With the conclusion of the 2024 election, we asked the Class of 2025 questions about their political leanings, their vote back in November, and whether or not they regretted voting for their candidate. We also asked them to rate various aspects of campus life, administration, and construction on campus. We also asked seniors how they felt about the state of campus architecture, as Princeton continues to leave the collegiate-gothic style behind for a more modern style. Read on to explore seniors’ views.
Seventy-five percent of respondents reported voting in the 2024 election, with 75.8 percent of respondents preferring Kamala Harris and nine percent of respondents preferring Donald Trump. After the election results, four percent of respondents recorded that they would vote differently if they knew what they know now. Nearly all of these students were ones who did not vote in the 2024 election to begin with. Though the minority in all eating clubs, the most conservative eating club is Cottage Club, where 18.2 percent of their members reported very conservative views — in contrast with Terrace, where 44.3 percent of members identified as very liberal. Political views were also reflected in last spring’s “Gaza Solidarity Encampment,” with 47.9 percent of “Encampment” participants identifying as leftist/socialist.
Princeton academics are hard: 65.7 percent of seniors believe Princeton should not prioritize academic rigor more heavily, and 69.3 percent believe grade inflation is not an issue. However, 50.6 percent of seniors are in favor of grading theses on a pass/D/fail basis, a decrease from the 58 percent of the Class of 2024. With regards to the Honor Code, just 15.5 percent of seniors believe AI usage policies should be made more strict, and 48.4 percent view the Honor Code at least somewhat unfavorably — a decrease from 55 percent of respondents from the Class of 2024.
A significant portion of students are dissatisfied with Princeton’s mental health resources, with 30.8 percent disagreeing and 13.2 percent strongly disagreeing that they are adequate. Only 25.5 percent of students expressed a positive view of the mental health resources. Nevertheless, a majority of Class of 2025 students at Princeton report being happy, with 46.3 percent agreeing and 29.4 percent strongly agreeing with the statement “I have been happy at Princeton.”
On a scale of one to five, the architectural style of the Class of 1986 Fitness and Wellness Center received the highest average approval rating of 4.13 among the new buildings on campus. In contrast, the architectural style of the new Princeton Art Museum received the lowest average rating, at 2.55. 57.7 percent of students reported that they felt strongly unfavorable towards on-campus construction, although this represents a slight decrease from 63.7 percent in the Class of 2024 senior survey. 10.2 percent of students rated on-campus housing as strongly unfavorable, slightly higher than the 8.7 percent who viewed it as strongly favorable.