| To answer the OP's original question:
While I lead a pretty happy life on campus here at Princeton, and I think you can too, I'm under no illusion that's it's the only place where you can live a happy life. Here are the primary things you should consider:
1. You're obviously interested in a technical discipline, but there are a broad spectrum of personalities who are. Which type are you? Do you enjoy engineering hacks in your free time? Have a nerdy sense of humor? Code over the weekends? Or do you love math/science/engineering but prefer to have a circle of friends who enjoy philosophy and economics and don't understand the occasional XKCD joke? MIT might fit the former type and Princeton the latter. That's not to say each college serves one stereotype: I've been to some great parties at MIT, and Princeton sure has its share of religious Slashdot readers and people who practically live in the lab. But you'll certainly find a predominance of a particular type on each campus.
2. Perhaps more important, what kind of person do you want to be? Of the types of people above, I probably fit the nerdy humor/tech lover sort of person the most. I'd go as far as to say that I'd probably be, on the whole, more at home at MIT. But I don't think that personal growth necessarily happens in places where people are most comfortable. It's sometimes character building to face a broader world and an array of people different than yourself. The kids at Princeton and the kids are MIT are both plenty bright, but I wanted to taste more flavors of intelligence, and I think Princeton does better with this. Feel free to disagree with me on any point, but I think I make the point that "fit" is a more complicated concept than it may appear to be.
3. How certain are you that you want to be in a technical discipline? I've known people who came into Princeton pretty certain they were going to be physics majors who, today, are studying history. And these were heavy-duty math/sci guys before Princeton. The point I'm making is this: if you're absolutely certain you want to immerse yourself in math/science/engineering for four years and want to make that the focal point of your undergraduate education, it's quite possible (likely?) that MIT will serve your interests better. On the other hand, if you're iffy and open to the seductive powers of other disciplines or are simply unsure if you're willing to hack it in a difficult engineering environment (and I'll tell you, it can really get very, very difficult), Princeton leaves you with the best exit opportunities you'll find.
Good luck with your decision either way! It's hard to go wrong. |