Princeton, NJ: Princeton University,nestled in a pleasant town of 30,000, has streets filled withshops, restaurants and theaters. The buildings on campus arebeautiful Gothic architecture and the lawns are dotted withmodern sculptures. The guides split our tour group intosmaller groups, a nice idea. I was surprised that people on mytour were from all over the country. I intently listened toour friendly guide tell us about the university and answerquestions.

I was amazed at the history associated withthis college. Princeton was chartered in 1746 and is thefourth-oldest college in the country. It covers 600 acres andhas more than 100 buildings. It even played a part in theAmerican Revolution: Nassau Hall served as the nation'scapitol, survived being hit by cannonballs and was occupied byboth Patriots and British soldiers. Princeton boasts manyfamous alumni, including President WoodrowWilson.

Freshmen and sophomores live in one of fiveresidential colleges and eat at their college dining hall.About three-quarters of the juniors and seniors eat at one of11 eating clubs that also provide recreation areas and studyspaces. There are many activities for students to participatein, with more than 70 intercollegiate teams and crew. Thereare also almost 600 intramural teams. The sport facilitiesincludes stadiums, an Olympic-sized swimming pool, an icerink, gymnasiums, 37 outdoor tennis courts, an 18-hole golfcourse and many playing fields. There are also manyopportunities for students interested in drama and music.Princeton has orchestras, theater productions and an artmuseum.

Although Princeton University is imposing withits reputation for high standards, I encourage anyoneinterested in the school to apply. The whole campus has anintimate, friendly atmosphere rich with history and tradition.The one thing that made it unique in my mind is the greattown. Visiting the town and the campus was a pleasant andinteresting experience. Overall, Princeton ranks as the mostimpressive university I have visited.


Reviewed in 1999