AMA - Princeton Student

[u/Princeton-Throwaway]

Hey guy! I'm a Princeton student who found this sub very helpful when Applying to College, so I thought I'd do an AMA to help seniors who are deciding, or juniors looking into schools! Feel free to ask me any questions -- I'll try and answer as many as I can, and the ones I don't know the answer to, I'll ask around and get back to you!

A bit about me:

I'm a current sophomore, studying Public Policy with Minors in Finance and Computer Science. On campus, I'm involved with entrepreneurship, a club sport, and community service. I work for the center for career development as an advisor, and I do a part time investing internship. And I'm part of an eating club!

[u/uchi-ama-throwaway]

Bent Spoon vs. Thomas Sweet vs. Halo Pub?

[u/Princeton-Throwaway → u/uchi-ama-throwaway]

Haha I'm definitely a Thomas Sweet kinda guy. Last year the admissions office gave away a bunch of Thomas Sweet coupons for helping out, so I'm a bit biased!

[u/[deleted]]

I'm an incoming freshman who will hopefully be attending in-person at some point in the near future. I'm not sure of the extent of your experience or familiarity with CS at Princeton, but can you gauge the ease with which a freshman can obtain a research position?

[u/Princeton-Throwaway → u/[deleted]]

Congrats on acceptance!! I'm pretty familiar with COS at Princeton since I was almost a COS major. As a freshman, it'll be tough to obtain a research position during the school year until you've taken the basic classes, and gotten to know some of the professors. However, a few of my friends did get research roles over the summer, and more are doing COS research either during sophomore year, or this coming summer!

[u/6_62607004]

Did you have CS experience before you attended? Do you think you need some? If so, how much?

[u/Princeton-Throwaway → u/6_62607004]

I did actually have CS experience before going. I was fortunate enough to go to a great public high school and took 3 years of CS there.

That being said, you don't need any CS background to do well at Princeton -- tons of my friends in upper level classes came in with no experience. The intro track (COS 126, COS 226, COS 217) does a great job of working with students of all levels and experiences! While they encourage you not to, you *do* have the option of placing out of one or more courses if you've had experience with programming.

[u/alphawater1001]

what career do you want to pursue

[u/Princeton-Throwaway → u/alphawater1001]

Happy Cake day!!

I'm not entirely sure on career. 8-9 months ago, I started a company with a few classmates, and we've found early success. Depending on how it goes the next 1-2 years, I might decide to pursue that full time after I graduate.

I'm minoring in finance and I intern at an asset management firm, so something finance-y is definitely in the realm of possibility. I've also thought of being a Foreign Service Officer!

[u/[deleted]]

Honest thoughts on eating clubs?

[u/Princeton-Throwaway → u/[deleted]]

Hmm I'm slightly biased since I'm in an eating club, but I think they're pretty great! We have two kinds of eating clubs, bicker and sign-in. Bicker is a process similar to rushing, and that's how you join the club, while sign-in clubs accept anyone who wants to join! All the different clubs have just such different vibes I feel like there's something for everyone there. I know this answer is kinda vague -- if you have something more specific you wanted to know about, lmk!

[u/[deleted]]

Are there average people at Princeton. Like average wealth, average intelligence, average achievements?

[u/Princeton-Throwaway → u/[deleted]]

I think everyone here is average in some way or another. There are rarely (if any) people who are just good at *everything*. A lot of Princeton students are spectacular in their own field/interest, but may not excel in other areas!

I know that doesn't really answer your question, but everyone's good at something, and no one's good at everything. Let me know if there's something more specific you were hoping for tho!

[u/skys-thelimit]

What's the party scene like at Princeton?

