LIFESTYLE

Over one-fourth of the Class of 2027 respondents have had sex before and over 10 percent have sex once a week or more frequently – meanwhile, 42 percent say they have not had their first kiss yet. Slightly above 25 percent of both B.S.E. and A.B. students have had sex before. Despite the similarities in degree choice, there is a disparity based on gender, where almost 33 percent of men, 22 percent of women, 23 percent of non-binary individuals, and 35 percent of genderqueer individuals have had sex. There also is a gap between athletes and non-athletes: about 25 percent of non-athletes have had sex compared to about 42 percent of recruited athletes. 29 percent of those who are not religious have had sex, compared to 0 percent of extremely religious first-years. One-fifth of first-years have a significant other going into college while about eight percent said “it’s complicated” — the ‘Prince’ wishes them the best in sorting that out.

The most commonly-used drug among the incoming Class of 2027 is marijuana, with about a quarter of the respondents indicating they have tried it and 14 percent saying they use it more than once a semester. Additionally, 16 percent of respondents have vaped and 14 percent have smoked a cigarette or other tobacco product. Slightly more than two percent of first-years have tried psychedelics and slightly more than one percent have tried hard drugs.

A majority – 53.6 percent – of the Class of 2027 reported having drunk alcohol before college, more than half of which report doing so at least once a month. Drinking varies by legacy status — with over two-thirds of legacy students having drunk alcohol compared to just half of non-legacy students — and financial aid. Fake IDs were less prevalent, though, with fewer than 10 percent of freshmen having a fake ID.

60.4 percent of the Class of 2027 plans to join an eating club — more than any previous class surveyed. Significant differences appear, however, between legacy students (73.2 percent) and non-legacy students (57.4 percent), as well as those on no aid (72.8 percent), partial aid (60.2 percent), and full aid (47.9 percent). Additionally, students whose dream school was Princeton are twice as likely to indicate they plan on joining an eating club than those who said Princeton was their fourth choice or lower. On the other hand, a majority of the Class of 2027 do not anticipate joining Greek Life, with twenty percent totally unaware that such a system existed at Princeton.

Though University COVID-19 restrictions have largely subsided, the pandemic continues to impact members of the Class of 2027. Nearly 30 percent of respondents reported wearing a mask in public or avoiding a large gathering in the last three months due to COVID. Over three years since the University shut down in-person instruction, 39 percent of students have avoided testing positive for the virus.

The Class of 2027 is obsessed with scrolling, DMing, and liking. Over 90 percent of respondents use Instagram on a regular basis, while Pew Research Center reported 62 percent of teens nationally use the social media platform regularly. Twitter and Snapchat usage among the first-year class align with national trends. Overall, 48.8 percent of the respondents spend five hours or more on their phones each day.