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College Prowler

Campus Strictness

You don’t get much choice freshman year; it’s random, but you can choose how many roommates you want. Sophomore year, you choose within the same college by lottery. Junior year, you can move into the nicer, upperclassman dorms. Forbes College is perhaps the nicest, but it’s farther from everything. Rocky and Mathey are nice and have the old Gregorian style. Butler and Wilson are more ‘modern’ and ugly, in my opinion.

Computers

It's very, very lax and sort of ridiculous. Surely, the University knows kids get wasted, but very little is done about it. Princeton in general puts a lot of trust in the students. As long as you're not stupid about it, you can have a party and not get caught.

Diversity

The whole campus has wireless Internet. I strongly suggest getting a laptop. It will make your note taking, paper writing, and life in general much easier. The computer labs generally aren't too crowded. I've always found a computer easily when I needed one. Don't worry about bringing a printer because you can print over the network to the cluster printers.

Drug Scene

The campus is ridiculously diverse. There are many racial minorities with large campus organizations and performing arts groups. The campus is mostly Christian, but there are active groups for other religions. The campus is relatively conservative for a college environment, but the tendency is still overall liberal. It is good, however, to have a variety of political perspectives. With regards to sexuality, all types are accepted, and there is a very strong LGBT presence on campus. There is no need to hide anything at Princeton—I've never met anybody who was prejudiced against different sexualities.

Facilities

The hard drug scene is definitely not big, but venture to the third floor of Ivy or Terrace and you can find it. Pot is everywhere, most people are just discreet about it if they aren't at Terrace.

Greek Life

The Frist Student Center can get really crowded, especially during exams. The third floor study room used to be a fantastic refuge for those seeking silence, but people have started to bring in food and camp out for what seems like days. If you’re looking for a good place to study in Frist now, it is a good idea to seek out an empty classroom or go next door to the East Asian Library.

Guys & Girls

Greek life does not dominate the social scene by any means. It is a great way to meet new people, mingle with other Greeks, and get into or passes for eating clubs. I am personally in a sorority, and I really do enjoy it.

Local Atmosphere

Not only are the girls cute, but they are also smart, nice, and not scary. The only downside is that as Princeton tends to have people who are used to success, guys tend to fear the whole asking-out thing. We have a lot of serious couples and hookups but minimal dating.

Nightlife

Nassau Street, the main street through the town of Princeton, is home to many essentially Princeton businesses. Hoagie Haven, a takeout sandwich shop, stays open late and is to Princeton as the Soup Nazi is to Seinfeld. You must know your order before entering the store, and you should try to be in and out as quickly as possible. The owner, George, a campus fixture largely because of his signature mustache, will always take a moment for a quick chat and is very popular amongst students because of his reasonable prices.

Off-Campus Dining

The whole party scene revolves around the eating clubs. Some are selective, meaning that there’s an interview process to get in (we call that process ‘bicker,’ while others are ‘sign-in,’ meaning you sign up and you’re in the club. Each club has its own personality. The big party nights are Thursday and Saturday (people do their own thing on Fridays). Clubs will have DJs, bands, formal dances, etc. You can walk in to any of the sign-in clubs, but most of the bicker clubs require passes. The scene gets old pretty quickly, but when there’s nothing else to do, you learn to deal. Princeton is completely dead as a town, but New York City is an hour away.

Off-Campus Housing

There are some good places very near the campus within easy walking distance. The favorite is a place called Hoagie Haven—they’ve got over 50 kinds of hoagies that are all very good and cheap. There are plenty of $25-a-plate places, but there are also some other good restaurants nearby that are within a college student’s budget such as Zorba’s (really good gyros), Old World Pizza (they use whole basil leaves in their pizza), and Sakura Express.

Overall Experience

There’s really no reason for anyone to live off campus. It’s expensive and really inconvenient. Almost everyone, without exception, lives in on-campus housing all four years. Housing at Princeton is pretty good. You will live comfortably, but do not expect the Ritz Carlton. The new fitness center in the gym is incredible, anyway; why would you want to miss out on that?

Parking

Looking back on it, the decision to attend Princeton is one of the best I ever made. I have no doubt that I have received the best undergraduate education available in this country. I have had the opportunity to work with some excellent professors, write a 100-page thesis, dance with friends until the sun comes up, sample four types of veggie burgers, and discuss civil liberties at three in the morning over espresso with a friend who is wrangling horses this fall and one who was the head of the campus Christian outreach. While I might have wished at points that I were somewhere else because of the stresses of the academic program, the rigor of the academic experience at Princeton has helped shape me as an individual, taught me to have personal expectations, and led me into adulthood.

Safety & Security

Parking on campus is awful. Freshmen and sophomores can't bring cars, which is a pain. There is not much parking in town, and you can only drive through the campus for a half hour at a time. There is a parking lot for upperclassmen, but it is a decent walk away from the main part of campus. However, pretty much everything you need is on campus.

Transportation

The only public transportation I ever took here was the 605 bus, which goes to Wal-Mart. It costs a dollar each way and leaves every hour. Typically, you won’t need public transportation because you won’t go off campus that much. New Jersey Transit has a train that comes to campus. You can get to New York’s Penn Station in a little over an hour. It’s pretty convenient.

Weather

I turned my thesis in April 8, and there was snow on the ground. The year before, seniors got to sit outside in swimsuits when they were done. Basically, the weather is inconsistent at best.

Academics

The weather is the second-best thing about Pomona. You should bring everything for warm weather, plus almost everything for cold weather, because it gets very cold (in the 40s) sometimes at night. Also, if you want to go camping in the desert, you will need warm clothes. There are many students who insist on wearing only flip-flops.

Athletics

Our academic programs are first-rate, and many of our professors are highly regarded in their fields. Also, because of Princeton’s commitment to undergraduate education, the professors are accessible to students. Of course, some of them are quite dull, but that is the exception. The academics are hands-down outstanding. It’s primarily an undergraduate institution, so the professors are there for us. Professors are required to have a certain number of office hours, so students can drop by at any time during those times to talk about class, papers, etc. Most professors have more than the required hours.

Campus Dining

There are lots of opportunities. Varsity sports are pretty big and fairly good. Field hockey, lacrosse, swimming, some individual track events, basketball, squash—all are competitive on the national level and some have several national titles. Football has been less consistent; although they won the Ivy League champs my first year. There are also club sports, which are sort of like varsity but officially a step below.

Campus Housing

For the first two years, students live and eat in Residential Colleges. The food at the colleges varies greatly, with Rockefeller being one of the worst and Forbes being the best. Students have some flexibility because any underclassman on the meal plan can eat at any of the dining halls. Location tends to be a factor, however, as Forbes in particular is far away from the center of campus.