If you are feeling the need to be somewhere a little larger today, have you considered UT Austin? David Lennington GS, a English, Spanish, and Classics major at the University of Texas Austin and English graduate student at Princeton, explores the differences between the two schools.
As a graduate student at Princeton who attended The University of Texas at Austin as an undergraduate, the most important piece of advice that I would give to a student in the process of exploring education options is that it helps to think about goals, and that at any institution, what students get out of their education is affected primarily by what they put into their education. If prospective students can narrow down what they want to study, then they can take a close look at the programs in that area in addition to examining schools as a whole.
Both The University of Texas and Princeton are excellent from an academic standpoint, but each has certain programs that tend to be particularly strong, and at each institution certain programs will tend to specialize more in some parts of the discipline than in others. In other words, programs at different institutions tend to have different “personalities,” so to speak, and this is in large part determined by the faculty in those programs at the different schools. If you know what you want to major in, a great way to find out about different schools’ programs in that major would be to talk to undergraduates currently studying that major at different schools. The same applies to extracurricular activities: both UT and Princeton have lots going on besides classes, and students find plenty that they want to do at both schools. However, if there is a specific extracurricular activity that is especially important to you, it would be worth looking into how you would likely participate in it at the different institutions that you're considering. For some activities, they can be enjoyed heartily at almost any university, for others, the school you choose may make a difference.
The main difference between Princeton and The University of Texas is the size of the student populations. Princeton has about 5,000 undergraduate students and about 2,500 graduate students; UT has about 39,000 undergraduate students and about 11,000 graduate students. While population size isn't important to all prospective students, it does make a difference to some, and while some students prefer a larger student population, others prefer a smaller student population. Climate is another difference between Princeton and UT. For many students, any climate will do, but some students may find Texas’ heat uncomfortable, and some students may find Princeton winters colder than they're used to. The key is to devote real thought to why it is that you want a higher education and in what ways it will be important to you, and then to see what institution fits well with your own goals and interests. A well-motivated student will be successful at essentially any school, but reflecting and planning before entering a university can help to ensure that the place where you study is conducive to the kinds of academic development which you prioritize most highly.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Orange and Apples: UT Austin
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Orange and Apples: Cornell
Today is the first day of Princeton Preview and the pre-frosh have arrived. Now they have to make their college choices. Today's choices are Cornell and Princeton, which, Evan Magruder '08, a Wilson School major and law student at Cornell, argues are fairly similar.
Cornell and Princeton Are Pretty Much the Same.
In my first year as a law student at Cornell, I often found myself comparing student life at Cornell with my own experience at Princeton. The truth is that both universities, steeped in Ivy League tradition, natural beauty and serious scholarship, are actually quite similar.
Academically, both schools have extremely bright and competitive student bodies. Princeton's professors have fewer students to watch over, and a senior thesis is required. I think it's easier to build a strong bond with a professor at Princeton. Cornell is huge, with 12,000 undergraduates alone. Theses are not required, but many motivated Cornellians find advisers and complete a thesis in the senior year. Cornell’s strength is its breathtaking range of courses, majors and schools (example: Cornell has the No. 1 veterinary school in the country and the world's best hotel school, too). I’ve met students at Cornell who want to run the Bellagio and students who hail from rural farms and are studying animal genetics to literally breed a better cow. Princeton has plenty of courses to choose from, but when comparing the two schools closely examine Cornell's many special programs to see if one really calls your name.
I digress briefly to dispel a common myth about Cornell: Cornell is not a state school. The four state-funded schools at Cornell are the colleges of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Human Ecology, Industrial and Labor Relations, and Vetrinary Medicine. New York state residents get reduced tuition if they major in these schools. Everything else at Cornell is private, and even the state-funded colleges fall under the umbrella of the private university.
Next, geography. Ithaca is four hours from New York City. Cornell sits in Ithaca, right on Cayuga Lake, one of the enormous and beautiful Finger Lakes. Princeton sits in the middle of New Jersey, one hour from New York City on the Northeast Corridor train line. I would say that Cornell is about six degrees colder than Princeton on average, and Ithaca doesn't warm as quickly in the spring. There's more snow at Cornell, but in winter 2008-2009 we only got one 10-inch snowstorm and then a few dustings later on. Cornell also has Greek Peak, a ski hill less than 30 minutes away: it’s no Vail, but very adequate for a small place, and if you love skiing, you can’t beat heading out to Greek Peak after class.
As far as housing, Cornellians move off campus as sophomores or juniors, while Princetonians live on campus all four years. If you're a Harry Potter type, Princeton definitely has more collegiate Gothic dorms, but Cornell has a few of those on West Campus, too.
The rhythms of social life at both schools are quite similar. Princeton has eating clubs; Cornell has a large Greek scene. Princeton has Houseparties and Lawnparties; Cornell has Formals and Slope Day. At either school, parties are nearly indistinguishable, except that the eating clubs use kegs of Milwaukee’s Best and Cornell's fraternities use cans of Keystone Light. Cornell also has a number of bars quite close to campus, which is a nice change to the social scene for the over-21 crowd. At both schools, people tend to stick around on the weekends, and you get to know a surprisingly large number of students very fast.
I’m having a fantastic academic and social experience at Cornell, but as far as undergraduate institutions, I’d choose Princeton again in a heartbeat. The bonds formed among Princetonians from time spent at Old Nassau are indelible and unique (read: Reunions!), and I haven't witnessed such camaraderie anywhere else.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Orange and Apples: Oxford
Princeton and Oxford are similar architecturally, but what about the experiences between the building walls? Landis Stankievech '08, a Rhodes Scholar pursuing graduate studies at Oxford, compares the two schools.
What are the differences between my Princeton and Oxford undergraduate experiences? The first thing I should say is that, at Princeton, I studied mechanical and aerospace engineering, while at Oxford, I’m studying philosophy, politics and economics. So right out of the gate we’re not comparing apple to apples here; some of the differences between Oxford and Princeton that I have emphasized below have been exaggerated in my personal experiences just because of the nature of the two subjects that I’ve studied. That being said, the two places really are rather different.
A lot of differences stem from the structures of the two institutions. Princeton is a smaller, centralized university, with virtually everyone living on campus. It’s easy to get to know a lot of people, and there is a strong feeling of community and a sense of allegiance to the university as a whole. Oxford is composed of many colleges, each of which has a few hundred students. Members of the colleges are usually tight-knit, but it can be difficult to get to know many people outside of your college. Allegiances tend to be to the colleges, which compete against each other in many forums, including recruiting, sporting activities and examinations.
The style of undergraduate education is also completely different. Princeton is similar to most North American universities in that the majority of the teaching is done in lectures. Students generally receive a standardized curriculum for each class, where they are told what they need to learn. Oxford has lectures as well, but they are largely optional and provide only a loose framework for the knowledge that will be required for the exams. The majority of teaching is done in tutorials, which are one-on-one or two-on-one sessions with a tutor. These tutorials occur in the colleges, and the curriculum of each is set by the individual tutor based on some loose guidelines.
Another big difference is the method of evaluation. At Princeton, each class usually has a series of exams and assignments that count toward the overall grade for the class. This grade shows up on a transcript, which provides an overall depiction of your academic performance. At Oxford, it all comes down to a series of final exams that are written at the end of your undergraduate career. These exams are graded and aggregated into one final grade that represents your overall performance at Oxford.
