Princeton University Top Questions

Those people exist, but so do lots of other kinds of people. I think Princeton doesn't have a lot of socioeconomic diversity, but you'll certainly find students with a spectrum of backgrounds and views.

People are generally well dressed which I actually find extremely nice. The vast majority of students are liberal although there is a conservative stronghold on campus, which is also very nice. It provides great balance and support for the minority of students.

On the whole, I would say these stereotypes are inaccurate. Are there people who are preppy, wealthy, and elitist? Yes, but what Ivy League school or any major college in America doesn't? Princeton is definitely not conservative, though we do seem to be more politically apathetic than maybe some of our liberal peer schools. Princeton is way too diverse and has way too good of a financial aid program to be stereotyped as white and rich. I'm willing to bet that for the average applicant to Princeton, Princeton will be much more ethnically, geographically, and socioeconomically diverse than his or her high school. More than 50{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of the student body is on financial aid, and I believe Princeton has the highest proportion of African-American students among the Ivy League. However, it's true Princeton students are smart. Some are huge nerds, and some are extremely hard workers. Everyone here is a hardworker for the most part, and I don't think it would be inaccurate to say that Princeton students are generally very intelligent, hardworking, and high achieving Type A people.

All of them are true of some Princeton students, but certainly not all--Princeton is actually incredibly diverse in absolutely every way. But 75{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of the campus still wears Northface fleeces and rainbow flip flops.

Not everyone is freakishly smart by any means. There is a ton of money on campus - I'm not sure how many people at state schools can start rattling off names of heirs who are their classmates - but just because you are wealthy doesn't mean you are snobby. Most people on campus are nice and not snobby. It's a few people who can give the place a bad rep, but you find that everywhere.

There are many spoiled rich white kids and nerds are Princeton, but that does mean everyone fits that stereotype. There are many people who can't believe that some of my friends and I went to Princeton. Obviously, for a variety of reasons, we don't fit that stereotype.

If a stereotype had no accuracy, it wouldn't be a stereotype. Princeton is a university that houses some of the most privileged children in America. Are they all a bunch of pricks? Definitely not.

As with any stereotype, they came about for a reason, but I would say that the stereotypes of Princeton hold no more weight than the stereotypes of other institutions. Yes we have a lot of preppy kids, yes people are pretentious, yes most of the engineers are Asian, but that happens.

I did not feel that the students were pretentious overall, however, there definitely were groups of people that were elitist. Also, I only felt like people were competitive in certain classes, namely introductory classes for pre-meds. Overall, I thought that students were really helpful and were willing to work together to complete assignments and to study for tests.

While the stereotype definitely holds true for a good portion of the students here, it certainly does not define everyone. The type of person you're going to find mainly depends on what social circles you interact with- and those circles are generally quite distinct with little overlap.

That depends on who you ask.

Work hard, play hard is definitely true. Students take pride in being able to get all their work done well and then go out at night, multiple times a week. The preppy stereotype does not hold true quite as well. There are preppy students on campus, for certain, and events like Lawnparties bring the preppies out in droves, but for the most part, Princeton has wide variety of students.

There is certainly a number of students who fit that stereotype precisely, as there are in every other school. But for the most part the majority of Princeton students are like other normal kids who happen to be passionate about whatever they choose to study or engage in.

They were when I first got there, but by the time I graduated, with the new Dean of admissions, there were more alternative, artistic people of different colors, shapes and sizes.

only to a certain extent. The one about people being smart is largely true. Some people are snobby/haughty, but definitely not everyone.

I don't think so. There is a very diverse community with people who have a variety of interests. The majority of the student body is definitely from a middle-upper/upper class socioeconomic background, but people are not snooty.

Most stereotypes spring from a grain of truth. Polo shirts are pretty popular, and because J. Crew is one of the few stores in Princeton, many people seem to wear the same thing. There are few tattoos and no green hair that I've seen. But this is a pretty superficial homogeneity. Princeton students are diverse both intellectually and socioeconomically (over half the student body receives financial aid), and most importantly, they are extremely personable. Politically, conservatives may be a little louder, or (anecdotally) higher in number, but it's still the liberal Ivy League so Republicans remain the minority. Moreover, there's a positive side to this coin. Princeton loves its traditions and has a tight-knit alumni network, a great resource both socially and professionally. Thousands of alumni return each year for Reunions to celebrate their Princeton experience and its rich history. Princetonians are proud of their beautiful, (mostly) collegiate gothic campus and of the high quality of life the college offers.

While there are a lot of preppy kids here, I think that the stereotype fails to reflect the diversity of Princeton and the student body. Princeton as an institution has been around since 1746 and there is so much history and tradition here it is amazing to be a part of the culture. The student body here is also extremely diverse, with students from a wide range of states and countries.

Often.

This type certainly does exist at Princeton, but is by no means the norm.

The stereotype may be a good reflection of a certain population of students, but for the most part, there is a wider variety of types of people from different backgrounds with different interests than you might expect. "Typical students" can range from international students to serious college athletes to incredibly accomplished musicians to brilliant scholars (and many of these images overlap because students are so gifted that they can balance multiple extracurriculars and academic endeavors).

by all means, no. I've made friends with so many awesome people while here.

No. Sure there are a few more guys in polo shirts than the average college campus, but the shirt doesn't make the person. Because the student body comes from all over the country, there is by no means a majority of uppity prep-school kids. Most kids here are friendly, curious, and, most importantly, kind.

