Princeton Dorm Room

Where Do Most Students Live At Princeton?

Where do most students live at Princeton? Most students reside in Princeton dorm rooms and other housing options on campus. Around 94% of Princeton University’s undergraduate students reside on campus in 2022, while 6% commuted or lived off campus. Princeton’s intimate, residential community for graduate and undergraduate students is one of its distinguishing features. The University’s picturesque campus is home to nearly all its undergraduate students and 70% of its graduate students, which fosters a tight-knit community for living, learning, and recreation.

Princeton University guarantees all four years of on-campus housing for students. Most juniors and seniors prefer to live on campus, and first- and second-year students are compelled to do so. All residential colleges host some graduate students as well as pupils from all four class years.

Throughout the academic year, the residential colleges provide a warm environment and a variety of social and intellectual activities. Even if juniors and seniors do not reside in residential colleges anymore, they are still able to benefit from these opportunities.

A list of off-campus rental homes that are close to the university is available on the website maintained by Housing and Real Estate Services. For Princeton faculty, employees, students, and authorized visitors, the website offers listings for homes, flats, rooms, shares, and sublets. Realtors, landlords, and property managers can register to list homes, whether they are furnished or not.

How Do Dorms Work At Princeton?

The heart of campus residential life is the residential college. In colleges, you can make friends for life, eat meals with instructors, learn new skills, and take part in an active extracurricular calendar that includes social activities, study breaks, and intramural sports competitions. You will be welcomed by a team at your residential college who are eager to help your academic and personal development. Let’s learn more about “How do dorms work at Princeton?”

First Year in Residential Colleges

Residential colleges Butler, Forbes, Mathey, New College West, Rockefeller, Whitman, or Yeh are chosen at random for first-year students to attend. Early in the first semester, first-years often adopt the identity of their college with pride. A junior or senior residential college adviser is assigned to each first-year student to aid with concerns and the transition to college life. Each college has a faculty head of college, a dean, an assistant dean, faculty fellows, and a director of student life.

A senior faculty member known as the dean of college oversees each college, giving that community’s social and academic activities vision and direction. A full-time staff of a dean, an assistant dean, a director of student life, a residential life coordinator, a college program administrator, and a college office coordinator supports each head of the college.

The dean and assistant dean organize faculty and peer academic advising, supervise all students’ academic progress, and offer one-on-one academic help to all college residents and upperclassmen who are associated with the college. Additionally, the associate dean plans the academic calendar for the college all year long.

Each residential college adviser is tasked with working with a “zee-group” (advisee group) of first-year and sophomore students. The residential college advisers are juniors and seniors who live on campus.

Moreover, the director of student life oversees counseling students on non-academic issues, making decisions about disciplinary actions, and promoting students’ well-being both as individuals and as members of the community. The administrator of the college’s programs oversees the institution’s spending and facility administration.

Faculty fellows, a group of several dozen faculty members connected to each college, are persuaded to participate in all facets of college life. Each college has a resident faculty fellow who lives and participates in community activities. Additionally, several graduate students who live on campus in each college act as mentors and assist undergraduates in programs in informal settings. Thus, through several college-based initiatives, first- and second-year students have access to a diverse range of faculty and fellow students who can assist them in their academic and social life.

Dorm Setup

You will reside in one of the campus residential colleges for the following two years. All freshmen and sophomores are required to live and eat at a residential college.

The entering class is divided into seven sections to represent the makeup of the class, and each section is then electronically allocated to one of the seven colleges to serve as your new home. Princeton checks the information you provided on your housing and meal applications with the personnel at each Residential College, and your roommate will be assigned based on that review. The school tries to match roommates as closely as possible based on lifestyles and habits, and while some Princeton dorm room arrangements require some getting used to, friendships typically develop quickly.

In the middle to end of July, an email with your residential college and roommate assignment will be sent to your Princeton email account. Online links to your housing and eating contracts are also included in the email, and you will be required to electronically accept the contracts by a specified date.

The residential college dining hall is where first-years and sophomores eat most of their meals. Juniors and seniors have the option of dining on-campus, as well as participating in eating clubs or student food cooperatives. Additionally, students have the option of cooking their own meals in the kitchens of their dorms or eating at campus cafés, the Center for Jewish Life, or neighborhood eateries. Students have the option to live in one of the residential colleges by the end of their sophomore year or to stay enrolled in their college while finding other housing and dining options.

Dorm Room Changes

Starting on October 1st, you may change Princeton dorm rooms if one is available. On the My Housing portal, undergraduates can access and submit a room change application.

If everyone in the room agrees, you can switch rooms. Your Director of Student Life must give their approval if you reside in a residential college. All other students are welcome to swap classes by sending an email to askhousing@princeton.edu with the consent of all participants. After your request is approved, you have 48 hours to finish the exchange of rooms.

What Do Princeton Dorms Come With?

Although there are single rooms available, most of Princeton’s accommodation is made up of dormitory suites that can accommodate 2 to 11 individuals. There are several different Princeton dorm room arrangements on campus and within each residential college, but singles, doubles, and quads are available in all colleges. Whitman is primarily singles and quads, while First College is known for its big suites of 4 to 11 people. Roommates can be personally selected after their first year.