This is related to what I’d say is one of the biggest differences: the mindsets. At Oxford, learning is more self-directed. I think it has to be any time you study for two years without being formally evaluated. As I said above, the curricula at Oxford are a little bit less well-defined. The reading lists are practically infinite. It truly is up to each individual student how much they want to learn during the years that they are at Oxford. Of course, at Princeton you can learn as much as you’d like, but there is more structure to the system, and there are more checks in place to make sure you are doing work along the way. Both of these mindsets have their pros and cons, and I wouldn’t say that one is better than the other. Nor would I say that I prefer one school over the other based on any of the other differences that I’ve mentioned. I’ve been fortunate enough to experience undergraduate life at both universities, and I’ve enjoyed both immensely. Each has provided a unique environment for me to grow and learn, and each has challenged me in different ways.
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Orange and Apples: Penn
There has long been a debate if Princeton and Penn are truly rivals. Between the geographic closeness, the distinctly different surroundings, and, for many years, the competative basketball teams, these two schools were often discussed together. To help bring this comparison up to date, Maayan Dauber GS, who studied English as an undergraduate at Penn, discusses the two campus' cultures.
I was an undergrad at the University of Pennsylvania. Now, I’m a graduate student at Princeton. Backwards, perhaps, because the most apparent difference between the two schools is that Penn is geared toward graduate students, while Princeton is geared toward undergraduates. Penn runs on its professional schools --- the law school, the medical school, nursing, engineering and Wharton. Its resources seem primarily invested in them, and the "college" can sometimes feel like an afterthought. That being said, I was certainly not deprived at Penn. I received a rigorous and sophisticated education in the English department. I loved the faculty, developed lasting relationships and landed the job I was after: becoming a student for life. But throughout, I had to work for it. I had to seek out fellowships and bombard advisers' offices in a way that non-"college" students didn't, and in a way that Princeton students need not.
With no professional schools, Princeton is an institution uniquely dedicated to its undergrads, and if this means that undergraduates have to work harder than they do at other schools --- which it does --- it is only because they are taken so seriously. As a grad student, I see the effects of Princeton’s commitment to its undergrads and even reap some of the benefits as well. It means that as a rule, Princeton hires professors who give and invest everything in their students. And it means, most significantly, that teaching, at every level, is phenomenal. Or to put it another way, advising in general --- from faculty to administrators and academic counselors --- is, in fact, something to write home about. To give just one of many impressive examples: After handing in a term paper, the professor of my seminar not only gave an in-depth written response, but also scheduled individual hour-long meetings with her students to discuss their writing.
Still, I proudly wear my Penn sweatshirt, and so do all of my college friends, because Penn engenders a kind of loyalty and love that is unique, too. There is a certain “school spirit” at Penn that seems unmatched. Basketball and football games are enormously popular, fraternity and sorority life is huge, student council elections take over campus. Students participate in extracurricular life in a real way, and Penn’s large size means that there are a wide variety of options to choose from. What’s more, unlike Princeton, Penn has city life to offer, and while campus can have a kind of centripetal pull, life in “center city” Philadelphia is a wonderful outlet.
Ultimately, it seems to me that undergraduates tend to be happy at whichever college they choose, though making that choice, granted, can feel very pressured. The differences between Penn and Princeton are probably best considered by looking at the kind of college life you’re after: Penn’s unofficial motto goes something like “Work hard, party hard,” and that life can be wildly appealing and even constructive for many people. Princeton tends more toward the “work hard” side of things, and while in retrospect I’d probably land with Princeton, it is only one of many worthwhile experiences available at even the best universities.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Orange and Apples: University of Chicago
Princeton may have had its lowest acceptance rate ever, 8.18 percentage of applicants, but the University of Chicago may have experienced the most impressive change in acceptance rates. Chicago accepted 18% of applicants this year, a decrease of 8.8 percentage points from last year. Chicago saw a 42% increase in applicants this year. As their acceptance rates begin to become closer, how similar are the experiences at these two institutions? Jessica Chong ’07, a Chicago doctoral student, discusses her impressions.
I was a molecular biology major at Princeton and am now a human genetics graduate student at the University of Chicago. When I was deciding on a college, I actually considered both Princeton and the University of Chicago, and I did not know most of the things you will read below.
The most obvious difference between the University of Chicago and Princeton is location: city vs. suburb. As a school in a well-off suburban New Jersey town, Princeton and its surrounding environment are relatively quiet and safe. The vast majority of Princeton students live on campus; your friends will always be a few dorms away. On the downside, though it is rather easy to visit to New York from Princeton, the train trip takes more than an hour, and trains only run every 45 minutes or so. In comparison, the University of Chicago is a 40-minute bus ride from downtown Chicago, and buses run every 10 minutes, so it is far easier to head into the city for a spur-of-the-moment night out. Hyde Park, the neighborhood around the university, is fairly residential but still is an urban area, which means more crime and noisier streets. The university only guarantees housing for freshmen, so many upperclassmen end up living in apartments around Hyde Park. Although every student considering UChicago seems to have questions about safety, in my opinion, Hyde Park is not as dangerous as its reputation suggests—although muggings in the area occur somewhat frequently. That said, the university offers free night shuttles and escorts to help students get around safely.
There are some academic differences as well. The University of Chicago follows a quarter system, while Princeton follows an atypical semester system. At Chicago, fall classes run from the last week of September to mid-December, winter classes from the beginning of January to mid-March, and spring classes from the end of March to the end of June. There is no midterm break, but there is a week of break between quarters. At Princeton, fall semester classes run from the first week of September to mid-December, and spring semester classes from the end of January to the end of May. There is a week of break after both fall and spring midterms. Princeton's atypical semester schedule places fall finals in January, after the holiday break. Personally, I felt that the University of Chicago's quarter system was unnecessarily stressful for two reasons: the lack of a midterm break meant that the exams for one class could easily overlap with regular homework and projects for other classes, and there was only a four-day reading period (Thursday through Sunday) before the single week of final exams. In contrast, Princeton's system, which includes a one-and-a-half-week reading period and a one-and-a-half-week exam period, allows ample time to complete final projects and papers, and prepare for exams.
Both the University of Chicago and Princeton have a liberal arts education requirement. Chicago requires all students to take "The Core," while Princeton students are required to complete "distributions." These requirements are very similar in content and spirit between the two universities, though Chicago's Core includes a physical-education requirement. Both schools use these requirements to ensure that all undergraduates experience courses in a variety of subject areas.
Most importantly, however, is that the two universities appear to have differing attitudes toward how they educate students. Princeton will allow you to sign up for nearly any course you want, though your adviser will usually question you to make sure you are certain about your preparedness for the course. (So no graduate-level chemistry classes as a freshman when you didn't even take chemistry in high school.) But at Chicago, the top-level freshman math class, Honors Analysis, is invitation-only based on your score on the calculus placement exam. All other students are tracked into a variety of levels of calculus or pre-calculus classes depending on their scores on the exam, and the chemistry and physics departments also use the scores on the math exam to help in placing students into their own freshman courses.
