I’m not sure what forum this should go in, but I suppose I am asking for opinions.
I am a high school senior in the middle of the college interview process. Next week I will be having my interview for Princeton University.
Now, I don’t expect to get into Princeton-- I applied from a “why not?” perspective. Because of this, I haven’t really given a lot of thought to why I would want to go there, were it possible. In a week, I’m going to have to express to my interviewer a deep love of, and enthusiasm for, Princeton.
So, why should I want to go to Princeton? What makes it great? Has anyone gone there? Does anyone have any firsthand (or even second- or thirdhand) knowledge of Princeton that could help me out?
haven’t gone there, but you’d want to go to a school like that for connections.
you meet people, and develop connections…in addition to alumni. they’ve got some rather powerful and respected alumni from that school in many areas. that’s why people pay to go to nice schools…education is one part, but the connections are what makes the difference.
Do you know what you want to study? The advantage of a really good school is that almost every department is good. If you’re likely to change your major, you probably won’t have to transfer to get a good education in that major.
Also, it is far easier to get into a good graduate school with a degree (and good grades) from an excellent undergraduate school.
I didn’t go to Princeton but I did go to Dartmouth for graduate school. The major advantage to the Ivy League schools is that they have a ton of money, prestigious faculty, and almost limitless resources. Fellow students will tend to be of a very high caliber and focused on succeeding in something. You will learn things passively just by being on campus.
They use the same textbooks there that they do in less prestigious schools and the classes may not be that much harder. However, the intangibles can be pretty important and you would get to go through life saying that you went to Princeton. Like it or not, people will judge you based on that and it may open some doors.
Beats the hell out of me. I would like to mention, though, don’t overlook Rutgers! New Jersey high school kids have this bizarre bias about my school, despite hardly knowing anything about it. And if you’re bright enough that you might have a shot at Princeton, the NJ legislature is willing to throw a ton of dollars at you to stay in-state. Princeton is far from the only name-brand school in Jersey.
Why do you want to go to college at all? What do you want to do with your college education? If you haven’t even answered that question for yourself, why are you bothering to apply to college?
I’m interested in public policy, which is a plus for Princeton; they have one of the best public policy schools in the country, and to have that available to me would be amazing. I suppose that in that field, the connections are also important.
It’s not feasible for me to apply to Rutgers this year, as I’m planning to defer my admission for a year to study abroad, and Rutgers doesn’t allow that. If Rutgers seems like a better option than the schools I’m accepted to this year, then I’ll certainly apply next year to Rutgers from overseas.
I’m applying to ten schools; Don’t think that I’m limiting myself to Ivies or Jersey schools. But I’m hoping someone on the boards can give me information that’s specific to Princeton; I don’t want to show up sounding like I could be talking about any of the schools on my list, with a few slight modifications.
I considered applying to Princeton, because they have some insane statistics regardubg financial aide. For the past 10 or so years, they claim that not one kid has taken out a student loan, or something unbelievable like that. It was just that Princeton, while being an ivy league institution, was an ivy league institution, so I did not apply. As they say, the hardest part is getting in, and all that. Still, they are a great school, with a great rep, and super amazing financial aide.
So it is. Hey, I have a Princeton interview next week too. Hmm…
(Oh, and to anyone boggling at the “applying to ten schools” thing - it’s basically necessary to apply to that many now to ensure admission to a reasonably good school. Sad, but that’s what you get when there’s no feedback system from the students)
I’ve worked in administration at Princeton for the past 8 years or so. I manage a small humanities department. I’m here right now.
I interact with students daily. From what I can tell, it is a wonderful undergraduate experience. What I find really nice, and so much different from my own experience (I went to Rutgers. It was so big I was a number there) is the small student:faculty ratio. Plus, many of the faculty are superstars in their field. Want to study with Joyce Carol Oates? Peter Singer? Cornell West? They are all here and accessible. Also, the opportunities for language study are fantastic. Once you start studying, the chance to study abroad over the summer mostly on Princeton is high. Princeton in Petersburg, Princeton in Munich, Princeton in Beijing…
Also, the campus is simply beautiful.
PS: The Thomas Sweets across the street is gone. It’s the Bent Spoon now.
PSS: It’s true about the no loan/ financial aid thing.
This is your answer.
Don’t try to get cutesy, just be direct about what you want to study and do and what specific details about Princeton make it a good fit for you. Low faculty to student ratio, opportunities to study abroad, and an excellent public policy program are all good, specific reasons to explain why you want to go to that school. (I absolutely wouldn’t mention any awareness of the “no student loans” thing in the interview, even if it is in fact a major reason why you’d choose them over another school. Let them bring up financial aid.)
If you’re a good student (and it sounds like you are), you’re not going to be able to find a non-weird reason why you can only go to Princeton. Good students will do just fine at any good school, and the admissions people know it. Focus on why you and the school are a good match for each other, not what makes Princeton so unique that no other school will do.
I say, in jest, choose your friends in college based on the location of their family’s summer homes. The more elite the school, the nicer the summer homes.
Exhibit those nice table manner that your friends know will impress their parents. Rack up those invitations!
I volunteer to interview prospective students for my alma mater. These are not required interviews, and my input doesn’t weigh heavily in the admissions process, but I thought I’d throw my two cents in.
It’s good that you’re asking these questions, because one of the things I look for is whether the student knows anything at all about the school. Sometimes it’s obvious that a student has only applied because someone told them they should. The fact that you do have a concrete reason to have applied to Princeton – the public policy program – is great.
Have you visited the campus? Taken a tour and sat in on a class or two? Spoken to current students? Looked into whatever clubs or athletics you might be interested in? Checked out the surrounding neighborhood?
I’ve found that applicants who have done these things have a much better sense of what appeals to them (or not!) about the university, and they can talk about the welcoming atmosphere or the excellent Asian Students Association or whatever. They appear to be much more interested and engaged and they also have better questions for me.
As a volunteer, I don’t have access to the applicants’ credentials. I just assume they’re all equally good. It’s the person’s personality and level of interest in the school that counts for me.
I will just say that the campus is indeed very nice. I will also add that there is something very special in the “atmosphere” of that campus.
I don’t know how to quantify it any better.
If you will, forgive me for being an old fuddy-duddy, but I think the students there are some of the nicest I have ever had the privilege of meeting.
Truffles and lace, I know, but compared to some of the Ivy League schools, I love Princeton…
Plus, you can get some great deals at the shops near by, and the shopping center where the Princeton Marriott used to reside–I think it’s a Westin now.