<p>Even as a pre-frosh, I can refute some of the charges on that site:</p>
<p>1) Having grown up in New Jersey, the weather isn’t that bad, and certainly isn’t worse than that of the other Ivies. Unless you come from the south, you probably won’t find it unusual… and if you do come from the south, then welcome to northeast winters!</p>
<p>2) Princeton has, in my opinion and that of most people I’ve spoken to, a beautiful campus. Sure, it has its eyesores (like the school of architecture, ironically enough), but the bulidings are overwhelmingly lovely. I write this assuming that the poster on college reviews was indeed referring to the appearance of the campus rather than an order of monks when he referred to “ascetics.” By the way, I have seen Princeton during the school year as well as during the summer</p>
<p>3) While Princeton does have a liberal leaning, it is ovewhelmingly viewed as more moderate than many other elite institutions. The truth is, nearly all of the blue-state schools reflect regional politics. Even forgetting the location of the school, the world of academica is far more liberal than the country at large.</p>
<p>4) Princeton’s 6 year graduation rate is 97 %, one of the highest in the nation. Its freshman retention rate is 98 %, likewise one of the highest.</p>
<p>5) 72 % of the classes at Princeton have under 20 students, and only 11 % have more than 50. Seminars often cap admission at 12. Princeton also has the preceptorial system, which breaks down large classes into more intimate discussion groups.</p>
<p>6) The town of Princeton is very upscale. While there is crime everywhere, the risk of being victimized at Princeton is certainly lower than that of being victimized in New Haven, Providence, NYC, or Philly, and probably most of your hometowns.</p>
<p>7) Princeton does not allow students to double major primarily because of the senior thesis requirement. It would be nearly impossible to write two theses in 4 years while still recieving a well-rounded education. You may take as many classes as you wish, but cannot officially double major simply because of the demands of the jr. papers and thesis.</p>
<p>8) Princeton’s new cap on the number of A’s reflects the generally high achievement of students there. If so few students were getting A range grades, Princeton would not have needed the still-generous cap of 1/3 of students recieving A grades.</p>
<p>As a general note, I would only add that many of the complaints seem to come from students who either didn’t succeed academically or who were in “culture shock” because of conservative political views. Such students would likely have had similar problems at any school they attended.</p>
<p>And it isn’t surpirsing that one of the complainers referred to “New Haven” in his post, considering he posted the same thing word-for word in the Yale thread substituting Yale for Princeton.</p>