<3 The U-Store
So, rooming is a-looming. And with it, all the requisite Machiavellian maneuvering and general confusion. If you are like me — an uninitiated freshman, with an excuse for not understanding what’s going on — you might find this guide useful. Or, if you are not like me, and are just a forgetful upperclassman, you may also find this useful. Or, if you simply enjoy engaging in predetermined conversation with snarky JPEGs, you too may find this useful (and delightful).
[Updated 9/21]
So just who are these cute little freshmen oozing around campus in large swarms?
According to Princeton’s admissions office, there are 1,301 freshmen this year, which means they outnumber all other classes! Eek! They were plucked from 21,963 applicants, of whom 2,209 were originally accepted.
Thirteen percent of students in the freshman class are legacies, and 59% attended public school. The rest of the class graduated from some variation of private schools (18% day, 10% boarding, and 12% religious).
And did you know that the class of 2013 is very diverse? Yay, diversity! And by diversity, we mean Asian. Nearly 18% of the freshman class is Asian. African Americans and Latinos make up 7% each.
And where do they come from? Where is their natural habitat?
Look at you guys! So carefree! Well, for the moment
Ah, Frosh Week. A bright spot in the lives of all Princeton students, the sweet collective calm before the furious academic storm of a school year. I see it now: brightly-clad freshmen wandering across campus in gaggles of eight, collectively lost despite three maps in hand; disheveled 20-somethings handing me overpriced textbooks in the basement of Labyrinth; students panting as they lug ratty couches up stairs in the God-forsaken humidity. But there really is something special in those bright and early days of a new school year, and it’s not just the wild abandon of freshmen getting drunk on the possibilities of college (and Beast, baby!).
It’s not, however, all straight-up good times for freshmen. We here at The Ink feel for you (we were freshmen once, can you imagine?) and decided to lay out some tips for new students. We know the opening week of college can be a difficult period: first time away from home, eternal awkward silences during your RCA meetings, your roommate kind of smells, what is this strangely Nazi-like salute everyone does while singing, you’re not a freshman girl so it’s impossible to get a beer anywhere.
To make transition to college a little easier, we’ve compiled a couple of tips and pointers to help you get through it all and come out on top. Not of your quintile, though; that’s pretty much impossible.
So here it is: The Ink’s Freshman Guide to Princeton* (A three-part series).