In addition, the University of Chicago and Princeton differ in their approaches to research done by their undergraduates. Princeton requires all undergraduates to complete at least one year of research with an adviser in their departments, culminating in the writing of a senior thesis. It is an experience that all Princeton students share together and celebrate completing when they graduate. At Chicago, while many students do engage in research, only a select number pass their department's GPA requirement and are given permission by their adviser to actually write a thesis, called an "honors thesis." The remaining students are allowed to do research if they find an adviser, but they cannot write a thesis on their work.
Friday, April 2, 2010
Orange and Apples: Harvard
Congratulations to the 2,148 seniors offered acceptance to Princeton yesterday. You now have the difficult problem of choosing where to attend. If you've beaten the numbers and made were in the 8.18% of Princeton applicants accepted and the 6.91% of Harvard applicants accepted, read on as David Baumgarten '06, a Harvard graduate student, compares the two schools.
Perhaps the most telling thing I can say about how the Princeton and Harvard undergrad experiences differ is that, in truth, I have little to no idea what the Harvard undergrad experience is like. True, my 3 years at the Harvard Law School have been spent just a few minutes up Massachusetts Avenue from Harvard Yard, and every time I walk into Harvard Square I see hordes of Crimson-clad youth who I can only assume are undergrads. But, then again, they could just as easily be Kennedy School students or chemistry grad students or Business School students or --- who knows --- MIT students.
My point is that Harvard is an enormous place. For many high school students, that’s a draw --- triggering visions of not only learning from Harvard’s undergrad faculty, but also researching with Medical School professors and discussing whatever it is Kennedy School students discuss with Kennedy School students. Best I can tell, though, those visions are figments of your imagination. The reality is that, inscrutable cross-registration policies aside, Harvard’s numerous schools are by and large isolated from one another — the Business School is across the river, in Boston, and the Medical School and the Public Health School are located somewhere called Longwood, which for all I know might actually be in Rhode Island. Which means that the biggest impact all the grad schools will have on your life is an off-campus social scene that is noticeably grad student-centric.
Speaking of the social scene: I’m sure Harvard undergrads have one; I just can’t figure out what exactly it is. The finals clubs appear to play a large role, but my understanding is that they are far less open to the general student body than Princeton’s eating clubs. It’s certainly not sports-centric — there were more displaced Princetonians than Harvard students tailgating outside of Harvard Stadium before the last football game here. Meanwhile, spending much time in Boston requires a thick wallet and, for most undergrads, a fake ID. And even once you get past those barriers, the city shuts down at around 11 p.m. (I’ve had nights when getting back to Cambridge was roughly as time-consuming as — and more expensive than — taking the last train back to Princeton from New York.) All that’s left, I suppose, is four years of room parties.
Given how much I complain about it, I’d be remiss not to mention the weather. It’s cold. Really cold. Miserably, bone-chillingly, I’m-not-leaving-my-house-unless-someone-holds-a-gun-to-my-head cold. To provide context, I grew up in Virginia and had no trouble adapting to winter in New Jersey. I’m not saying you should pick a college based on the weather — just don’t say I didn’t warn you.
Look, at the end of the day, Harvard is obviously a fantastic, world-renowned school, and you can make far worse choices in life than becoming an undergrad here. But know what you’re getting: You’ll be attending a college that is but one moderately important component of a behemoth of an institution, taking classes with enrollments of more than 500, living in a town that revolves around grad students. So if you ask me, if you’re so lucky as to have the choice, it’s a no-brainer to spend your next four years at Old Nassau. After all, Harvard will still be here when it comes time for that next degree — and once you get here, you’ll make sure to keep proudly wearing plenty of bright orange.
Baumgarten is a former managing editor for sports for The Daily Princetonian.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Orange and Apples: Cambridge
Tomorrow, Princeton, and many other schools, send out their acceptances, launching thousands of school comparisons. In deference to that stress, today's school comparison will not depend solely on decisions arriving tomorrow. Instead, we look across the Atlantic to Cambridge, which sent out their acceptances months ago. Kevin Kung '08, who studied Physics at both Princeton and Cambridge, explores the residential and academic environments at the two universities.
I have the possibly prejudiced view that while Princeton is the most beautiful campus in the U.S., Cambridge is the most beautiful in the U.K. Both are green and leafy in the summer, and Cambridge is furthermore gifted with the River Cam, which creates some endless student pastimes such as punting. On the other hand, while Princeton is extremely compact (you can walk across the whole campus in less than 15 minutes), some Cambridge colleges and departments are very spread out (I have once spent 45 minutes walking to another college). This probably wouldn't be important if you have a bike, but it certainly makes it easier to choose a college that is close to your classes and normal sphere of activity. Furthermore, while Cambridge is relatively crime-free, the more distant you are from the action, the more you have to look out for your safety. For example, I live in the off-center West Cambridge, and in the past winter there were several cases of mugging on the route of my daily commute to my department, and at the bottom line, the road home at night can be quite dark. This had never been a concern to me at Princeton.
In terms of academics, it is inherently unfair to compare Princeton and Cambridge, since my Cambridge degree doesn't involve coursework. It appears that the formats of undergraduate classes in the two universities are more similar than different, the main difference lying in the terms used: For example, “tutorials/supervisions” as opposed to “precepts.” The main source of academic pressure in Princeton comes from the time-consuming, graded, and therefore peer-competitive weekly assignments. At Cambridge, study is more self-paced. What you learn in Princeton over two 12-week-long semesters, Cambridge manages to squeeze more stuff into three 8-week-long terms, with 5-week-long breaks in between, so the Cantabrigian stress level seems to fluctuate much more as a function of time. But again, I have only seen physics classes and can't speak for other departments. And oh, Princeton's exam-after-the-winter-break schedule does not apply in Cambridge.
While both universities have the residential college system, only when you've seen Cambridge do you realize that the Princetonian colleges are merely shadows of the original. Cambridge colleges are steeped in justifiable pride and history, but this can sometimes make things frustratingly bureaucratic. I live in a small, new and intimate college (Clare Hall) for graduate students only. While students have the option of eating in the dining hall, most of us find it more cost-effective to cook for ourselves, and I must say that throughout this year, I probably gained more knowledge through experimental cooking/baking, than through my degree course! Of course, Eating Clubs are non-existent in Cambridge; the closest equivalent of Princeton's houseparties are Cambridge's world-famous, pricey, and college-organized May Balls.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Orange and Apples: Yale
Yale and Princeton are the third and fourth oldest colleges in the US, and as a result have had time to develop their own institutional cultures. However, given their close dates of founding and membership in the Ivy League, are these two schools similar, or are they as different as Bulldogs and Tigers? Bryony Roberts GS, a Princeton Architecture graduate student and a Humanities and Studio Art major from Yale, compares the two schools.
My ability to compare Yale and Princeton is limited by my minimal exposure to undergraduate life at Princeton, but I did have a chance to get to know some undergraduates while teaching a precept last semester. From observing general campus life and my students, I can say that the academic caliber of Princeton is absolutely equal to that of Yale. The students are as engaged, motivated, and talented at Princeton as they are at Yale. In many ways, the two universities are almost interchangeable. But there does seem to be a difference in the social and political tone of the campuses.
