Following the release of The Daily Princetonian’s third annual Senior Survey, Data writers and editors analyze and compare the data with other surveys, including the inaugural Class of 1999 Alumni Survey and the inaugural Class of 2024 Frosh Survey. This piece will continuously be updated with their analyses.
Greek life has had little change in the past 25 years
By head Data editor Andrew Bosworth
Princeton does not officially recognize fraternities and sororities, and they are not permitted to use any University resources. The Office of the Dean of Undergraduate Students even expressly discourages students from participating in Greek life, which their website states “often place[s] an excessive emphasis on alcohol.” Despite these warnings, 23 percent of the Class of 2024 rushed a sorority or fraternity, and 18.4 percent were members of a Greek organization at some point during their time at the University.
For both the Classes of 2023 and 2024, the percentage of women in Greek life was nearly double the percentage of men involved — with 12.3 percent of men in the Class of 2024 claiming membership in a fraternity compared to 24.3 percent of women characterizing themselves as members of a sorority.
For the Class of 1999, a similar proportion of the Class joined a Greek organization, with 21.7 percent belonging to a sorority or fraternity at some point. Yet, for the Class of 1999, 14 percent of those who rushed described themselves as upper class socioeconomically compared to 28 percent for the Class of 2024. The middle class made up a higher proportion of those joining or rushing Greek life 25 years ago, with 31 percent in 1999 compared to 14 percent in 2024.
Despite increases in upper class involvement in Greek life in 2024, the socioeconomic breakdown was relatively similar between the Classes of 1999 and 2024, with 15 percent of the Class of 2024 describing themselves as upper class compared to 11 percent of the Class of 1999. For both classes, upperclass students were more than five times as likely to join a Greek organization than their working class counterparts.
For the Class of 1999, those that never joined an eating club were also the least likely to join a Greek organization. Campus Club was not far behind, with only five percent of its members going Greek. For the Class of 2024, 89 percent of those who never joined an eating club did not go Greek. Quadrangle Club was the least Greek club for the Class of 2024, with 98 percent of its members not going Greek. Cottage Club, with 56 percent of its members, had the most who went Greek. The trend of “Taj” being particularly Greek has remained consistent — Cottage was also the most Greek in 1999, with 69 percent of their members claiming membership in fraternities and sororities.
While only 1.1 percent of those who joined a Greek organization in the Class of 1999 were not a member of an eating club, 8.3 percent of those who went Greek from the Class of 2024 were never in an eating club — a higher percentage than from four clubs — Cannon, Cloister, Colonial, and Quadrangle.
For both the Classes of 1999 and 2024, a higher percentage of athletes, both walk-ons and recruits, joined Greek life. Sixty percent of recruited athletes in the Class of 2024 did not rush a sorority or fraternity, compared with 80 percent of non-athletes.
Andrew Bosworth is a head Data editor and staff Sports writer for the ‘Prince.’
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
Class of 2024 more likely to “sell-out” than the Class of 1999
By staff Data writer Kate Alvarez
Between career fairs, Handshake appointments, LinkedIn networking, and resume workshops, it seems as if Princeton students can never stop building professional profiles.
In an analysis of the career fields the Class of 2024 plans on entering after graduation and the most recent career fields of the Class of 1999, we found significant shifts towards engineering and technology. Twenty percent of respondents from the Class of 2024 are going into engineering, software engineering, and technology, compared to nine percent of the Class of 1999. Notably, close to half of the Class of 1999 are not in the field they thought they would be in upon graduation — perhaps a mark of the evolving set of career paths over the past 25 years.
In both Classes, Finance is a popular field, making up slightly over 10 percent of career prospects. In the Class of 1999, many are in the fields of Law, Medicine, and Business. These three fields account for 38 percent of respondents of the Class of 1999 — yet only 13.5 percent for the Class of 2024. However, “Graduate School and/or Academia” is the most popular postgraduate path for the Class of 2024 and that includes law, medical, and business school — thus, the Class of 2024 may end up with a higher percentage of the class working in Law, Medicine, or Business by the time of their 25th Reunions.
A recent New York Times article analyzed graduating students at elite colleges “selling out.” Focusing on the Harvard Crimson Senior Survey, and corroborated by Princeton’s own Career Center survey, they found increases over the past decade in the percentage of each class entering finance, consulting, engineering, and technology jobs. According to the numbers the ‘Prince’ has, for the Class of 1999, 23 percent currently hold roles in those four career fields, including software engineering. 36 percent of the Class of 2024 will follow the same path, one percent lower than those in the Class of 2023.
When offering advice to current and graduating students, several members of the Class of 1999 discussed the importance of finding a career one loves, writing “don’t worry too much about the money.”
Back in March, when the 2024 Senior Survey was conducted, 42.9 percent of the Class reported not having a job lined up for after graduation. At the time, the percentage of A.B. students without plans were more than double the percent of unemployed B.S.E. students, with 25.4 percent of engineers compared to 53 percent of A.B. students. Certain post-graduate paths, such as graduate school, or finance and consulting, are generally determined farther in advance than others.
As opposed to almost half of recent grads, only 8.3 percent of the Class of 1999 reported not currently being employed for pay. Employed for pay or not, 85.3 percent of the Class of 1999 report that they have discovered their life’s meaning. So, a fulfilling life and career might be just around the corner for the Class of 2024.
Kate Alvarez is a staff Data writer for The Daily Princetonian.
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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