveys.......surveys are, by definition, statistics. And what is good for the majority is not necessarily best for you. Okey, surveys showed you that HYP are the best schools. But you shouldn't choose between Y and P on the basis of a few votes in this survey. Like someone said, go with your heart. If you can, visit campus and talk to people. </p>
<p>I found that Princetonians are very very proud of their school. Not in a my-school-is-better-then-yours way! But in a my-school-is-great-for-me way! And princetonians love Princeton! I think Princeton has the highest donations from Alumni which says something.
The same might apply for Yale, I don't really know, ask around. </p>
<p>Princeton was my first choice simply because that's what I felt. Perhaps Harvard hard more fame and MIT surely had more prestige and results in the field of physics but there's more to an undergraduate expereince. It all comes down to what you feel.</p>
<p>I'm not saying don't listen to opinions on this board. On the contrary! Listen to them! But aside to their clear meaning, try to read between the lines. How do they really feel about their school ?Are they really satisfied? Are they trying to boast their school just so they feel good about where they are? Cuz everone will say their school is awesome (I say: Princeton is awesome and it's hard to go wrong choosing it!!!!) </p>
<p>Ask around, get informed. Talk to people!!! Browse websites. Visit campus!!! Get a feel of the student body, of the faculty! In the end, make your choice!<br>
Make the choice that will leave you with no regrets!
if not possible
Make the choice that will leave you with almost no regrets!
and most important:
** Let it be your choice**</p>
<p>Byerly seems right about the eating clubs. I know several kids who didn't apply because it all seemed too pretentious and the social hierarchy was too hard to break into. Princeton has been known to exude this air of pretentious elitism that can even top Harvard's. And that's saying something.</p>
<p>Not that I have anything against Princeton. </p>
<p>All of HSYP have a strong advising network. I don't think that's a large factor as all are interested in ensuring extremely high retention, graduation and graduate-school placement rates.</p>
<p>I don't know...
if you are so quick to judge a school based on a stereotype, perhaps you're not right for Princeton anyway. So I fully agree with Revan, Princeton's eating clubs work for Princeton students, and esp with the new 4 year res colleges, the variety can't help but improve student life.</p>
<p>I didn't mind the eating clubs when I visited, but my mom didn't like their clear distinction between the 'haves' and the 'have nots'. Not everyone can afford the pricetags on the most exclusive and popular eating clubs, which is a shame.</p>
<p>Princeton started a program that helps you pay that pricetag...at least for finaid students.
I'm personally not into the bicker clubs, but I'll probably sign in to one. I think bicker should be eliminated, but the clubs should stay.</p>
<p>the bottom line, as i've said many times before, is that princeton's eating clubs are far more egalitarian than harvard's all-male "final clubs" (quotes for you, byerly), yale's secret societies, and every other university's greek institutions.</p>
<p>Some people here - including the prior poster, an alum - are confused.</p>
<p>The fact that certain people who <em>enroll</em> at Princeton don't have a problem with the "eating clubs" is irrelevant. People who frequent Smith & Wollensky don't usually have religious objections to eating beef, either.</p>
<p>What counts are the reasons - whether partisans might agree with them or not - which qualified people who don't enroll, or decline to apply, may have for their decision.</p>
<p>Princeton (the administration, if not the alumni association) is well aware that the "eating cliubs" - rightly or wrongly - present an image problem which tinkering won't fix. They intrude (or are perceived to intrude) on campus social life in a way that Harvard "final clubs" and Yale "secret societies" simply do not.</p>
<p>It is expected that the latest marketing survey commissioned by the Admissions Office will show that this is still true. Princeton wants to discover - via this survey which Rapelye has ordered up - why those who turn down Princeton in favor of Harvard, Yale, Stanford, MIT etc. make the choices they make.</p>
<p>All schools conduct similar "marketing" surveys from time to time.</p>
<p>the thing is, the eating clubs' "intrusion" is a good thing. i don't have exact numbers, but i'd guess that at least three-fourths of students choose to join a club their sophomore year, and almost 100% of students do their partying at the clubs, with varying individual frequencies. coupled with the fact that most of the clubs open themselves at no cost to all students, members or non-members, on given thursdays and saturdays, this produces a fairly egalitarian social scene. contrast this to yale, where, by one yalie's estimate, the secret societies implicate only a couple hundred seniors lucky enough to be "tapped." this creates a sharper divide between the haves and have-nots than at princeton, where anyone can join a club simply by signing their name, and where most do.</p>
<p>sorry to keep bringing up stereotypes, as zantedeschia said, but i was wondering about the fact that princeton seems labeled as the drinking school (at least in comparison to HYSetc). is that true and if it is, is it because theres just nothing else to do?
thx
and btw you guys are so much more helpful than the yalies who as of yet have not responded to the Pton v Yale topic, lol</p>
<p>"the drinking school?" only arguably. ALL schools, including the elites, are "drinking schools." that said, princetonians certainly hold their own on this measure. it is claimed, probably apocryphally, that princeton's annual reunions, which involve about 20,000 people over three days, require the single largest beer order of any event outside of the indianapolis 500. the senior class every year designs and distributes "beer jackets" to its members, a tradition you can read about here:</p>
<p>the princeton scene is, actually, a bit more beer- (as opposed to liquor-) heavy than other schools, because the eating clubs, which serve almost exclusively beer, serve the role of room parties elsewhere, which more often feature hard liquor because of the hassles of keg purchase and transport.</p>
<p>There's a lot of beer but less hard liquor, imo.</p>
<p>hahaha f.scottie, that's a fearsome feat. Yea, I wouldn't be surprised if there was more drinking at Princeton than average, but from what I've heard, there's no social pressure to drink - which might be something that concerns you more.</p>
<p>I don't think people drink just becuase "there's nothing else to do." I mean, perhaps more drinking occurs on campus, whereas in a city school they have more opportunities to do it off-campus, but I don't think I'm going to start drinking a lot just because Princeton isn't a huge city. Nor do I think is a drinking-inclined person going to lessen up if he goes to school in a city...</p>
<p>sorry if these questions sound stupid, im just having a tough time deciding. feel free to post anything else about pton that you wish</p>
<p>Well one thing I would like to point out is how strongly pton people defend their school. There's definitely a lot of school spirit, even after graduation (which is the reason for the high alumni donation rate). This means that Princeton will always play a part in your life- many alumni come to reunion every year and if you need help, there's a strong alumni network to support you (if you're looking for a job, for example). </p>
<p>Anyway, I hope you get the chance to talk to some Yale people as well, because both schools have excellent academics; it's the people that you'll be spending four years with that make the big difference.</p>
<p>Byerly - how do you know about the survey and the results they're expecting? Are you married to a Princeton faculty member or something? :confused: Why do you have such an interest in Princeton if you are a Harvard alum?</p>