Princeton generally seems to have a more conservative campus than Yale, which is visible in the level of political engagement, the career goals of the students, and the social atmosphere. As an undergrad at Yale, I was exposed to and participated in a range of liberal political activism. It seemed that the campus was always busy with political protests and community service projects, the most dramatic example being when the students marched alongside the campus hospital and dining hall workers when they were striking for better benefits. In the 2000 election, more people voted for Nader than for Bush, and I suspect that that wasn't the case at Princeton. I don't see many signs of political activism at Princeton, and it's certainly not as in-your-face as it was at Yale.
Socially, this is also a more conservative campus. On a superficial level, Princeton undergrads seem mostly preppy, and it's hard to find many "artsy" types, with a major exception being the students in Terrace Club or the 2 Dickinson St. co-op. The location of Princeton, N.J., probably reinforces this political and social conservatism. Because the town is small and relatively socially homogeneous, there aren't many outside forces encouraging a diversity of lifestyles or political views.
That being said, there are some very positive things about the Princeton undergrad community. I was completely won over by the students that I taught last semester - they were more intelligent, curious, and kind than I could have hoped for. One thing that is significantly better about Princeton than Yale is the amount of financial aid available to both undergraduate and graduate students. Princeton has an incredible commitment to supporting students in need, and it extends even beyond the academic context, into extra-curricular and health services. That commitment is admirable, and in that respect, Princeton surpasses all the other Ivy League schools.
If you're a Tiger who is now pursuing graduate studies elsewhere or a Princeton grad student who attended undergrad outside the Orange Bubble and would like to contribute a comparison send an email to blog@dailyprincetonian.com.
Monday, March 29, 2010
Orange and Apples: Brown
Later this week a new class of potential Princetonians will receive their acceptance letters. Given that both Princeton and Brown saw large jumps in the size of their application pools, Princeton's increased by 19 percent while Brown's grew by 20 percent, some of these students will be deciding between Princeton and Providence. Anna Berman GS, a Brown undergrad who concentrated in Slavic Languages and Literature and also Comparative Literature and now studies Slavic Languages and Literature at Princeton, provides a comparison of the two institutions below.
As a graduate student at Princeton, I do not feel like I have an “insider” perspective on what the undergrad experience is like here or how it differs from my undergrad university, Brown. At the level of academics, I see a difference that is more objective and therefore easier to write about from my perch. I think the curricula of the two universities seem designed to suit different types of students.
Brown’s curriculum supports freedom, experimentation and personal initiative. No one will tell you what is important to get from your college experience — you need to decide this for yourself. There are no distribution requirements or required classes (and you can take as many classes as you want pass/fail). There is no “great books” course where a professor has set out a list of “the greatest books of the Western cannon that you should read.” You have to design your own cannon through the courses you choose. If you feel that it’s important to know Shakespeare, you can study Shakespeare, but you’ll never find him taught in a course that covers Homer to Joyce. Because of this, it can be difficult to get a general knowledge of the classics. You are challenged to question and decide for yourself what is important. If you want to write a thesis, advisers will be delighted to work with you on it and coach you through the process. But no one will force you to write one. If you have an idea for a course that doesn’t exist in Brown’s enormous course catalogue, you can find an interested professor and create a group or individual course. This is quite a popular option, but you must take the initiative. For students who are internally motivated and have the energy, direction and organizational skills to follow up on their ideas, Brown is an ideal school because all the resources are in place to help. But for students who need structure and like to have a bit more of an imposed framework for their education, I imagine it would be easy to get lost at Brown.
At Princeton, I have been very impressed by all the helping hands reaching out to assist students through each stage of their experience. Not only are there distribution requirements structuring the breadth of courses they must take, there are also more requirements within the major. Princeton students are all required to write junior papers, which will help prepare them for mandatory theses their senior year. Through this system, the process of learning to write a serious, in-depth piece of scholarly work is broken down into stages with advisers there to help every step of the way. For students who don’t just come to their advisers before senior year with a clear direction in mind, having all these stages — learning to hone in on a topic, put together a bibliography, write a proposal, break down the research into stages, work on drafts — is a great thing. Both Princeton and Brown benefit from their small size and the high level of attention undergraduates receive from faculty, but at Princeton I think it is harder for a student to fall through the cracks. On the other hand, the openness and self-direction at Brown can provide amazing opportunities for students prepared to fully take advantage of them. If I were a prospective student, I would want to keep this in mind when thinking about how I learn, because each of these schools provides an excellent education and many students would flourish academically at both, but they cater to somewhat different types of learners.
If you're a Tiger who is now pursuing graduate studies elsewhere or a Princeton grad student who attended undergrad outside the Orange Bubble and would like to contribute a comparison send an email to blog@dailyprincetonian.com.
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Orange and Apples: University of Michigan- Ann Arbor
This coming week (April 2) sees the first department's due date for seniors. Perhaps, either because you are experiencing the process yourself, or just hearing about it, you may be feeling ready to be somewhere else. Maybe somewhere a little bit bigger? Kevin Wilson GS, a University of Michigan Ann Arbor alum, gives a run down of some of the differences.
In such a short blog post, I can only hint at some of the differences between the University of Michigan and Princeton. Also, I have never directly experienced undergraduate student life at Princeton, only indirectly as a resident graduate students. Through that lens, I'll examine three differences between U of M and Princeton: size, focus and student-body composition.
Michigan is huge: It has upwards of 40,000 students. (Princeton has 7,500.) It has one of the largest university endowments (but Princeton's is larger), the largest living alumni base and a huge helping of school spirit. (Princeton has none that I know of.) Indeed, traveling in London and Barcelona while wearing Michigan gear invites shouts of "Go Blue!" This size means there are lots of undergraduate research positions, lots of clubs, lots of classes, lots of diverse backgrounds. It also means up to 500 students per lecture, lots of bureaucracy and the potential to "get lost in the system." To me, size was a major factor in choosing Michigan, even though my hometown's population was one-third the football field's capacity.
In terms of focus, Princeton is much more "abstract" than Michigan. At most universities, there is a severe disconnect between the real world and campus. At Princeton, the divide seems particularly wide. Protests occur weekly in Ann Arbor, in the center of campus. The best Princeton could muster last year was Princeton Proposition 8. Moreover, Michigan's 19 divisions (liberal arts, engineering, business etc.) infuse the university's scholarship with a practical flavor. This difference of focus is reflected even in the information technology services: Michigan is years beyond Princeton, from the library catalog to online student self-service to the availability of the computer labs.
Where Princeton truly beats Michigan, though, is in student-body composition. Look at the number of undergraduates at Princeton who have earned international recognition for their work in high school! You'll find very few (if any) winners of the Intel Science Fair or gold medalists in the International Math Olympiad attending the Maize and Blue. This is not to say there are not brilliant people at Michigan: Many of my closest friends are enrolled in top graduate programs. Basically, Princeton is a small pond with lots of huge fish, while Michigan is a very big pond with quite a few big fish.
I don't have room to speak of differences in diversity, job placement (42 percent of Princeton undergraduates entering the workforce go to financial services), cost and a whole host of other issues. But for the general pre-frosh, I offer the following advice: Before making your choice, decide very roughly on a life plan: "I think I want to go into politics" will do. Compare the rankings of Princeton's and Michigan's programs for your interests as well as starting salaries and job placement rates. Visit the campuses, and talk with professors and students in projects that interest you. If all these things are roughly the same, go with the cheaper option and make the most of your time. A degree from either Michigan or Princeton will get your foot in the door. From there, it's your resume and not your degree that will earn you a job.
