Princeton

  Princeton, New Jersey, United States
Friday, August 8, 2008

  Today we made the first stop on our trip: Princeton University. But first, our ordeal getting there:
Like any good Switzer adventure, we began the trip with an unplanned stop due to vehicle troubles.  We had to detour in North Carolina getting the inverter switch box replaced--a stop which delayed us 5 hours. So after getting on the road and having further delay in Wilmington, Delaware due to a highway construction, we arrived at the Princeton Wal-Mart at around 12:35am.
   Friday morning, we got lost driving to the university and showed up at the 10am Info Session a bit late.

Princeton campus

Princeton Football Stadium

This is the stadium we parked next to--it kind of resembles a gladiator arena.

Walking through Princeton

Princeton building

     Then we went straight on a campus walking tour, led by Princeton sophomore Pento from Uganda.

Clio Hall in Princeton

The campus was beautiful and old, a quality high on my priority list.

1-Princeton building

Princeton walking tour

Princeton tour

Princeton tour and tourguide

1-Princeton tour

Princeton arch

The restaurant we ate lunch at was great too--we shared a tuna melt and a deep dish tomato pie, which was huge, weird, and delicious. See my Princeton rating below.

3-Princeton building

    We finally made it to New Haven after Princeton, but first we had to drive through the continuous line of suburbs
 radiating from New York City, and for over 30 miles on I-95, our maximum speed was 15 mph.  By the time we got to the next Wal-Mart in New Haven, CT, we were ready for some fish and chips and a movie.

Shelby's College Rating: Princeton

2-Princeton building

Campus: lovely architecture, nice grounds, not the greatest town, and traffic in the surrounding area was just terrible (although, if I come here, I will only use public transportation anyway); score is 4 out of 5.

Princeton Campus

Academics: Interesting courses and areas of study, lots of possibilities for travel and activities, biggest problem would be trying to choose which classes to take, a good thing is the possibility of graduating early, other negatives are the forced grade curve and exams after break; score is 4 out of 5

Nassau Hall, Princeton's oldest building

Finances: $49k a year, but lots of aid grants available, yet New Jersey living is expensive; score is 3.5 out of 5.

Entrance at Princeton

Other: A variety of options for food: dining plan, independent cooking and restaurants, and the unique eating houses, which double as social clubs. Close relationship between students and faculty. High interest in the arts. Score is 4 out of 5.

Outside Princeton Art Museum

Average Score: 3.875 / 5.