Why Princeton over other Ivies?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Princeton University
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<p>I've been lurking on this site for a while now, but this is one of my first posts (I'm also posting it in the other school's forums). I'm a senior in Washington State, looking to go into business/finance in the future and probably major in economics. A little about me: 4.0 uw, strong extracurriculars for the field, and recently received a 36 on the act, which was a major bump up from my SAT score. I hadn't really even considered the ivies since I didn't think that I would be competitive, but now that I stand a better chance (I know, test scores aren't everything and aren't really even relevant after a certain point, but still).</p>

<p>So basically, I want to know what is the case for Princeton over the other tops schools. Or vice-versa. I'm also interested in how the social/party scene compares, as well as the vibe as the campus (don't have the money to fly out to the east coast to visit schools). I'm just having a hard time discerning what distinguishes Princeton over the other ives, because obviously the academics are going to be top-notch at all of them. If anyone also has some insights from the economics department that would be great.</p>

<p>By the way, I am also considering Penn and have done quite a but of research on it, but am interested in learning more about the other ivies that don't have an undergraduate business school. </p>

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<p>Do you like ice cream? What is your favorite flavor? Some kids prefer chocolate to strawberry or vanilla. It’s the same with HYP. May I suggest you do your due diligence and investigate the economic courses being taught at each school and the professors who are teaching them. For example, if you would like to study with Paul Krugman or Alan S. Blinder, then Princeton is for you!</p>

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<p>I thought Paul Krugman wasn’t there anymore.</p>

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<p>^^ He’s still listed on the Economics faculty website: <a href=“http://www.princeton.edu/economics/faculty-members/#K”>http://www.princeton.edu/economics/faculty-members/#K&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>My son was in a similar situation. We’re in the west, too, and we knew nearly nothing about elite private east coast schools. If you would have asked me to name the Ivy League schools, I would have guessed Harvard and Yale, and then drawn a blank.</p>

<p>Like you, he had strong academic credentials. By the end of his sophomore year, it became clear to us that he was becoming a promising athletic recruit in his sport. His sport, fencing, is a relatively minor NCAA sport, with less than 40 colleges fielding teams, with a disproportionate number of these schools being among the academically elite in the country.</p>

<p>So we needed to get up to speed quickly. His junior year he (and I) visited Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford, Columbia, Duke, Brown, Penn, and Haverford. His requirements were relatively simple. He wanted a school strong in the sciences, with a strong focus on undergraduates, and where he liked the fencing coaches.</p>

<p>He and I could go on forever about minor differences between these schools, but the key word is “minor”. With the exception of Haverford, an LAC, the other schools I listed have a lot more in common than things that differentiate them. Sure, Brown’s open curriculum is much different than Columbia’s common core but, for the most part, you could transplant a typical student from any of these schools to another and they’d get along just fine.</p>

<p>My son chose Princeton and never regretted it. Would he have been happy at any of the others? In my opinion, he would have fit in well at Harvard, Yale, Stanford, or Duke, and possible slightly less so at Columbia, Brown, Penn, or Haverford. But that’s him. Feel free to PM me if you have any specific questions about comparisons between any of these schools. Good luck!</p>

<p>Edit to add: I just in your Harvard thread that you’re considering CMC. I’m an alumnus, so feel free to ask me about CMC.</p>

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<p>Ditto what sherpa said. I realize you said that you couldn’t fly out from the west coast, but even if you could do Spirit Airlines, I would try that. My son and I flew out and hit 4 schools–Penn, Princeton, Yale and Columbia–in two days and just carry-on luggage. My son’s top choice had been Yale but after visiting the campuses, he crossed Yale off his list entirely and put Princeton at the top of his list. The campuses do have different vibes. For some, that’s not a big deal. For others, it is. In our case, my son was struck by how intellectual the students were at Princeton. The Yale tour emphasized the social scene at Yale too much (tales of students puking their guts out at the club nearby didn’t impress him or his dad). Also, he found that he preferred the suburban enclosed campus of Princeton to the urban and more open campuses of Yale and Penn. Also, as to Penn, and this is totally subjective, but my son thought Penn was filled with “beautiful people.” ie. rich kids who were athletic and had lots of money. That may not be true, but that is certainly the impression that was given on our tour. My son attends an academic magnet school where most students are sort of “nerdy” and he found the Penn students to be intimidating in physical size and athleticism. Bottom line–know who you are and then look for the school that best fits you.</p>

<p>Why do you want to study economics? Is it to work on Wall Street? Go on to grad school? You just like the subject? I think you are splitting hairs when you talk about Harvard vs. Penn vs. Princeton economics departments. </p>

<p>You are going to be spending 4 years of your life somewhere where your intellectual and emotional development is going to grow exponentially. If you can’t do an in-person visit, look at YouTube videos of the school, scour their websites, look at everything on this site. Also, since you are on the west coast, I would give a very strong look at west coast schools. Speaking as a parent, if an emergency occurs, you want to have good flight schedules to return home or to have a parent come for a visit, if necessary.</p>

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<p>Paul Krugman is moving to CUNY after this year, but Princeton is still a fantastic school with a top econ department (not a student, but I thought I should clarify).</p>

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<p>I’ve been looking at the operations research and financial engineering major…has anyone talked to someone that did this program? </p>

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<p>I was in your shoes not long ago, OP, and now that I’m on the other side I can say that what you’re doing – agonizing over which school you want to go to now, at this point – is not helpful and possibly harmful. If we spend our time telling you what characteristics define Princeton, and you decide it is your “dream school,” then you will be hurt and our time will be wasted if you are among the 93% of applicants rejected.</p>

<p>I might also add that the mental conception you form of a school based on its textual descriptions will be off-point. I thought I would really like the University of Pennsylvania based on its descriptions here, but visited and found out it was not for me. I strongly recommend that you not commit four years of your life to a school which you have never seen. It’s fine that you can’t visit now – there’s no need to – but once you have your acceptance letters in hand, fly out to the schools you’re still deciding between. You’ll fly out there every semester, anyway – what’s 1 more plane ticket on top of 8?</p>