Leveraging Peer Resources to Promote Undergraduate Education and Well-being

Abstract

Princeton University is a private research university with approximately 250–280 juniors and seniors majoring in economics. In the past decade, the university has made significant strides in expanding and diversifying its undergraduate student body by admitting more students overall as well as by admitting more first-generation, minority, transfer, and international students. With this expansion comes the responsibility to build community and broaden access to valuable social and knowledge capital to help all students thrive in their academic and post-graduation careers. Traditionally, there has been an uneven playing field in access to such capital, with insiders passing academic, career, and social advice to younger students in restricted access circles like athletic teams, eating clubs, student organizations, and fraternities. This paper describes university, economics department, and student-led efforts to foster peer mentorship more broadly to promote the academic and social well-being of all students.