Princeton / Stanford

michellel
Tue, 09 Apr 2013 02:04:04 +0000

I’m also choosing between Princeton and Stanford right now and am planning on pursuing engineering. I feel pretty much like you do in terms of the environment at both-- Stanford would have nicer weather and seems really friendly/laid back. Being from the west coast myself, I’m much more used to the atmosphere there. Princeton’s reputation for being elitist or whatever concerns me too. I think any claims that Princeton lacks diversity are dated stereotypes (it seems pretty diverse to me), same goes for the rich stereotype. But it seems pretty preppy and feels like it could be elitist in comparison to Stanford. In terms of political orientation, I think both (like pretty much every college in the nation) are fairly liberal, so I wouldn’t worry about the conservative reputation for either.

However, I like that Princeton is smaller and more undergrad focused. I also like the liberal arts emphasis. I think for most non-engineering majors (and even some engineering majors) Princeton probably has the advantage. But I guess I didn’t really give you too much real advice, but I’d be curious to hear which way you’re leaning as you get closer to making your decision. I’m actually going to attend the Princeton Preview in the next few days, so maybe I’ll have a better sense of the students/atmosphere then and I’ll be able to give you more helpful comments. :)