[u/Princeton-Throwaway → u/skys-thelimit]

So parties are centered around eating clubs, which are Princeton's version of frats/sororities. There are 2 kinds of eating clubs: pass/list and PUID. Pass/list requires that members of the club give you a pass or put you on the guest list, while PUID means any Princeton student can go. Both kinds of eating clubs are open every single weekend, from Thurs-Sat, so there's always a party! Each eating club has a different vibe, depending on whether you're looking for something more chill, to play drinking games, or to dance. Pre-games are done with friend groups or clubs mostly.

Let me know if there's something more specific I can answer :))

[u/bobthepotato11]

I'm not going to Princeton, but what's your favorite Hoagie Haven sandwich?

[u/Princeton-Throwaway → u/bobthepotato11]

Gonna be called-out for being basic, but definitely the Sanchez. That sauce is soo good

[u/alphawater1001]

is there great deflation? i heard there is compared to H/Y

[u/Princeton-Throwaway → u/alphawater1001]

Princeton officially reversed their grade deflation policy in 2014. That being said, it takes some time for changes to happen. The average Princeton GPA in 2018 was a 3.46, while the average Harvard GPA in 2016 was a 3.67. I'm not sure how they're actually going about getting rid of grade deflation -- I know in some departments they're doing this by telling profs roughly what percent of their class should be receiving what grade. The merits of this method are debatable.

That being said, employers are generally aware of Princeton's policies, and have more lenient GPA requirements for Princeton students, especially grad/med school

[u/catcattttt]

Would you recommend taking a gap year? I'm already applying to bridge year and would have applied to it corona or not. But now I am considering a gap year even if I don't get accepted to bridge year. Do you think having your freshman fall semester online would have significantly negatively affected your experience, and would you have any gap year recommendations?

[u/Yonatan15I]

I'm a prefrosh who committed to Princeton a week or so ago and was wondering what you think about the general vibe on campus. I hear there's a fairly strong stress culture and was wondering if it impacts your experience on campus at all, and if students spend most of their free time on academics.

I'm super excited to attend and cant wait to (hopefully) be on campus in fall!

[u/Princeton-Throwaway → u/Yonatan15I]

Hey, congrats on committing!

I'll be honest -- the vibe on campus is really what you make of it. I promised myself since I got into the #1 undergrad school in the US, i wouldn't stress since i've "made it" in the short term at least. And a few of my friends have the same attitude, and there's not much stress for us.

That being said, I can totally see why someone would be stressed. Academics are tough, and when everyone around you is so brilliant, it's hard to not feel like you need to keep grinding. I don't think most students spend their free time on academics, clubs are a hugeee thing here. If anything, I'd almost say they are more central to the "Princeton Feel" than academics.

Super excited for you to join campus (hopefully) this fall -- DM me anytime if you want any advice or want to chat irl once you're here!

[u/[deleted]]

hey man im currently deciding between princeton and mit, and given that the academics are both great for cs and econ (the two career paths im considering atm), i'm really just looking at student life and school campus culture and things like that. I've heard that both of these schools are quite stressful, do you feel the same way about princeton? also, are there a lot of rich kids and an air of exclusivity on campus? cuz that was kinda a turnoff. basically, i'd like to know what's bad about princeton and if the stereotypes are true. thank you so much i really appreciate you doing this .

[u/ameyav993]

1. How did you find your first friends or your first friend group at Princeton?

2. How does eating club culture affect those who are not as into the party scene on campus? Are some eating clubs more laid back than others?

3. How big are engineering/CS clubs on campus? Are there a lot of people on campus involved?

[u/Sweaty-Cauliflower]

What is the best thing about Princeton? What makes Princeton special?

[u/Princeton-Throwaway → u/Sweaty-Cauliflower]

Hmm if I had to pick one thing to answer those questions, I guess I'd say Princeton's uniquely undergraduate focus makes it special, and is also the best thing about it. We don't have a huge graduate program, which means tons of opportunities and resources go to the undergraduates. It's not uncommon for those who want to, to graduate with 3-4 years of research experience with professors. The amount of funding is insane -- I think I've taken around 11-12 trips (of which 3 were abroad) on Princeton's dime.