Who’s had their first kiss, sip of alcohol, or puff of a joint? Read more to find out what is happening behind the classroom scenes of the Class of 2029 — from alcohol and drug use to sex, eating club expectations, and daily phone habits.
More than half of students reported never consuming energy drinks, though 2.1 percent said they drank them daily. Phone use was far more common, with 20 percent of students reporting spending four to five hours on their phones each day and five percent spending over 10 hours every day.
Recruited athletes scored on and off the field, with 46 percent of athletes having reported having sex, compared to only 24 percent of non-athletes. The most common first time for respondents’ first sex was their senior year of high school, accounting for 9.37 percent of first sexual experiences. However, 43.7 percent of the Class of 2029 has yet to have their first kiss.
More than half of the Class of 2029 have consumed alcohol in a nonreligious context, with 37 percent reporting that they drink more than twice per semester. Alcohol consumption differs sharply by financial aid status, however; more than 75 percent of students receiving no financial aid have consumed alcohol, compared to only 38 percent of students on full financial aid. Legacy students, especially multi-generational legacies, are also more likely to have consumed alcohol than their non-legacy peers. Marijuana is the second most commonly used drug, ranking higher in popularity than cigarettes or vapes. The point at which survey respondents first used drugs is distributed fairly evenly across 10th, 11th, and 12th grades.
Frosh with legacy status are more likely to anticipate joining an eating club during their time at Princeton: 55 percent of non-legacy frosh, compared to 73 percent of legacy and 88 percent of multi-generational legacy frosh. In total, about 60 percent of the Class of 2029 anticipated they would join an eating club. Actual rates of participation, however, are likely to be far higher. In spring of 2025, 83 percent of sophomores participated in Street Week. Around 13 percent of all respondents have a fake ID, a statistic that is more pronounced for legacy (25 percent) and multi-generational legacy (31 percent) frosh.