If you're a Tiger who is now pursuing graduate studies elsewhere or a Princeton grad student who attended undergrad outside the Orange Bubble and would like to contribute a comparison send an email to blog@dailyprincetonian.com.
Friday, March 12, 2010
Orange and Apples: Harvard
Harvard and Princeton are both the Number 1 universities in the country according to US News & World Reports, but how does the experience at the two schools differ for students? Ralph Kleiner '05 offers a comparison of the two institutions.
In 2005, I graduated from Princeton with an A.B. in chemistry. Immediately thereafter, I started work on my Ph.D. in chemistry at Harvard. My experience at Harvard has been extremely rewarding both scientifically and professionally. The Boston area --- including MIT, Harvard and Harvard Med, the newly formed Broad Institute and countless other academic and industrial ventures --- is one of the most exciting places in the country for research in the natural sciences. As a grad student, it’s easy to take advantage of these opportunities; for an undergrad however, the competitive environment created by students who know exactly what they want to do, and those who are less certain, can be a bit overwhelming.
For most undergrads, college is more a place of exploration than a means to an end. My time at Princeton was spent doing just that. In addition to deciding on what I wanted to study, I dabbled in several fairly diverse activities, spanning everything from a cappella singing to playing on the sprint football team. (For those interested, Harvard has no sprint football team.) I also belonged to an eating club, that bastion of Ivy League indulgence and exclusivity that my non-Princeton friends tease me about incessantly. Of course, Harvard is not without its pretension, as evidenced by the recent licensing of its name to a line of preppy high-end men’s sportswear.
What I most treasured about my Princeton experience was the sense of community fostered by the school. I think that a large part of this was due to the relative seclusion of the campus as well as the focus that Princeton places on the undergraduate body (which, after all, constitutes more than two-thirds of all students on campus). Socially, the eating clubs provided an inclusive and convenient environment for meeting your peers. I also always had a feeling that the admission office had done an exceptional job of selecting students that were both sufficiently diverse and yet had a certain set of core values in common. The friends that I made at Princeton have remained some of the closest people in my life.
In contrast, Harvard is nestled in the heart of Cambridge, which provides a number of exciting opportunities for rest and relaxation for those with the initiative to seek them out. Nearby Boston has even more things to do if you envision yourself spending significant amounts of time off campus. While the town of Princeton is quaint and idyllic, the extent of its charm can be appreciated within the span of a single afternoon.
Ultimately, it’s hard to go wrong with either school as an undergraduate institution. The undergrads that I’ve interacted with at Harvard have all seemed very happy and would probably praise its virtues no less than I’ve praised those of Princeton. Neither school however, is an appropriate choice for someone interested in following college football. Then again, my hometown team, the Syracuse Orange, hasn’t fared all that well recently either.
If you're a former Tiger who is now pursuing graduate studies elsewhere or a Princeton grad student who attended undergrad outside the Orange Bubble and would like to contribute a comparison send an email to blog@dailyprincetonian.com.
Monday, March 8, 2010
Orange and Apples: UT Austin
If you are choosing between the University of Texas Austin and Princeton then your school spirit section of your wardrobe may not look that different. The Tiger's orange and Longhorns' burnt orange are not that far from each other on the color wheel. But how similar are the instututions themselves? Devon Edwards '05, a former Politics major and law student at UT, provides a comparison.
It is difficult to compare the University of Texas with Princeton. My perspective is incomplete: I attended Princeton as an undergraduate, but attended Texas as a law student, and the University of Texas School of Law is almost entirely a separate entity from the undergraduate college. But I did spend three years mixing in among the undergrads at raucous football games and ridiculous Sixth Street. My brother also attended Texas as an undergraduate, and some of my best friends at the law school had previously called the University of Texas’ 40 acres home as well. These perspectives, as well as my own, enable me to make some comparisons.
The most important difference between the two schools is that Princeton students generally make academic growth their first priority. Students at Texas view academics as only one part of a broader college experience. Princeton is filled with people who are unabashedly intellectually curious, and the small classes and precepts encourage students to work to grasp the material. Learning is personal. When discussing the roots of Nietzsche’s philosophy in front of eight peers as well as the professor, you better know what you’re talking about. In contrast, while Texas has the resources to challenge students, the larger class sizes prevent professors and students from personally and intellectually interacting. It is easier
to coast until the final exam, and students do.
While students at both colleges are intelligent and rounded people, certain differences are notable. You’ll continually be impressed by how freakishly smart your peers will be at Princeton. You’ll find students who dominated you in Beirut the night before blowing you out of the water in your physics class the next day. These people can be intense though, and at Texas you will find smart kids who like to relax a bit more. If you got into Princeton, you’re likely to be among the smartest kids in any room at Texas. At Princeton, you’re probably not even the smartest kid in your freshman bunk bed. (I definitely wasn’t.)
The difference in the size of the undergraduate student body also leads to differences in how students socially interact and cohere. The small size of Princeton allows the administration to construct a variety of effective communities and small groups: Outdoor Action groups, the residential colleges and the small precepts mandatory for most classes. And while Greek life at Princeton is more important than the administration would have you know, it is not a central component of interaction in the undergraduate system. In contrast, because Texas is so large, students already know many people from home with whom they band together to brave the larger crowds. Joining a fraternity or a sorority is more essential at Texas to make new friends. But the larger size of Texas, as well as the ease of access to the greater Austin community, guarantees a variety of social niches and escapes that Princeton lacks. While Princeton often feels like a self-contained bubble, Texas never does.
Texas completely outshines Princeton when it comes to organized sports. If you envision a healthy dose of Saturday tailgating and cheering loudly with friends, go to Texas. Somehow Princeton students have mastered the art of tailgating right through the football game. In contrast, Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium brims with rowdy burnt-orange fans. Students take fandom seriously; there is no Princeton equivalent to the pilgrimage to Dallas for the Texas-Oklahoma shootout, nor to the ever-present possibility of a football or basketball national championship. On the other hand, it is much more likely that you will actually participate in sports at Princeton, where crew teams that win at Nationals typically count many of their members as walk-ons.
Ultimately, you will probably make the right choice for you, or anyway, you’ll be so happy at either Princeton or Texas that you could not have imagined going anywhere else. So don’t sweat it, and enjoy whatever choice you make.
If you're a former Tiger who is now pursuing graduate studies elsewhere or a Princeton grad student who attended undergrad outside the Orange Bubble and would like to contribute a comparison send an email to blog@dailyprincetonian.com.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Orange and Apples: Cambridge
With midterms coming up you might be ready to run away to another country. In that case, how does time in the United Kingdom sound? David Sayers, a graduate student in Near Eastern Studies and former undergraduate at Cambridge University, compares the two institutions.
Cambridge and Princeton have a lot of superficial similarities. They’re both underdog rivals to better-known institutions: one of them to Oxford, the other to Harvard. They’ve both got gothic architecture: one of them real, the other fake. They’ve both got chapels: one of them the largest in the world, the other the second-largest. They’ve both got collegiate systems: one of them evolved over the centuries, the other instituted by fiat to rival unsavory dining establishments. You catch my drift. It’s hard to come from Cambridge to Princeton for the first time and see more than a pale imitation of the former place in the latter. If you happen to spend some time in both places, however, that first impression quickly evaporates.
