Ah, American college. I imagine that you’ve got one of a few images in your head right now. A bunch of incredibly diverse students smiling fondly into the distance amongst a few orange leaves? A landfill of red cups in some beer-soaked frat house named Gamma-Xi-Pi? Boat shoes?
When I first took to the Princeton campus this September, my mind was full of these stereotypes (I should probably have visited beforehand). In reality, I don’t think life at Princeton stretches that far from the universities it modelled itself on: Oxford and Cambridge. They all have a bunch of incredibly talented people, are overwhelmingly liberal, and, quite frankly, work pretty hard.
However, at the risk of sounding a like a knock-off version of a Buzzfeed writer, here’s a few things that my non-Oxford educated self would see as a little different:
Diversity
“An Englishman, a Jew, an African-American and an Asian walk into their Freshman Dorm”
Whilst my first experience on US soil was well fit to the format of some racially insensitive joke, I’ve come to realise that the diversity of my roommates isn’t something special here. In my first semester I’ve made friends from California, South Carolina, New York and everywhere in-between. Princeton admits their students to maximise the diversity of an incoming class (over half of my year are students of colour), and this racially and geographically selective intake, whilst a bit frustrating when applying, contributes to an amazingly diverse and interesting community once you’re here.
The difference in diversity extends beyond demographics though. The emphasis on athletics and other special talents is also clear to see. Whilst students at Oxford are no less talented, the diversity of non-academic talent that I’ve met since enrolling has been even more impressive than I first expected. Whether a high-tier University like Princeton should really be admitting athletes who care less about studying is up for debate, however personally I’ve found that at the very least the emphasis on sport fosters a greater element of campus spirit, in a similar way to the Oxbridge boat race.
Ultimately the different admissions criteria result in different campus bodies, and it’s the social and talent diversity which led me to choose to attend Princeton.
Nightlife
And now onto the cliché question of choice: “Jonny, can you still go out in America ‘cause of the whole drinking age thing?”
You may be unsurprised to know that the legal drinking age doesn’t really impede social drinking at Princeton. Along with the ten or so large ‘frats’ (basically just mansions with basements, music and cheap beer on tap), alcohol is readily available around campus if you want it.
Despite this important saviour of the nightlife, the difference between it and Oxford’s counterpart cannot be emphasised enough. For all the chat I just gave on diversity, Princeton is pretty unashamedly elitist when it comes to its night scene. In order to get into most of the clubs on ‘The Street’ (a large road with all the ‘frat’ equivalents), you need a pass from an older member, something that leads to a fair bit of social stratification. Each club has its own reputation, and this self-fulfilling prophecy often means members of a certain group or team are all in the same club. A little insular I think. You’ll often find yourself going out with a group of friends at the beginning of the night, only to go your separate ways until you maybe see each other at one of the few open clubs at the end of the night. Odd.
Race vs. Class
As their respective stereotypes go, Oxford’s and Princeton’s are as similar as you might find. Elitist would be the go-to buzzword. Interestingly, since I started studying here, it’s race rather than class which has been the key source of tension. This isn’t to say that there’s a raging race problem, because, at Princeton at least, there really isn’t. It’s just that I’ve noticed American students implicitly reference race in way British students don’t.
Whereas my Northern friends here will “take the piss” by calling something ‘Tory’, Americans will be far more likely to reference race, such as by telling someone to get their “white ass” over. It all sounds a bit trivial, probably because this is a very trivial observation I’ve chosen for my third and final, however the way in which these two sources of social tension are dealt with differently across the pond is something I’ve had on my mind.
And there we go. I guess upon reflection, the scale of these differences between Oxford and Princeton show just how similar the two are. Both are excellent universities, and both have the negative connotations that go with being an excellent university. If you ever do get the opportunity to undergo an exchange programme, I cannot recommend Princeton, or any other US college highly enough.