People do dress preppily, but I think that this is probably just because it is easier to throw on a polo and jeans rather than designing an outfit. And I do think Princeton is relatively elitist. The easting clubs lead to a more elitist system. But while it is elitist in some ways, in many others it is not. A majority of students are humble and feel relatively normal. And while eating clubs may lead to elitism it also provides an amount of communal living and partying.

For a certain percentage of the student body, they are very accurate

If you come during houseparties or lawnparties, well then yes. But i think Princeton is diverse in depth and breadth - we have many types of people, and many people in many different categories. Though, i would say we are a majority white campus and fashion concious campus, whatever your fashion is. No goths or way-out there people that i knwo of, though terrace can sometimes show us the darker side.

Yes.

For some people--absolutely. For the other 95{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c}of Princeton, definitely not. I was shocked at how diverse this place really is. We're from every part of the country, every part of the world. Princeton loves to collect people and having kids from, literally,every kind of background is huge right now in academia. If you come here, I think you'll be very, very surprised at how different every student really is.

These stereotypes are absolutely not accurate. I was so nervous about those things when I got here, thinking it wouldn't be the place for me at all, when Princeton is really an incredibly diverse and accepting environment. There are selective groups on campus, but that is in no way unique to Princeton. And since Princeton has such a great financial aid program, you get students from all socioeconomic classes as well.

These stereotypes are clearly not true for most of the school, however they each have a kernel of truth. Princeton students are very involved in academics, and place a lot of pressure on themselves and others to succeed in academics. However, many Princeton students also like to party and have a good time. So the academics do not necessarily come at the expense of the social aspect. There are many very rich and preppy people here, and that can be a little bit much at times. However, most of the kids here do not fit the stereotypes, and it is pretty easy to find people who are nothing like the stereotypical Princeton student.

While, of course, there are snobs and workaholics at Princeton, they are far from the rule. It's very hard to make any generalization about the average Princeton student, except that it seems everyone has some special talent that one wouldn't otherwise expect. Some of the hardest workers I know are also the hardest partiers, and while most people are driven towards success, everyone takes it with a grain of salt. As far as subordination to Harvard or Yale, such a suggestion is preposterous. While Princeton may lose out in name-recognition and obviously lacks a medical, law, and business school, it is undoubtedly a superior undergraduate education and experience.

Some of them are. There certainly are people on campus who fulfill the stereotypes, and they are often the most visible. So sometimes it can feel that the whole campus fits the stereotype. However, the majority of students do not fit the stereotype.

These stereotypes depend on which environment you choose to associate yourself with. There are definitely some circles like Ivy and St. A's and WWS that are hugely toolish. There are also some really conservative elements on this campus, like Princeton Prolife and the Anscombe Sociey. However, I've found that these stereotypes do not hold true for every single person on this campus. There are some very nontoolish people who are just plain smart. There are people that are not so smart. There are parties and nerds and jocks and everything else. And even some people that are conservative and belong to the evangelical fellowship are some of the nicest people I've known, even though I'm definitely liberal. And some tools recognize that they're tools. That's just the way they are. But if you come in with an open mindset about other people, it's not hard to find people that you like and that may surprise you in many ways. Princeton is actually fairly diverse in its kinds of people.

Yes and no?a portion of the student body is actually all those things to the nth degree, but besides from all being pretty smart, the majority of students don?t really fit the stereotypes.

There are certainly elitist niches, but they?re just that?niches. My friends did not fall into that category, and while I was in an eating club, we served our own food. Princeton offers a diverse enough environment that it?s possible for most students to find friends with whom they identify strongly. The education is excellent?my post-college thinking process is starkly different from my pre-college one (much more critical, reflective, and nuanced) as a result of my experiences in Princeton classes.

The accurate stereotypes: smart, more conservative than your typical Ivy League (but still more liberal than your average American), not particularly politically active, drinks but doesn't do hard drugs. The inaccurate ones: 1. Rich - there are a some students with ridiculously wealthy/famous parents, but most students at Princeton are upper-middle class. Princeton has an incredibly generous financial aid program that attracts many lower-income students, and is probably more diverse (economically) than most elite colleges in the U.S. 2. Snobby/elitist/pretentious - Again, there are a handful of these students at every elite school, and Princeton may have slightly more than average, but on the whole, the student body is pretty down to earth. 3. Concerned with GPA - Princeton students probably are a bit more concerned with GPAs than they let on, but they mostly keep their competitiveness to themselves and don't really talk about grades. Students almost never ask others what they got on exams There is a good deal of collaboration on problem sets, lab reports, etc, and most students are genuinely interested in their classes.

To a small extent, some of these stereotypes do hold true. However, they all fail to cover the full scope of the school and its students. The students are very intelligent and everyone seems to be uniquely talented, sometimes in unexpected ways, but most students are by no means stuck up. The presence of wealthy students may be visible, but it does not dominate the campus, which is far more diverse and progressive than the stereotypes would lead you to believe.

Yes, they describe at least half of the student population, though there are also just lots of really smart people at Princeton who don't fit into these stereotypes.

i think every stereotype is based on fact to a certain extent. princeton is one of the most racially diverse of the ivy leagues, and the large endowment enables students from less privileged backgrounds to enroll. however, it still seems on campus that the people who stand out in the social scene or in student government tend to be those who fulfill the stereotype - legacy students wearing j. crew/polo who aspire to investment banking careers.