Perhaps the greatest single difference between Cambridge and Princeton lies in the relationship between university and town. In Cambridge, the university is the undeniable core of the town. It occupies the center, all roads lead to it, and much of the town caters to it and its students in the form of shops, pubs, clubs and even the kebab vans that pull up on market square at three in the morning to feed ravenous partygoers. The centrality of the university also breeds its own animosity, however: the famous hatred between town and gown, courtesy of which, again at three in the morning, I received the first proper beating of my life at the hands of a group of townies whom, in my freshman innocence, I had dared to ask which college they attended.
Such a thing would never happen in Princeton, not because the relationship between town and university is so good, but simply because there is none. Only the Communiversity fair brings town and gown together --- oh, I don’t know, every term? every year? --- across the otherwise stygian divide that is Nassau Street. It’s not so much that you can’t cross Nassau Street as a student, but that once you’re over there, there’s simply nothing there for you. Sure, there is the Princeton Record Exchange, the biggest secondhand music store on the entire East Coast. But if you’re looking for an affordable place to drink with your friends, a clothing store that has anything other than what a 50-something WASP U.S. suburbanite might want to wear or, God forbid, a club, I wish you better luck than I’ve had.
I won’t even try to compare the two places in terms of academic excellence. If you’re lucky enough to be in a position to choose between two institutions like Cambridge and Princeton, it really comes down to apples and oranges. What you should ask yourself is what kind of environment would suit your character and goals better. Cambridge is diverse but distracting. During my time there I performed in plays, edited a newspaper, got kicked out of bars --- and had an average grade to show for it. That didn’t stop me from getting into Princeton, a place that is introspective but inbred. Here, I can’t wait to escape to New York on the weekends, but academically, I’ve never done better. And who knows what that might get you into?
If you're a former Tiger who is now pursuing graduate studies elsewhere or a Princeton grad student who attended undergrad outside the Orange Bubble and would like to contribute a comparison send an email to blog@dailyprincetonian.com.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Orange and Apples: Stanford
What do a tree and a tiger have in common? Nothing. But orange and red are closely related colors. Which is the better metaphor? Yvon Wang '08, a history major at Princeton, compares Princeton and Stanford.
For me, deciding to attend Stanford for history graduate school was affected not merely by the department's outstanding faculty and good reputation, but also by the university's similarities, at least on paper, to Old Nassau. A suburban campus with architecture that drives tourists wild, close to a major city but remaining quietly suburban, I thought, would satisfy both my need to get actual work done and my occasional desire for liveliness.
Actually, the Cardinal bubble and its orange counterpart are more like cousins than twins. Yes, both student bodies have that private school attractiveness --- or bourgeois indolence, depending on how one looks at it --- and the prestigious names make some of their students worry about how to answer with aplomb the inevitable "So where do you go?" But, as I discovered when I arrived in Palo Alto last year and have come to appreciate increasingly since, Stanford offers a very different experience. Let me name the ways with conveniently bolded headings.
Student body
It became obvious that if, heaven forbid, a massive civil war between the undergrads and grads began on the Farm, the former wouldn't stand a chance. With well-known professional schools in law, business and medicine, the number of "shady" people (exempting present company, of course) on campus is pretty vast: about 2,000 more than baccalaureates. This is not to say that undergrads are totally disenfranchised; it's merely that they are outnumbered. By comparison, Princeton's focus on its undergrads is both numerical and substantive. Judging by the exuberance with which they cheer on the Cardinals, I'm sure that Stanfordites adore their alma mater, but I'm still convinced that Princeton delivers more opportunities for its undergraduates.
Disciplinary distributions
Speaking of statistics, in contrast to the decidedly liberal arts bent at Princeton, Stanford's strength, as is well-known, lies especially in its engineering. Some friends intimate that this perception may be a result of mostly hanging out with fellow grad students, but instead of a proudly masochistic minority making daily early-morning pilgrimages to the mythically distant E-Quad, Stanford engineers represent 25 percent of the total student population and are housed in relatively centrally located buildings.
Geography
Finally, the two campuses differ considerably in their, er, physiques. Stanford is unabashedly enormous, and a bicycle --- or a skateboard for those too cool to wear helmets, or a Segway for those who enjoy making others seethingly jealous --- is virtually mandatory. Additionally, Palo Alto is mild and almost disgustingly sunny year-round. Mind you, it's anything but searing-hot and sunny: It's perpetually between 60 and 75 degrees. The only relief from the horribly nice weather is provided by the so-called "rainy season," from December through March or so.
To be fair, I must note that Stanford doesn't do the "snow" thing. No hillsides to sled down on dining hall trays, no romantic evenings drinking cocoa and cozying up in a window seat, and definitely no chances to bring out the woolen scarves unless one had circulatory problems or were a humanities grad student. Precisely because of this lack of real seasons, Stanfordites display a shocking lack of gratitude for their luck. While Tigers rush outside in early spring to unfold their lawn chairs on the still-dormant lawns (and to catch nasty head colds), Stanford colleagues often shrug when I express horror at yet another day cooped up indoors, because "it'll be perfect again tomorrow."
In conclusion, choosing between these delightful places must be like all things: to each his own. Wherever I am in the future, though, my own soul will always have stripes.
If you're a former Tiger who is now pursuing graduate studies elsewhere or a Princeton grad student who attended undergrad outside the Orange Bubble and would like to contribute a comparison send an email to blog@dailyprincetonian.com.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Orange and Apples: Cornell
Cornell may have beaten Princeton in Men's Basketball, but how do the two differ as educational institutions? Rob Berger '05, a chemistry graduate student at Cornell, offers a comparison.
I was a chemistry major in the Class of 2005, and recently finished graduate school at Cornell. I love both schools, and if you're trying to decide between the two, I don't think you'd go wrong with either. But they are different places in certain ways, and overall, I'd say I'm glad I went to the two schools when I did.
The most significant differences between the two schools are related to the fact that Cornell has about three times as many students as Princeton. Academically, both schools are great, and once you get to independent research and the higher-level courses in your major, the size difference doesn't matter too much. In some of the big introductory courses, though, the size difference allows the professors at Princeton to be more accessible to students. If you're someone who wants to have a running dialogue with your professors and wants them all to know you by name, that's something to keep in mind.
Socially, the size difference between Princeton and Cornell means the students at Cornell are a bit more spread out. At Princeton, all of the undergrads live on campus, and quite honestly, there isn't often a good reason to leave campus (though if you're a city kind of person, New York is an easy trip). I personally liked having all of my friends living in neighboring buildings --- it brings about a nice sense of community on the Princeton campus. At Cornell, most undergrads live on campus only for the first year or two, and then live in off-campus apartments around Ithaca. Ithaca is a cool town, albeit in the middle of nowhere, so this isn't necessarily a bad thing. It's largely a question of which setup sounds more appealing to you.
In my opinion, those are the most noticeable differences between the two schools. As with all schools, there are plenty of other little quirks that distinguish them --- eating clubs vs. fraternities and sororities, lousy weather vs. lousier weather, etc. --- which you won't have a problem adjusting to regardless of which school you choose. If I seem to be steering you toward Princeton, it's partly because it's the school I went to first, and I hope a Cornell undergrad would do the same for Cornell. They're both great. Best of luck.
