Traversing the Tiger Trail

Since I graduated in 2007, entering students and parents of entering students have often posed that question to me. Over time, I’ve cobbled together a list that, while not comprehensive (eating club advice, for example, is above my pay grade), is concrete enough to be actionable.

Let me be the first to acknowledge that I have no special qualifications for dispensing advice. My only source of credibility is that I tried a healthy dose of new things at Princeton; I endured a more-than-incidental number of failures; and, at final tally, I wouldn’t trade the triumphs or the setbacks. Simply put: If I had to do it all over again, I’d do it all over again. So without further ado, to the Class of 2014 and to classes beyond, here’s one recent alumnus’s recipe for navigating Old Nassau.

Freshman Year:

1. Remember people’s names and invite them to join you in acclimating to the new surroundings (get meals together, go to lectures, go out at night). At least for first semester, never turn down an invitation.

2. Try everything: Walk on to crew. Try out for an a cappella group or dance company. Take a course on a subject you know nothing about. And when something’s not a good fit — be it a sport, a class or even a relationship — don’t feel guilty about moving on.

3. Draw a room near your friends. This will be the single most important factor in your contentment. Better to live in a modest matchbox of a dorm around people you like than have a palatial pad detached from your pals.

Sophomore Year:

4. Take few introductory lecture courses, and instead opt mostly for higher-level seminars. It’s understandable to not do all of the assigned reading; it’s a lost opportunity to skip class.

5. If you like a certain professor, invite him or her to lunch. The initiative will be appreciated, and you’ll be the bigger beneficiary.

6. The sole criteria for choosing your major should be: What sounds most fun and interesting? Taking anything else into consideration is a big mistake. (Specifically, only major in economics if you’re fascinated by it. You don’t need to major in it to get a gig in finance.)

7. Write an article or an essay or a poem for a campus publication. If you enjoy it, write another.

Junior year:

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8. Make peace with whether or not you care about getting good grades. While they can come in handy for getting into grad school, remember that high marks often signal a person who is more organized than brilliant, and inevitably some of the real geniuses of the class will have the lowest GPAs.

9. Think critically before deciding to study abroad during the school year. Of course it’s an amazing opportunity, but it also can be disruptive to the experiential arc of a Princeton career.

10. Definitely do take advantage of the various international opportunities Princeton offers during summers and during winter and spring breaks.

Senior year:

11. The summer before senior year, give serious thought to what you want to do after graduation. Make lists of options and research them thoroughly. Ask people’s advice, apply to as many different things as possible, and expect the process to be a painful jolt of reality.

12. Pick your thesis using the same criteria as picking a major: What sounds rewarding, stimulating and interesting? Pretend your thesis is a person with whom you’re going to be taking a long road trip.

13. Speaking of road trips, take them with your friends! More importantly, by senior year, don’t spread yourself too thin. Focus on a smaller number of meaningful relationships you expect and hope will last a lifetime.

And One To Grow On:

14. Brace yourself for your early 20s to be exhilarating, overwhelming, and confusing — but have a vision and, as much as possible, avoid self-doubt.

P.G. Sittenfeld ’07, a former columnist for The Daily Princetonian, is currently the assistant director of the Community Learning Center Institute in Cincinnati, Ohio. He can be reached at pg@princeton.edu.

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