Why Princeton over other Ivies?

OldNassau
Thu, 27 Nov 2014 04:44:22 +0000

I was in your shoes not long ago, OP, and now that I’m on the other side I can say that what you’re doing – agonizing over which school you want to go to now, at this point – is not helpful and possibly harmful. If we spend our time telling you what characteristics define Princeton, and you decide it is your “dream school,” then you will be hurt and our time will be wasted if you are among the 93% of applicants rejected.

I might also add that the mental conception you form of a school based on its textual descriptions will be off-point. I thought I would really like the University of Pennsylvania based on its descriptions here, but visited and found out it was not for me. I strongly recommend that you not commit four years of your life to a school which you have never seen. It’s fine that you can’t visit now – there’s no need to – but once you have your acceptance letters in hand, fly out to the schools you’re still deciding between. You’ll fly out there every semester, anyway – what’s 1 more plane ticket on top of 8?