When your high school friends are tired of hearing about your awesome professors, your parents are sick of listening to you whine about your work and your siblings yawn at your social analysis, who's left to talk to about your unique Princeton experience? The answer is Sean-Michael Green, who wants any input that presents a realistic portrayal of Princeton to the American public.
Since September, Green has been to Dartmouth, Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Cornell, Brown and the University of Pennsylvania to collect anecdotes that will eventually be compiled into a book tentatively titled "What I learned in College: A Year with the Ivy League." According to the book's press release, "The goal of his book is to dispel misconceptions and inform the general public about life in the Ivy League."
Green has a strict agenda: eight months, eight schools. On April 21 he will arrive at Princeton, his final stop.
The idea originated when Green realized he did not know much about many schools beyond their stereotypical image. To rectify this, he wanted to spend a substantial amount of time with students at each school.
"I let students decide what I do — people will take me to the important things. And I love talking to students, it's the best thing. But I won't check out the 'really cool' classes unless someone will take me there, I want to go where students really go. Shadowing them is the best way to learn about the school," Green said.
Green himself did not have the 'typical' college experience. As a below-average high school student with no plans for college, he joined the Marine Corps after graduation and spent four years on Active Duty, serving in Panama, Cuba and Iraq during the Gulf War. He then spent an additional six years with the Selected Marine Corps Reserve.
He then attended community college and renewed his intellectual interests. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa and earned degrees from a variety of schools, including University of Pennsylvania and Cornell.
"Since I went to the Marine Corps before college, I was older," he said. "So, I didn't consider doing certain things common on campus ... but now I'm realizing that they are experiences I would probably have liked a lot."
"And who would've known a capella groups are cool," he added, laughing. He plans to arrive just in time for Princeton's Thursday arch sing.
"I was scared at first that every school, or each of my experiences, would turn out exactly the same," he admitted. "But I have had very different experiences, both from each other and from what I expected; I thought Yale would be horrible, but it turned out great."
The wide range of Green's experience is already apparent in his weekly posts on his website, www.seanmichaelgreen.com/IvyLeague.html, where he maintains an ongoing travelogue.
Entries range from an interesting month spent sharing a house with seven Dartmouth juniors, to his (fulfilled) expectations of the "granola-munching [Brown] students." He also describes his relief at the surprisingly warm Yale welcome and his disappointment at the initially cold Penn reception and at the paucity of interested Harvard students.
Books about elite universities now line the bookstore shelves, and for good reason — this genre sells. Recently, however, most authors are criticizing the Ivy League, complaining that the schools are overrated and nepotistic.
"Yet people like the Ivy League," Green argues. "Many books out right now are based on a negative stereotype, but mine will be a very positive book, it will give people what they want to hear."
In coming to Princeton at the end of his rounds, Green has kept the best for last, he said. "For me, choosing a school is a lot more about choosing the town. I love the area of Princeton, especially in the summer. Besides, it's the teaching university of Albert Einstein — it doesn't get any better than that. I hope my experience at Princeton will end the book on a positive note."
But to do so, he needs student input. "People assume they don't have anything to add ... but really in a perfect world, I would talk to everyone, hear what they have to say about Princeton and other Ivies to compare with my experiences now that I've been to all of them," Green said.
Green's new book is due out in May 2006. He previously authored "Marching to College: Turning Military Experience into College Admissions," and he has written numerous articles about higher education.
His email address is SMG@SeanMichaelGreen.com, and he arrives in Princeton on Thursday. He needs your input. Yes, that means you.
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