Oh, and one more thing. Not that this should influence your decision, but Princeton puts on a much better show at Reunions. Can't wait for my Fifth this spring.
If you're a former Tiger who is now pursuing graduate studies elsewhere or a Princeton grad student who attended undergrad outside the Orange Bubble and would like to contribute a comparison send an email to blog@dailyprincetonian.com.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Orange and Apples: McGill
With the world focused on Canada for the Olympics, now is a perfect time to look north for a Canadian school for Orange and Apples. Rachel Parsons, a graduate student in Philosophy, attended McGill University and provides a comparison with Princeton.
I’m a Princeton grad student, and I hail from Montreal, where I attended McGill for both my B.A. and my B.C.L./LL.B., an analog to the J.D. here in the United States. If you’re trying to decide between attending Princeton or McGill for your undergraduate years, I hope to be able to offer some helpful information mixed in with an opinion or two.
First of all, it depends on what you are looking for. Do you want to find a sense of independence during your college years? Do you want to live in an interesting and unique city with incredible diversity? Do you want to be part of a rich academic culture that includes professional schools for law, medicine, dentistry and business? Then you should go to McGill.
On the other hand, do you prefer a small, secluded college experience, where you live in a very wealthy town, you are never alone, you have oodles of support, and things are made easier for you? Do you prefer to live on campus, always feel safe and spend every waking moment basking in the life that the university has tailor-made for you? Then you should go to Princeton.
These universities are like night and day. If I had to find some similarities, it would be that both places offer an excellent education and place a primacy on student wellbeing. An important difference, though, is that at Princeton the students are treated more like consumers: The university exists for its undergrads, and all resources are directly or indirectly devoted to them. McGill is highly devoted to its undergraduates and offers them all the same important advantages as Princeton, but one gets the sense that the institution exists primarily for something beyond them: Admitted undergrads are being offered an opportunity to partake in something that would somehow exist without them.
The end result in either case, so long as you work hard and are open-minded, is a second-to-none education, but depending on your personality, you might thrive better in one environment over the other. I think that, in principle anyway, Princeton students generally have more access to professors, partially because it's such a small place, and partially because professors often lead at least one precept for their class and generally tend to be more involved in student life and development. However, I recall the Arts Dean at McGill saying that her greatest wish for all the new students was that each would build a mentor relationship with at least one professor before they leave. This is certainly what happened for me. Thus perhaps a more stark example of the difference in environment is what happens when a student's grades are sliding and she or he is in danger of failing a course. At Princeton, all sorts of people will be put on alert, and someone will contact the student. At McGill this won’t happen, at least not as a matter of course, and if the student doesn't contact her professors she will likely end up on probation. There are committees that she can talk to after the fact to explain, document and rectify the situation --- e.g., if there was a death in the family, or the student was suffering from a medical condition, etc. --- so fairness is not comprised, but there isn’t the close-knit supervision of students that you will find at Princeton.
As for the social situations at each school, I lived with my family for some of my time at McGill, so I didn’t have the full social experience, but I get the sense that you will encounter less elitism at McGill than at Princeton. There are no elite "eating clubs" at McGill, though there are some small-time sororities and fraternities if you’re into that. Beyond that, there is room to find whatever you are looking for; students make friends in residence during their first year, and after that they live in apartments, cook for themselves and get involved by joining clubs and participating in SSMU activities (SSMU is the Student Society of McGill University, and it is extremely active). I loved my time at McGill, and from what I gather undergraduates love their time here at Princeton. So it’s all about what kind of experience you are looking for and what kind of environment you think you will thrive in.
If you're a former Tiger who is now pursuing graduate studies elsewhere or a Princeton grad student who attended undergrad outside the Orange Bubble and would like to contribute a comparison send an email to blog@dailyprincetonian.com.
Friday, February 19, 2010
Orange and Apples: Georgetown
Princeton students may be "in the nation's service" but how does this compare with being located in the nation's capital? Chad Priest '07, a religion major, explores the two schools.
I am a graduate of Princeton and am currently a second-year law student at the Georgetown University Law Center. It is difficult to compare my experiences in college and now in law school, but I will try.
In terms of academics, I had many great professors at Princeton, in many different departments. I have also had several outstanding professors at Georgetown, but on the whole they have not made themselves as accessible as the professors I had at Princeton. The precept system at Princeton was also a much more engaging academic experience for me than my 100-plus person first-year law sections. Overall, my law school education has been much more anonymous than my education at Princeton.
Second, the administration at Princeton is, by far, better than Georgetown --- I cannot emphasize this enough. At Princeton, facilities problems are fixed immediately, computer help is always available, official e-mails are proofread and contain concise, relevant information, and in general, everything proceeds in an unbelievably smooth manner. I did not fully appreciate this until I got to Georgetown. Without going into too much detail, I can say that in one semester alone two of my professors complained in front of class about how poorly-administered the Law Center is, and many students I know voice strident criticism.
Third, while it is difficult to compare the student bodies at the Georgetown Law Center and Princeton, in general I would say that Princeton is home to a more diverse and talented group of students. Certainly, the students at Princeton are more international, both in terms of background and focus.
Finally, the only advantage Georgetown might have over Princeton is its location: I have found living in Washington to be a welcome change from the sleepiness of Princeton. That being said, I really enjoyed the close-knit Princeton community when I was a student and did not feel like I was trapped while I was there. It is, after all, really easy to get to New York for the night or the weekend.
If you're a former Tiger who is now pursuing graduate studies elsewhere or a Princeton grad student who attended undergrad outside the Orange Bubble and would like to contribute a comparison send an email to blog@dailyprincetonian.com.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Orange and Apples: University of Chicago
This year, applications to Princeton increased by a whopping 19%, however the University of Chicago greatly exceeded that, with a 42% in applications. How do these two schools compare once students make it through the doors? Carolyn Pichert '05, a master's student of International Relations and Public Policy at the University of Chicago, compares the two schools.
I like to say I got the best of both worlds when Princeton became an opportunity for my undergraduate education and the University of Chicago became an opportunity for my graduate education. As a tour guide at Princeton, I would tell visitors about the “undergraduate-focused” campus and experience that Princeton purposefully provided. In contrast, at Chicago, graduate students outnumber the undergrads, and certainly in many senses it is a grad student-centric campus. I think that both provide phenomenal educational experiences and networks to undergraduates and graduate students when they graduate.
I also made it a point to say to prospective students that they would likely have a great time at college no matter where they went, and that the most important thing is to find the best fit between the student and the school. For me, Princeton was a much better match at the time I attended than the University of Chicago would have been. In retrospect, I probably would have become an even more academically oriented person had I attended Chicago as an undergrad.
One asset that the University of Chicago has, in my opinion, is its diverse and urban campus. Chicago has a ton to offer as a city, and in this economic climate, more opportunities for jobs and internships, according to a recent article in Forbes magazine, than New York. Chicago is a place you can choose to stay after school is over, whereas not many choose or find a way to stay in Princeton, N.J.
