How are Princetonians 25 years post-graduation living their lives, and what are their beliefs? We explored the everyday lives of Tigers, offering a window into their lives beyond the classrooms and offices.
The majority of respondents report staying connected to Princeton, with an overall 84.4 percent reading the Princeton Alumni Weekly and a slightly higher percentage among those with moderate, liberal leaning, and “Other” political views. Over 12 percent have read The Daily Princetonian at least once per month. The Class of 1999 has places to be, and today, around half of Americans report being at least somewhat likely to purchase a hybrid or electric vehicle. Princetonians in the Class of 1999 seem to have followed through on these intentions, as 44.9 percent of respondents have owned or currently own a hybrid or electric vehicle, in contrast with only 14 percent of Americans currently own electric or hybrid vehicles.
Though they have left Nassau Hall, the Class of 1999 has not left behind left-wing politics: 67.9 percent of respondents consider themselves “somewhat liberal” or “very liberal.” An even greater proportion, 71.6 percent, plan to vote for President Joe Biden. In the 2024 presidential primary race, 61.4 percent of B.S.E graduates planned to vote for Biden, compared to 73.3 percent of A.B. graduates.
The following is an excerpt from an analysis by the 122nd Editor-in-Chief Christine B. Whelan ’99, examining responses to well-being and purpose questions, and comparing the results to those on the 2024 Senior Survey.
As a group, the Class of 1999 is fairly happy, with scores on the higher ends of both the well-being and purpose scales. While 12 percent of the Class met criteria for further screening for depression according to the WHO-5 well-being scale, a significant percentage of the Class of 1999 self-reported answers that scored among the highest levels of cheerfulness as well. The mean WHO-5 score was 16.9 out of a maximum of 25. The standard deviation was 3.9.
A life of meaning is not a life of leisure, and the Class of 1999 is at a busy stage of life — 38 percent report that we are not waking up rested and refreshed most days, with a fifth of the class neither feeling calm and relaxed nor active and vigorous.
But it’s not getting them down — 90 percent are cheerful and in good spirits half the time or more, likely because 89 percent of them say that most or all of the time their days are filled with things that interest us.
Perhaps former Dean Fred Hargadon admitted a class of happy, purposeful students back in the fall of 1995. Or perhaps their well-being and purpose scores have increased in the last quarter-century since graduation.
The full analysis can be found here.
While the Class of 1999 has opted out of recent vaping trends, in the past year, 10.7 percent have used tobacco and over a quarter have used marijuana. Discrepancies in marijuana use across eating clubs have persisted, with over 35 percent of respondents in Terrace Club and Tiger Inn using the drug at least once annually. Despite growing out of their watered-down Street beer phase, both A.B. and B.S.E. degree recipients continue to enjoy drinking, with approximately 60 percent of both groups report consuming alcohol at least once a week in a non-religious context - higher than the Class of 2024, of whom only 47.6 percent reported the same.
Wedding bells rang and kept on ringing for the Class of 1999, as more than 90 percent of respondents indicated that they had been married at some point in their life. Like Princeton, however, all good things must come to an end, and at least 2.8 percent have followed marriage with divorce. Roughly a quarter of respondents are partnered with other Princetonians — including the over 10 percent of ’99s who married another. While the days of hookups on Prospect Avenue are long gone, ’99 has remained sexually active. Some 20 percent who answered the ‘Prince’ survey have had greater than 15 sexual partners, over half have had at least five, and 0.9 percent have had none.
