<p>Hi!! I am new at CC.My son has been admitted to both Yale and Princeton for Engineering,specifically for Chem Eng.We are torn between both.I know Engineering at Pton is much better than Yale.But then Yale sounds like a happier school than Pton.-my impression after reading various posts on CC.Also my son loves to write poems,write songs,sing,plays guitar,dances and makes friends easily.I know Pton is great and keeping in mind the engineering dept our obvious choice should be Pton.But then again people here at CC,that is students and parents,both seem to be happier with Yale in terms of friendliness,atmosphere,administration etc.I want my kid to enjoy his 4 years at college in every way possible.We have Caltech also to consider but are putting it 3rd on our priority list only for the fact that we feel that he would be happier in a more versatile atmosphere than only a science and math kind of atmosphere.I know we are so so so lucky to be given these fantastic choices but we could never imagine that it would so difficult to make that final decision.He will be going to both Bulldogs and Princeton Preview and may end up visiting Caltech too.
I have posted this in the Yale thread also.
Can anybody out here on CC give me their impression and experience of Pton eng and same goes for Yale eng.
Thanks for your time.A confused parent.</p>
<p>I can’t really give you info on Yale Chem E. versus Princeton Chem E, other than to note that Princeton is generally considered much stronger in engineering.</p>
<p>However, in terms of your view of the relative happiness of the students, my daughter graduated from Princeton in 2010 and is very involved with her class. She and her friends were incredibly happy at Princeton–they loved the academic experience, the location and the social interactions. Some were in eating clubs, some were independent, some switched clubs, some were engineers, some were pre-meds, some were English majors, some were theater buffs, some musicians and some athletes, but they all share a devotion to the school and each other. They were not competitive with each other and while most of them did not appreciate grade deflation, it did not define their undergraduate experience or their post-graduate options.</p>
<p>I don’t know if alumni giving should be totally used as a barometer of undergraduate happiness, but it is worth noting that Princeton alumni giving rates are the highest in the country (among national universities) and as I have stated on another thread, it is highly unlikely that unhappy undergraduates would be magically transformed into loyal, active alumni.</p>
<p>I think that you and your son are doing the right thing by attending Princeton Preview and Bulldog Days. They are two great schools and he will probably prefer one over the other, but I wouldn’t make a decision based on a small group of posters on CC.</p>
<p>to the OP, maybe you have been reading the wrong threads on CC because every indication is that Princeton students are even more happy with their school than Yale students.</p>
<p>Princeton’s ChE department has been among the top ChE deparment in the Country for decades. Yale’s is very good, but not at the level of Princeton’s.</p>
<p>how happy are Yale and Princeton alumni with their years at their respective schools?</p>
<p>Average Alumni Giving Rates</p>
<p>61% - Princeton</p>
<p>36% - Yale
35% - Harvard
35% - MIT
34% - Stanford</p>
<p>There is something incredibly special about the Princeton undergraduate experience that can only be described by attending this great institution.</p>
<p>===============</p>
<p>USNWR Undergraduate ChE Rankings
8. Princeton
NR. Yale</p>
<p>Thanks a lot Midatlmom and JamieBrown for your helpful info.I do agree that Princeton engineering in no way comparable to Yale engineering.But then again it’s his life and his decision.He will be going on BDD and also for PP.Btw I am surprised that nobody on the Yale forum answered my question.Surprising as there do seem to be enough regular’s on that forum who seem to have tons of info on the workings of the college and life at Yale.Only one current student from yale PMed me and was helpful in her suggestions.Thanks once again.I would love it if he agreed to go to Princeton due to the fact that it is closer to our home.We can see kiddo more regularily and I think THAT is the reason sunny boy here wants to go a little far away-to a ‘safer’ distance-ha ha.i just want him to enjoy his 4 years as much as possible.</p>
<p>I think it’s an easy choice- Princeton ChemE. </p>
<p>Yale is getting better at some fields of engineering, especially CS. Prof Spielman won the Nevanlinna Prize in 2010 for his work on algorithms. And while Yale is very good at biochemistry, its engineering school is much smaller and less nationally prominent than Princeton’s.</p>
