Fall Street Week sees increasing selectivity at eating clubs

Fall Street Week concluded Friday, with 25 of the 162 members of the Classes of 2027 and 2028 who participated in Bicker receiving bids at Cap and Gown Club, Ivy Club, and Tower Club. Quadrangle Club and Colonial Club also admitted students through the central sign-in process, but neither club responded to multiple requests for admission numbers.

Cottage Club, Tiger Inn, and Cannon Club did not hold Bicker this fall after doing so in the spring. Terrace Club and Charter Club did not hold recruitment events or accept new sign-in students through the central sign-in system this fall.

Quadrangle Club did not implement the selective sign-in system it first established in the spring for fall sign-in. Quadrangle Club did not respond to a request for comment on why the selective sign-in system was not reused.

Fall Bicker is typically a smaller, secondary cycle compared to the spring cycle, drawing mostly upperclass students who were not placed in the spring or are seeking a different club. All three Bicker clubs saw lower acceptance rates this fall compared to Fall 2025.

During the Bicker process, prospective club members participate in conversations and games with current members. The clubs then have member or Bicker committee discussions to decide who to accept. The week of Bicker and other club membership activities is known as Street Week.

After a decline in Bickerees last fall, Cap and Gown regained its longstanding status as the most bickered club during the fall, with 76 students participating in the process. Only 10 were accepted, representing an acceptance rate of about 13 percent, down from nearly 25 percent in the spring.

Cap and Gown accepted 11 students in Fall 2025, but only 56 students bickered then, leading to a greater acceptance rate. In Fall 2024, 90 students bickered Cap and Gown, and 12 were accepted.

Ivy saw its lowest fall acceptance rate in at least three years, accepting 14.3 percent of Bickerees. Thirty-five students bickered and five were accepted, down from 41 bickerees and 10 accepted, or a 24.4 percent acceptance rate, last fall. During Spring Street Week, 80 of the 317 students who bickered the club were accepted.

Tower was again the least selective Bicker club this fall. Club President Simone Acosta ’27 told The Daily Princetonian that 11 of the 51 students who bickered were accepted. Compared with last fall, when 15 students were selected out of 65, Tower’s admissions trends reflect increasing selectivity in the Bicker clubs overall.

These numbers come in the wake of Cloister Inn closing its doors in June 2025 for “hefty renovations.” With one fewer eating club available, growing class sizes, and the elimination of the independent dining status last year, Spring Bicker this year left an unprecedented amount of students with no club placement. During Spring Bicker, approximately 84 percent of the Class of 2028 participated, similar to the approximately 83 percent of the Class of 2027 the year before.

Initial Street Week numbers for Bicker and sign-in clubs do not necessarily represent the final student body choosing to sign contracts, with students having until next week to solidify their decisions and commitments to their clubs.

Nicole Jia is a News contributor for the ‘Prince’ and a member of the Class of 2030.

Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.