Sometimes, all it takes is a single image to make a pre-frosh feel at home at Princeton.
"It reminded me of Europe — the chapel, just all the buildings in general, like Robin Hood," said Sam Gellman, a prospective from Milwaukee, Wis., who was one of numerous pre-frosh visiting campus this week to experience University life before making their final college decisions.
His conception of Europe stems from his junior year abroad in the Netherlands — an experience that helped foster his interest in other cultures.
Gellman, who exudes laid-back confidence, knows that Princeton's small number of undergraduates makes it less diverse than Stanford and Harvard, where he was also accepted. "But it still is a diverse student body," he said.
Shannon Morales — an aspiring English major from North Tonawanda, N.Y. — also noticed that Princetonians have a variety of talents and interests. "I never thought the kids were so well-rounded," Morales said. "I thought it was one of those study 24-7 schools."
Morales said her impressions of Princeton changed once she met undergraduates and attended activities the University planned for prospective students this week. She said she particularly enjoyed the Spring Showcase featuring campus performing groups.
"I really want to swing dance now," she said. "I don't know how to yet, but I plan on learning."
Indeed, Morales, a varsity swimmer and hurdler for her high school's track team, likes to keep active and said she hopes to play varsity volleyball or waterpolo at the University.
Getting in
The admission process did not phase Morales or her pre-frosh peers, all of whom worked hard to ensure that their applications would catch Dean of Admission Fred Hargadon's selective eye.
"Maybe they liked my engineering statement," suggested Noah Burger, a prospective who plans to study civil engineering and said he is leaning toward attending Princeton over Lehigh, Columbia and Swarthmore. "I remember reading the essay back to myself and thinking 'This is really good.' It was unlike anything I had ever written."
An aspiring architect, Burger found that many University buildings inspired in him a sense of awe. "The Woodrow Wilson building is amazing," he noted with wide eyes. "The architecture is gorgeous."
In addition to enjoying the campus, Burger said he is impressed with the University's arts community. At home, he is the arts editor of his high school newspaper, a member of the Long Island Gemini Youth Chorus and an actor who volunteers by teaching acting classes for children.
"I find activities and then see what is art-oriented that I can do with them," Burger said, adding that next year — to supplement his schoolwork — he plans to join an a capella group and work as a cartoonist for a campus publication.
Gellman also spoke of his tendency to become involved in multiple activities. "I go nuts in the off-season between sports," Gellman said, recalling that during the three week period between the end of the volleyball season and the beginning of the basketball season he volunteered at a Diabetes Treatment Center.
Mixing it up
At a Monday night study break hosted by the Third World Center, Gellman chatted enthusiastically amid a circle of other prospectives. The next day — a schedule of events folded casually in his right hand — he headed off to a meeting of SOC 201: American Society and Politics, explored Forbes College and attended a presentation on Outdoor Action.
And, eager to meet the man who had stamped his passport to this frenetic world, he sought out Hargadon.
Gellman had heard Hargadon was a "cool guy," so he strode to West College — accompanied by three friends he had made in the last two days — and asked if he could speak to the dean. Hargadon talked to them for 45 minutes about why they should come to Princeton.
"I think [Hargadon] just in general shows that the faculty is really concerned," Gellman said.
"People where I live don't realize people really go to these schools," he continued. "When I tell people I got into Princeton they just laugh and think I'm going to [the University of] Wisconsin."
Michelle Sharpe, one of three prospective members of the Class of 2004 from Jamaica, was actually born in Trinidad. Sharpe is weighing offers from Amherst, Swarthmore, Vassar, Middlebury, Sarah Lawrence and Williams colleges.
Though she said her high school is something of a feeder school for American colleges, Sharpe first heard about Princeton on a popular American sitcom. "You know Carleton on "The Fresh Prince of Bel Aire?" she said. "That's the first time I heard of Princeton."
Sharpe is not sure what activities or major she would pursue if she chooses to attend Princeton. But she did speak proudly of one organization she currently belongs to that is not offered at the University — the Ranger Guides, a group she describes as a more advanced version of Girl Scouts.
In addition, when the unabashedly talkative prospective was in 11th grade she wrote a short story that was named the best in the Carribean and later published.
Sharpe's trip to the University may have covered many miles, but Morales' journey to Princeton spanned many years. When Morales was young, she bragged that she would attend an Ivy League school. Her friends, however, responded with skepticism.
"My father always told me, 'Make your dreams your goals,' " Morales said.
She did. And they landed her at Princeton.
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