Princeton's 10 Best Perks

Congratulations, Class of 2018, on your admittance to Princeton! You cured cancer/scaled Mount Everest/[enter impressive accomplishment here]. Many of you have already wisely chosen to matriculate, but for those of you still on the fence, here is a list of some great Princeton perks – beyond the outstanding academics and beautiful campus (and I won’t dare to say, meningitis).

1. Discounted Broadway tickets. Each residential college regularly sponsors trips for students to go see Broadway shows for a mere $25. The $25 cost includes coach bus transportation to and from New York City and a snack on the bus on the way back (think: chocolate chip cookies and chips). Shows this year have included The Book of Mormon; The Lion King; Wicked; and Mamma Mia. The seats are typically very good, and it’s truly an amazing opportunity to take advantage of.
2. Free movies in town every weekend. Every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights at 11:30 p.m., the local Garden Theatre allows students to see a free movie upon presentation of their student ID (“prox”). Free soda and popcorn are included. This weekend, the theater is showing The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, but past showings have been Crazy, Stupid, Love; The Perks of Being a Wallflower; Mean Girls; The Heat; and The Silence of the Lambs, among others.
3. Late meal. At some other colleges, if you miss lunch or dinner, that’s it. Make some Ramen, go buy some food, or go hungry. But at Princeton, if you’re an underclassman, and you miss a meal because of class or what have you, you can still enjoy campus food. The University offers late meal from 2-3:30 p.m. and 8:30-10 p.m. at the Frist Campus Center. The cash credit allowance is $5.95 for late meal lunch and $6.95 for late meal dinner. There’s sushi, sandwiches, a salad bar, and delicious quesadillas, among other options. If it’s any indication from our recent UPC post, late meal is possibly the greatest thing ever. Underappreciated by underclassmen and coveted by upperclassmen, late meal is definitely one of Princeton’s greatest perks.
4. Free cookies every day at Murray-Dodge Café. From 3:30-6 p.m. and 10-12:30 a.m., you can stop by the café to savor some warm, freshly-baked cookies and drink tea. While eating your cookie, you will realize that the freshman 15 at Princeton is more like the freshman 30. 
5. Cool apps that make Princeton life a little easier. One app, called ICE (Integrated Course Engine), allows you to browse courses, read reviews, and then add classes into a calendar to check for scheduling conflicts. You can also “friend” people to view your friends’ semester schedules and to determine if they’re in any classes with you. Another great one is LaundryView, which tells you how many (and which) laundry machines are available at any given time, so you don’t have to trek downstairs with your laundry only to discover that there are no free machines. If you’re so inclined, you can sign up to receive a text when your laundry cycle is done.
6. The beautiful study spaces. Firestone Library and Chancellor Green are particularly gorgeous places to study. There’s nothing like studying with a huge stained glass window overhead.
7. Famous people come to speak here – frequently. Actor Steve Martin. Former U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens. NBC’s Tom Brokaw. TV Talk Show Host Dr. Oz. Associate U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor. Novelist Elie Wiesel. The list goes on.
8. Free tango and salsa classes/videography workshops/yoga and zumba classes/jewelry workshops. These classes and workshops are great stress-relievers.
9. Froyo machines and ice cream carts in the dining halls. Don’t forget the sprinkles.
10. Great study breaks. Another post about food, yes. The residential college councils and RCAs (residential college advisers) periodically organize study breaks with free food, ranging from s’mores get-togethers to make-your-own sundaes to Chipotle burritos.