What do Princeton dorms come with? Furniture and other dorm essentials are provided in your Princeton dorm room. You are allowed to make your room or suite your own cozy area to make living in your residential college more enjoyable since you will be spending the entire academic year there.

Make It Your Own Space

An extra-long twin bed, dresser, desk, chair, small bookcase, and trash and recycling cans are all included in the furniture package in your room. Each person also has access to a closet or locked wardrobe. The furniture in a Princeton dorm room may be arranged however you and your roommates see fit, except for the wardrobe, which must stay in its original, guarded place. The mattress may be removed and stored by Building Services but all other furniture, including bunk bed ladders and railings, must stay in the room for the whole year.

Except for candles and incense, feel free to bring furniture and decorations to customize your space. For ambiance or mood lighting, small lamps and battery-operated candles are good options.

Wall Decors

Use poster mounts rather than nails, pins, or screws to hang any images or posters on your wall. Ask an Area Coordinator for guidance if you want to hang a heavy object on your wall. A bicycle may be hung in your room using hooks that university carpenters can install.

Window Covers and Carpets

There are roller shades installed in your dorm room windows, and you can hang curtains. But because window sizes vary, you should buy them after you arrived on campus. The best time to buy carpets is after you arrive because room layouts vary so much. It is impossible to supply room dimensions and window measurements in advance.

Bed Bunks

You can get a ladder, rail, and set of bunking pegs from the Facilities Service Center by contacting them during regular business hours if you want to bunk your beds but do not have the necessary equipment.

If you remove your bunk beds, you must leave the ladder, rail, and set of bunking pegs in the space for the entire year.

Message Boards

If your room doesn’t have one, you can install one yourself. White message boards are frequently found on the wall next to room doors.

Storage of Items

You can pay the Princeton Student Agencies Moving and Storage Agency to store your stuff throughout the summer. Your belongings will be removed from your Princeton dorm room by the agency, stored, and then returned to you in the fall.

How Much Is the Room And Board At Princeton?

Your needs are met by Princeton. Tuition, lodging, and board fees, as well as any additional expected miscellaneous costs, make up the overall cost of attendance. To enable families to select a payment option that best suits their financial condition, the University offers a variety of payment choices.

Every year, undergraduate students must submit a financial aid application. It is Princeton’s policy to satisfy every year’s full demonstrated need. Based on changes in a family’s financial situation and Princeton’s tuition costs, award amounts may alter from year to year.

So, how much is the room and board at Princeton? Let’s check the student budget breakdown of the cost of attendance below.

Cost of Attendance for Academic Year 2022-2023

For the University’s dorms and meal plans, the Princeton dorm room and board rates are standard. The activities fee and class dues are included in the estimated other costs. Amounts for tuition, lodging, and board as well as about $250 of the $3,500 projected for books and personal expenses are charged by the university. For eligible individuals, financial aid credits are subtracted from the university bill, leaving the remaining balance due as a family contribution either every semester or every month.

The estimated cost of travel, which might be between $300 and $5,000, is not included. Students who don’t have access to family health insurance must get coverage via the Student Health Plan.

What Is Special About Princeton’s Residential Life?

At the heart of undergraduate life at Princeton are the seven Residential Colleges: Butler, Forbes, Mathey, New College West, Rockefeller, Whitman, and Yeh College. These welcoming, close-knit neighborhoods are where you will live, dine, study, and socialize.

What is special about Princeton’s residential life? Princeton urges you to fully utilize the plethora of assistance and guidance that is offered by your residential college. Academic advice for first-year and sophomore students is centered at the colleges, which each have a faculty head, dean, assistant dean, and director of student life.

As discussed earlier, you are given a faculty academic adviser in your first year who is also a fellow of your residential college. Your faculty adviser, who also approves your course selection and revisions, is your major source of academic advice. He or she collaborates closely with the assistant dean and dean of your college, who also offer guidance on academic administration matters and courses and programs. The Residential College adviser, usually a junior or senior, is available to assist with adjusting to college life, respond to inquiries, and serve as a leader and mentor in many facets of university life. Lastly, graduate residents from a variety of academic departments reside in your institution and offer advice on programs of study.

In your first few days on campus, while you are still getting used to living in Princeton dorm rooms and adjusting to college life, you will rapidly come to know your fellow residents. Together you will discover the college’s culture, and like most students, embrace your college’s identity with pride and passion.

The colleges contribute to the definition of life at Princeton as distinct communities. Each has its own distinctive architecture and is home to a collection of dorms, dining halls, common areas, academic buildings, and facilities for the arts and entertainment.

To add fun to your university life, these colleges provide a wide variety of activities and events, including 5K running races, Broadway show trips, talks, concerts, and planned study breaks in addition to intramural sports, foreign language tables, organized study breaks, and book clubs. While some colleges regularly throw barbecues, themed dinners, and numerous social activities, others regularly hold casino nights. Through social gatherings and intramural sports, different colleges communicate with one another as well.

But before dreaming of living in a Princeton dorm room, you should get through the tough admissions competition at Princeton. Princeton University is one of the oldest universities in the US, Princeton is recognized as one of the most prestigious universities. The admissions process is extremely challenging thus, it’s best to ask for professional help. AdmissionSight has helped students get into Ivy League schools like Princeton.

AdmissionSight programs and counseling services are proven to be one of the best among admissions counseling companies in the US. Feel free to book an initial consultation today to start your college application right.