Only 8.5 percent of Princetonians in the Class of 1999 were the first in their families to attend college. The percentage has doubled to 17 with the class of 2027.The percentage of students in the class of ’99 who attended non-selective public high schools, 54.5 percent, has remained steady over the years. Like the Class of 2027 admits, just about half of ’99ers were admitted to Princeton early.

The Class of 1999 thinks Princeton truly is “the best damn place of all” — 85 percent would choose to attend Princeton again. But, they wouldn’t necessarily choose the same path — just half of the respondents say they would repeat their major. Two-fifth don’t think they would get in today in the first place. The class keeps coming back for more, with 87 percent of the respondents planning on coming to the 25th Reunion and nearly a third coming back for six or more reunions.

While 87 percent of the class plan to return for their 25th Reunion this May, responses were split along income lines. Just 70 percent of alumni earning less than $80,000 a year said they planned to attend, compared to 81.3 percent earning $125,000–$250,000 and 88.6 percent earning $250,000–$500,000. Legacy, however, was not a factor: 87.6 percent of legacy alumni planned to attend Reunions, compared to 86.8 percent of non-legacy alumni.

When class got out, ’99 got busy. They got busy rushing (some 21 percent went Greek), bickering (around 51 percent), and working (60 percent had a campus job, 16 percent were employed externally). Some even got busy with their clothes off — in the Nude Olympics, that is. Though a substantial majority (84.7 percent) held a favorable view of the event in their undergraduate years, 54.2 percent are glad that it was eventually banned.

Perhaps fittingly, History was the most popular concentration among the Great Class of 1999. And some six percent offered an unsavory contribution to Princeton’s history, failing at least one class in their time as a Tiger. Perhaps those struggles came as a consequence of one of those confusing new-age computer classes — 14.4 percent of respondents graduated with an engineering degree. In the Class of 2024, 27.7 percent of respondents will receive an engineering degree from the University.

In 2001, Princeton became the first university in the country to no longer require loans as a part of its financial aid packages. Unfortunately, ’99 was born just a bit too early to benefit from the change, and over 50 percent of respondents, or their families, took out loans to cover the cost of a degree from Old Nassau. After graduation, the financial asks became optional, but this great class kept giving — only four percent of respondents have never donated to the University, and more than 41 percent have given every single year.

While many alumni from ’99 mourn the loss of the Nude Olympics, many remnants of their old social life still exist. Seventy-six percent of respondents were in an eating club, compared to 62 percent for the Class of 2024. Back then of the 12 eating clubs in operation, five were Bicker clubs. Today, six of the eleven clubs are bicker. The straightest eating club was Colonial Club, with 100 percent of respondents identifying as straight, and the gayest eating club was Terrace Club. Terrace also has the most liberal alumni at 17.6 percent.

While 87 percent of the class plan to return for their 25th Reunion this May, responses were split along income lines. Just 70 percent of alumni earning less than $80,000 a year said they planned to attend, compared to 81.3 percent earning $125,000–$250,000 and 88.6 percent earning $250,000–$500,000. Legacy, however, was not a factor: 87.6 percent of legacy alumni planned to attend Reunions, compared to 86.8 percent of non-legacy alumni.