Princeton: Just Another "Perfect"

Tea and Avon and I visited Princeton yesterday, as part of Tea's fourth (fifth?) college visit, and Avon's and my first. Tea's mom drove us, and on the way there, we were confused by the GPS directions, which stubbornly refused to comply with our wishes, so we spent quite some time on the road.

Nevertheless, we got there successfully (albeit after the info session had already started). Avon had brought a notebook with her ("This is going to be my college visit notebook from now on!"), and among some of the first things she had jotted down was "pretty town." This was absolutely true. Princeton (the town) was gorgeous to look at, especially since we visited in the spring and on a beautifully sunny day. The town wasn't too large, but there were plenty of small shops and parks.

We spent a while trying to find a parking lot, when Tea said, "Hey, look, a student!"

We all stared at the student, who looked fairly normal. "They're not aliens," Avon said. "Just normal people."

After our first spotted student, we saw several more who looked just as normal. They seemed really sociable as well, which was something Avon liked. We found our parking lot and rode the shuttle bus to Clio Hall, where the tour was supposed to start.

Inside Clio Hall, there were two floors (that we could see), one for graduate students, and one for undergrads. We went upstairs to the undergrad area, signed our names on the sheet, took a booklet that introduced the school, and sat down on the couches. The booklet gave us some basic information, such as academics, admissions, and room and board (including a very fancy flowchart to explain the junior/senior boarding/eating plans). Tea had also taken a diversity booklet, but there weren't any specific numbers or percentages, just general comments on how Princeton is a very, very diverse place.

Soon, a bunch of other people entered the room, so we figured that the info session that we had missed was over. We followed everyone downstairs, where our tour guides were already waiting. Thus began our tour of Princeton, which, judging from what we had seen already, was bound to be breath-taking.

Our tour guide was a freshman, planning to major in French, and believed walking backwards was a form of exercise (which, according to Crabtree, is much easier than jogging forwards, but I haven't experienced that myself), so she didn't talk much about the science departments (which was what we were most interested in, since all of us are science-oriented people) or the athletic facilities (not much of a loss here for us). However, she did mention lots of interesting bits about the history of the school, such as how the Yale architect carved his face into the chapel on campus or the numerous Woodrow Wilson residencies while he was at Princeton. She also did a splendid job pointing out the gardens and buildings, including the campus library, which is mostly underground and resembles an iceberg.

We finished the tour around noon, so we decided to eat at one of the dining areas on campus to see what the food was like. The cafeteria was pretty much similar to our school's cafeteria (except with a few more selections and bigger), but the main difference was portion size. People in Princeton must eat A LOT (is this proof that they're aliens in disguise after all?), because the meals we bought were humongous.

So, my opinion of the school overall?

It's in a pretty town (as Avon noted), decent size and not too isolated, and it's not too far north or too far south, so the location is nice. Buildings looks gorgeous (stone walls and copper roofs). Academics are definitely great, but there's also a lot to do around campus, and there are plenty of choices in general. I am not looking forward to the 80+ pages senior thesis (but I suppose it isn't that bad, if countless Princeton alums have survived it thus far), but I definitely wouldn't mind spending a lot of time in that library.

And, of course, the most important factor.

Can I get in?