<p>@cmburns14,
Yes Princeton is an obvious choice.But kid here is confused as he visited Yale and is impressed with the beauty of Yale and the Res system.He is going to be going to Princeton Preview and will decide after attending.He said that “P has a better ChemE dept but then life at Y is a blast”.We have left it on him.I am crossing my fingers in favor of P.Let’s see…</p>
<p>I don’t see how Alumni Giving Rates can accurately indicate how happy people are with their schools. Too many other factors are involved - maybe Princeton devotes more time to sending flyers/letters to its alumni asking for donations, and perhaps Princeton parents are better off financially in the first place (for the latter point, note that I said “perhaps” and that there are definitely exceptions). There are other ways to show appreciation for a school, as well, that don’t involve giving it money.</p>
<p>Also, the people on the CC threads are probably not very representative of either school’s population. Most students only use CC to compare stats (they don’t post things themselves), and even on very popular “Discussion threads,” only about… 30-40, maybe 50-60 different people make numerous posts (out of several thousand students/alumni/parents). </p>
<p>I’m glad to hear that you are letting your son make this choice, though. It’s a hard decision, but he’ll win out regardless of which school he picks - both are the top in the nation.</p>
<p>If he makes friends easily, he may love the eating club system at Princeton. It’s heaven for extroverts. Imagine a Street, lined with great big houses, each house filled with kids eating. As the night progresses, on the weekends and on Thursdays, imagine each house filled with kids at parties. Like a smorgasbord for those who like people. </p>
<p>Make sure your son spends some time with juniors and seniors, as I believe the clubs are not open during pre-frosh weekends, so he will want to hear what it’s like.</p>
<p>As a very broad generalization, Princeton culture tends towards the jovial extroverts, and then the quiet focused sort have their spaces too, but somewhat separate. Yale culture is more high-strung, also more artsy in the mainstream than Princeton. Very broad generalization, but that’s what I’ve seen over the years.</p>
<p>@Alumother
He is a friendly and carefree kid and He will surely enjoy the eating clubs.Thanks for the insightful input.We live some 40 minutes from P so if the eating clubs are not open during PP I will tell him to visit P again on a weekend night.He knows a bunch of kids there and has purposely picked a very friendly and “on the street” kid he knows as his host.So that should be helpful in getting the feel.Kiddo here is madly in love with Y as of now.Let’s see…</p>
<p>I’m currently a senior in the engineering at Princeton. I’m not a ChemE, but I have many friends who are, so I feel somewhat qualified to speak about it. The department is challenging. There are a lot of required classes that they have to take. They have a lot of group projects, junior core lab, senior design project, etc. They work a lot, but also learn a lot and the ChemE majors have a great camaraderie that you don’t see in the other engineering majors. </p>
<p>Socially, Princeton is amazing. It’s easy to find your niche because there are so many different kinds of people here. The eating clubs, in my opinion, are a great thing Yes, some of the criticisms are true. They do divide the class up, and some can be elitist/exclusionary, but at the same time, they make the Princeton social scene very accessible. You always know where the parties are, b/c they are all on the same street. </p>
<p>I don’t fit the rich, white, preppy stereotype that Princeton seems to have, and I love it here. And if you do fit the stereotype, you’ll find those kind of people at Princeton too. </p>
<p>If you have more specific questions, I’d love to answer them. I just handed my senior thesis and I’m in a post-thesis delirium of happiness now.</p>
<p>Congratulations, sunshine!</p>
<p>Thanks all of you for your help.Mr Adult here announced his decision to join the princeton class of 2016.
@sunshine_breeze-Congratulations on your senior thesis.
S had a blast at PP.I think partly because he knew his host[from his HS] and also is a friendly kid.
Status quo is changed to “I love Princeton”.
Time for us to stop lurking on other forums.</p>
<p>That’s great news ypccu. He’s going to have a wonderful four years and the school is lucky to have him!</p>
<p>Awwww!..Thanks midatlmom! So nice of you to say that.
S is all set to start his new academic year at Princeton.I hope the enthusiasm stays throughout the four years.I am thrilled with his decision.</p>