Princeton University
Responses from the Student Interview
From a student who identifies as Major: Computer Science
Minor: None
Student Self Identifies as: Biracial: Half Black and Half White Heterosexual Male
Summary
I’m in an all-male acapella group and I play in the Princeton University Orchestra.
Background
Gender Identity: Male
Race/Ethnicity: Biracial: Half Black and Half White
Sexual Orientation: Heterosexual
High School Experience: Public school in Fairfield County, CT with a graduating class of about 425 students. There was a culture of going to college.
First-Generation College Student: No
Major: Computer Science
Minor: None
Extracurricular Activities: I’m in an all-male acapella group and I play in the Princeton University Orchestra.
Did any of your extracurricular activities have a particularly big impact on your experience?
I really love being part of acapella and that has been the most quintessential part of my extracurricular experience at Princeton. I’ve been playing bass since I was eight and that’s been a lot of fun because I get to play a diverse repertoire and tour internationally every other year.
Academic Experience
Can you describe your weekly coursework for your major?
Because I switched to Computer Science late on, I’m doubling up on two courses this semester that normally people take separately. This semester, most of my time is going into completing the programming assignments and juggling those between the two classes. I do a lot of coding and reviewing notes from lectures and precepts, [which are weekly discussion groups], so I have a hold of everything conceptually. I’m also taking a music theory course and a children’s literature course that I’m taking as a P/D/F so it won’t contribute to my GPA. I’m doing that because I’m taking two very hard Computer Science courses that are very time consuming and I don’t want to put in the work to get an A in that class.
Is there anything you feel your major’s department does especially well or poorly?
In the courses I’ve taken so far, they’ve been extremely organized and the resources the department offers have been really fantastic. They make lectures available online and have videos available that go into detail with example problems for when things are tricky conceptually. They also have an online forum platform for every class where students can ask questions and instructors are also there to answer questions. It’s a great way to see what other people are wondering and going through other people’s questions allows everyone to answer those questions for themselves. We also have lab teaching assistants who are undergraduate or graduate students that have sessions for a few hours almost every day to help students with programming assignments and debug their code. There are ample resources in the Computer Science department to allow everyone to be successful if they seek them out.
How would you describe the learning environment? Do you think it’s particularly competitive or collaborative?
In my experience, I’ve found a great group of friends to study with and do the problem sets with when I was a Physics major and also now in Computer Science. I think [the level of competitiveness] varies from person to person and also depends on the objective that each individual has with the degree. There are definitely people with the Princeton ambition to get the big internship and to really kickstart their career straight out of undergrad.
Why did you choose your major? Are you happy with your choice?
I was a Physics major but then switched to Computer Science last spring. I switched because I wanted to develop a skillset that I think will be more applicable to what I see myself doing, which I’m not even certain on. I’m happy with the choice and I’m excited to have a nice toolkit and base of knowledge when I graduate.
Reasons to Attend
1) The financial aid is fantastic.
2) The campus is beautiful and quaint. The campus environment makes the stress that comes with the work here more palatable.
3) The community and alumni network of Princeton is unparalleled, especially at the undergraduate level. Last year when I went to Reunion and it was one of the most fun weekends of my life. It was really cool to see all the alumni from the past 60 years come back and see why they love this place so much.
4) The academics are great.
5) The variety of extracurriculars and communities that Princeton offers allows people to find their niche and develop their other skills besides their academic skills.
Reasons Not to Attend
1) It’s difficult and you’re going to be pushed.
Around Campus
Where have you lived on and around campus?
Freshman: Blair Hall in a double
Sophomore: Blair Hall with three roommates in a quad
Can you describe the level of safety you’ve experienced on and around campus?
I think this campus is very, very safe. Princeton is a very quaint college town and we have that quintessential campus vibe. I really enjoy how peaceful it is here. I’m definitely biased as a male, but I still stand by this being a very safe campus.
Social Opportunities
What kind of weekend activities or nightlife do you like to participate in?
Most of the big parties and events, which are often at the eating clubs, are over the weekend. Princeton is interesting because Thursday and Saturday tend to be the bigger nights, as opposed to Friday and Saturday. I definitely frequent the eating clubs over the weekends. It’s a lot of fun and the parties are really great. There is a website called Prospectave.io where you could see which clubs had events and whether they were PUID, which means they’re open to everyone, List, or Pass, which mean you need a pass or to be on a list, but they haven’t updated the website in months. I generally just hear about things through other people or upperclassmen. Sometimes people send emails to listservs too.
What’s an alternative to going to a party or a bar that you like for a weekend option?
I also think it’s good to strike a balance and I’ll sometimes just stay in and watch a movie or hang out with friends.
How happy are you with the weekend options at Princeton? Is there anything you would change about them if you could?
I’m very satisfied with the options at Princeton. Everyone’s dealing with striking the balance because the weekends are also a prime time to get work done and do other things. I think it’s great that Princeton has the eating clubs and concentrates all of the partying on Prospect Avenue because people can more easily help one another if they drink too much. The campus police are also very helpful and responsive.
Campus Culture
How would you describe the overall social scene at Princeton?
There are definitely communities under larger sub-circles. Like, I have a ton of friends who I met through acapella groups and other music ensembles. Between the world of athletes and the world of music people, it can be a little stratified. Also, it can be stratified between eating clubs with drastically different cultures, like eating clubs with a higher concentration of frat members and athletes and eating clubs with a higher concentration of singers and dancers. There are groups that have a large sense of community, but there are some very big extracurricular divides with the biggest example being athletes and non-athletes. For example, I am not an athlete and I have very few close friends that are athletes.
How do you like the size of Princeton in terms of undergraduate enrollment? How has it impacted your experience? [There are about 5,300 students at Princeton.]
I think the size is perfect. That’s actually one of my favorite things about Princeton. It’s small enough where I feel like I know a lot of people. I know people in different residential colleges and I know upperclassmen who live in different parts of campus. But, it’s also big enough where I can still meet new people and still be finding out about people. It’s in that really nice sweet spot where it’s still a relatively small campus and I run into people I don’t see as often, but it’s still exciting to meet new people and there are plenty of people that I’ve yet to meet.
Careers
Has the alumni network helped you find internships or jobs?
From my personal experience, not yet. But I know that I definitely see myself taking advantage of that in the future.
What have you used the career services office for? How helpful are they?
I had my first career services appointment about three weeks ago when I was making the decision to switch to Computer Science and my appointment was fantastic. The woman I met with was very nice and I plan to set up another meeting in the next few weeks. Being able to talk through the decision and make sure that this is going to be the right decision was helpful. They will also help me prepare for coding interviews next fall.
What computer programs and languages have you learned that will be helpful to you professionally?
For the Computer Science courses I’m taking this semester, one uses Java and the other uses C. I’m going to try to learn Python over the summer because next year will be ore Python.
Financial Aid
Have you used financial aid? If so, how accommodating was the office to your needs?
My family has had a really good experience with the financial aid office. Princeton has excellent financial aid and I’m extremely grateful for how much they offer undergraduates. The financial aid [award] helped make the decision a no-brainer when deciding on schools two years ago. Even with other questions that we have or a number that we didn’t understand, the office has been really helpful. At the beginning of this year, there was an issue and all I had to do was call and it was fixed in the next couple of days.