As a grad student, I found professors at the University of Chicago to be as accessible as those at Princeton were to undergraduates. Only once did a Chicago professor offhandedly note that he had heard that Princeton undergraduates were not as intellectual and academically talented as the brilliant Chicago undergraduates. I think whether they are accessible to the undergrads at Chicago or not, the professors are, it seems, for the most part proud of the undergraduates’ abilities and reputations. As I recall, Princeton professors thought highly of most Princeton undergrads as well.
The University of Chicago's campus culture is probably more intellectual, on the whole, than Princeton’s. However, I know people who were undergrad athletes and improvisers at Chicago as well as incredibly intellectual Princetonians. Both universities benefit from having a large enough applicant pool that they can easily select well-rounded student bodies. Sometimes it seems like the University of Chicago prides itself on selecting the most unique and academic among applicants. (The unofficial campus slogan: “The place where fun comes to die.” The T-shirt seen at the student center: “Where the squirrels are more aggressive than the guys.”) But obviously someone has a sense of humor about it. I am personally a big believer that in many ways you can find your niche at almost any college campus as long as you are determined to learn, enjoy yourself and maintain a balance. For me, Princeton was the place where I felt I would be best equipped to find that balance, though I do think it's possible most places.
I do not know what the networking opportunities are for Chicago undergrads. As a grad student, I have found the job network somewhat Chicago-centric, which is fine with me because I wanted to stay here. Princeton’s various networks, funds (like the Class of 1969 Community Service Fund) and nonprofits (like Princeton in Africa) provided me with two internships and one post-graduation job. These Princeton programs are of immeasurable value to me personally and professionally. Since I do not know what the University of Chicago offers, I cannot make a full comparison, but the opportunities I received from Princeton will make me forever grateful, and unable to contemplate making a different choice almost 10 years ago.
If you're a former Tiger who is now pursuing graduate studies elsewhere or a Princeton grad student who attended undergrad outside the Orange Bubble and would like to contribute a comparison send an email to blog@dailyprincetonian.com.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Orange and Apples: Penn
Wish you had another snow day today? If you were at Penn you would. Consider the positive and negative aspects of Princeton and Penn led by Diana Bonaccorsi '08, who studied Anthropology at Princeton, but is a Pre-Medicine student at Penn. .
Continuing my education at Penn has made me more grateful than ever to have spent my undergraduate years at Princeton. I cannot compare my specialized graduate program courses to the undergraduate courses I took at Princeton, but I can say that I am not pleased with the advisers, professors and facilities in my program at Penn. I can also safely say that Princeton’s focus is primarily on its undergraduates, whereas Penn’s law, medical and business schools, as well as their many Ph.D. programs, detract from the undergraduate experience.
Though Penn and Princeton are only separated by a 45-minute car ride, with regard to campus and social life, the universities are poles apart. Princeton, N.J., is a beautiful town with a great main street and square filled with quaint shops, good restaurants and the amenities of any city. If the need strikes to get away to the Big Apple, Philly or Atlantic City, it’s only a train or bus ride away. The University has a great relationship with the town’s community. I feel safe while jogging around the lake and outlying residences, as well as teetering back to my dorm on my way home from the Street, where all of the eating clubs are located. Penn’s campus is urban and located on the skirts of a notoriously unsafe neighborhood in Philadelphia. I feel uncomfortable walking three blocks off campus at night.
The social life at Penn is centered on Greek life with the occasional bar scene. While Princeton’s eating clubs are similar to Greek life in the party sense, they add another element of belonging. Upperclassmen join these coed clubs to eat their meals, study, party, play sports in the backyards, dance to live music and hang with friends. I loved the social scene at Princeton, because between the eating clubs, sports teams of all levels, philanthropic clubs, theater and dance groups, everyone can find their niche in more than one activity, leading to a student body that is diverse but interconnected.
I had the privilege of attending my first Reunion this summer, as well as witness Penn’s alumni gathering during graduation week. There is no comparison. Princeton has such a unique and dedicated alumni community that there is nothing to equate it to. Every year, thousands of Princetonians return to their old stomping ground with their families to congratulate the graduating class and reunite with old and new friends. It is the time of year I look forward to the most. During my four years at Princeton, I have developed such a connection to the town and university that I plan on returning every year to partake in the Reunion festivities and form lasting bonds with my fellow classmates. I wouldn’t trade my experience at Princeton University for anything.
If you're a former Tiger who is now pursuing graduate studies elsewhere or a Princeton grad student who attended undergrad outside the Orange Bubble and would like to contribute a comparison send an email to blog@dailyprincetonian.com.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Orange and Apples: Caltech
With snow already on the ground and a Winter Storm Warning in effect until tomorrow evening, you might be considering decamping from Princeton for warmer climes. Brandt Belson, a mechanical and aerospace engineering graduate student, provides a view of how attending school in sunny Pasadena, CA might differ from Princeton.
I graduated from Caltech in 2008 with a double major in mechanical engineering and business, economics and management, and now I'm a grad student here at Princeton. Both schools are terrific, but there are important differences.
Academically, I can only comment on science-related aspects, and the classes at both schools focus on fundamentals and theory. This is especially true at Caltech, where nearly every class is strongly based on understanding the "why." Both Princeton and Caltech do offer classes that are more practical. At Caltech, there are optional informal mini-courses that teach useful skills, while Princeton has a few full classes that are applied.
The names explain a lot: "Institute of Technology" vs. "University." In the first two years at Caltech, every student takes "core," which is a large set of math, physics and chemistry classes. Caltech's focus is clearly on science as it is truly a research institution. In contrast, Princeton is a leading authority in nearly everything, and it focuses on providing a more comprehensive liberal arts education. This means undergrads are a focus and can take classes on most any topic, from anthropology to Slavic languages.
With Caltech, it's pretty much mandatory to mention the workload. Caltech has three terms, and students take about five classes a term. At Princeton, there are two longer terms, and most students take four or five classes a term. In my experience, the classes at Princeton teach less material and assign less work. I'm sure you can do the math. So if you are up for the challenge, Caltech certainly offers the opportunity to learn at a blistering pace, but it's a blistering pace. Princeton classes teach plenty and efficiently without quite taking over your life.
Your potential fellow students are quite different, too. Princeton's undergrads (around 5,000 of them) have very different interests and personalities. There is a lot going on campus, and everyone has a role, or two, or three. There are athletes, writers, singers, actors and even partiers. It's high-paced, and sometimes I wonder how the undergrads do so much. Caltech's students (around 900 of them) are at Caltech because they love science, pure and simple. Their backgrounds differ, and while many play sports, write, sing, act and even party, everyone is a scientist first. If there is one thing I miss about Caltech, it's that every student was a brilliant analytical thinker.
To settle a few loose ends, if you're wondering which has better food, the answer is undeniably Princeton. Location and weather go to Caltech, with its SoCal beaches and sun. Housing is a draw, and each campus is beautifully located in a rich suburb. (But: Pine or palm trees?)
In the end, what led me to my decision was this question: Do you want to be a research scientist? If yes, then there is nowhere better to get started than Caltech. If you're not sure or enjoy other pursuits as much as science, then go to Princeton, where you will have the time and ability to explore, while in no way limiting yourself if you do choose to be a scientist.
If you're a former Tiger who is now pursuing graduate studies elsewhere or a Princeton grad student who attended undergrad outside the Orange Bubble and would like to contribute a comparison send an email to blog@dailyprincetonian.com.
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