Princeton University Top Questions

Hard. But worth it. A lot of professors put an amazing amount of thought into course design. They write new textbooks (COS126), totally rearrange the standard course into something more logical (CHM303), and respond to questions 25 hrs a day within 5 minutes (COS217). Some subjects (premed classes) are more competitive than others, but in truth I found high school more competitive.

Briefly, Astrophysics is why I went to Princeton. Academics in general were important to me, yes, but I caught the Astro bug in high school and decided to apply early to Princeton after visiting and being very impressed with the school in general (gorgeous) and spending some time asking questions at and taking a tour of the department. I didn't really fit in very well at Princeton (as a whole), but I have always been glad I went there, because I loved my department so much. The physics department is big and scary and there's a sense that if you're not destined to win a Nobel prize, you shouldn't even bother trying. The Astro department, on the other hand, feels like a big family. The professors are some of the most noted scientists in the field, but they prefer to be called by their first names. Their doors are always open and you, as an undergraduate, can drop by at any time. Most (not all) of them are good teachers, and you can work with just about anyone you like, on any subject. Junior papers and senior theses are taken seriously by the faculty, and the projects are often published. If you want to go to graduate school in Astrophysics, you won't go wrong by going here. Astro is a very small department and only has a small number of majors each year. There are many advantages to its small size. For one, the undergraduates tend to become very good friends. Maybe it's because astro majors tend to have things in common, or maybe it's just because we spent so much time together, but my fellow classmates were some of my best friends on campus, and we still keep in touch even now, more than 5 years after graduating. We studied hard together and we relaxed together, and we always encouraged each other rather than being ultra-competitive. In fact, I never got a really competitive vibe from any of my classmates, in any of my classes. We all compete -- but with ourselves. Inevitably freshmen will try at first to compete with each other to say the most brilliant thing in precept (small discussion sections that accompany lectures), especially if they are in the professor's precept(s), but this quickly falls away, at least in my experience. Discussions are usually lively, in and out of class. Now, I should mention that things may have changed somewhat since I left. Since then, they have instituted a new anti-grade-inflation policy. Last I heard of it, it artificially restricted how many A's and B's a course could give out. This policy was absurd in the hard sciences (which have never had a problem keeping to the traditional "As only for true excellence" policy), but grade inflation certainly was a problem in many other departments. It used to be that earning an A would not preclude another person from earning another A, but that may not be the case anymore.

The education: My classes were almost invariably interesting and well taught. Of the 38 classes I took at Princeton, only one could be called anything close to poorly taught/designed (ORF 307 Optimization: *gag*). The combination of bright and engaging professors who were passionate about their work and a shopping period that allowed you to sit in on many courses before you fully committed to them made it easy to fill your schedule with only worthwhile classes. [It wasn't until the semester after I took ORF 307 that I began to take full advantage of the shopping period. This feature is often ignored by the younger students who are used to a high school schedule largely set in stone.] I found that not only were professors willing to entertain you at their mandatory office hours (the weekly time each professor sets aside to chat with students), they were also eager to chat with you after classes, to carry on lengthy email discussions about your latest questions and theories, and to schedule face-to-face meetings whenever the need arose. Most of the professors I've had were also hungry for student feedback: they care, and they'll gladly sit with you for an hour just to get advice on how to improve their courses. This would be a good time to mention that Princeton really is an undergraduate-focused university. Unlike at most major universities, the Princeton graduate school is only a fraction of the size of the undergraduate body. This means that professors have more time to dedicate to undergraduates: both in terms of teaching and research opportunities. Stress/happiness: Stressful and overwhelming are apt terms for the Princeton academic load, particularly in freshman year when students are still adapting to the college environment, still figuring out that all important work/life balance, still learning to manage their time, still determining what a reasonable class load is, and just discovering that they're not the superstar in every single class any more (a first exposure to B's and C's is unsettling for many). Part of the problem is that the Princeton academic semester is shorter than most (there is some talk of changing this), and part is that Princeton classes cram A LOT of work into each semester. I remember feeling particularly stressed in my first semester when I took Physics 105 (an advanced mechanics course), Math 215 (single variable real analysis), Spanish 207 (studies in Spanish language and style), my Writing Seminar (the Race Debate in the Modern U.S.), and Computer Science 126 (General Computer Science), because I felt like the stream of work was never ending. Whenever I finished one problem set/paper/homework assignment, it was just in time to start the next, and there was seldom time to explore a subject more deeply than what was called for by the class assignments. I realized by the end that I had overloaded myself. Even though these were the classes that I placed into when AP/SAT II scores were considered, there was no reason why I had to take five of them, and no reason why I had to take them all at once. (Side note: as a Bachelor of Arts, you will never need to take 5 classes in a semester, but Bachelors of Science and Engineering need to take 5 courses roughly every other semester.) Additionally, most people would recommend taking fewer courses or an easier load when taking your writing seminar, since this class can demand a lot of your time. In any case, I survived, as most people do, and in the subsequent semester I thought more carefully about the balance of my classes: how much time would I need to spend in class/lab/precept, how many problem set versus homework versus paper-writing classes should I have, how large and difficult would the workload be for each class, how many midterms and finals would their be and how much of the grade depends on them, did I leave space for lunch? Although it's tempting to just jump into all of the classes that sound interesting to you, I've found that this sort of holistic schedule planning can do wonders for your subsequent semester stress level (and I have to say that my second semester was much less stressful!) To sum up: Is there a lot of (dare I say, too much) work? Yes! Can it be stressful? Yes! Can it be mediated? Yes! Student motivation: The beautiful thing about Princeton is that in nearly every field, you'll find someone who will amaze you with his/her knowledge, accomplishments, or passion. The most common question during freshman year is, "Why did I ever think I was good at X?" (The trick is to channel that shock and awe into inspiration. :) ) You have to remember that Princeton is home to some of the most accomplished and passionate young adults in the nation; I never failed to be amazed by anyone I met there. Intellectual atmosphere: I have to admit -- the prospect of having regular, spontaneous intellectual discussions with other students was one of the aspects of college I most eagerly awaited. This did happen, but not to the degree I had hoped (in part because I wasn't actively initiating these discussions and in part because of busy schedules). Princeton did offer many ways to inject a less spontaneous but by no means less satisfying level of peer discussion into my regular schedule though. These included weekly discussion clubs like Paideia (a dinner-discussion club, led by a different professor each week) and Sustained Dialogue (a student dialogue and action group which focused largely on topics of race at Princeton). These club meetings often sparked longer discussions/debates among students that would last late into the night. They also offered good ways to meet other students interested in intellectual discourse.

The Classics Department at Princeton is small and amazing. The professors not only know my name, but sometimes we go out to lunch or coffee. However, Princeton is not like high school. Classes are extremely difficult, and the independent work that is required, like Junior Papers and the Thesis, are intimidating and stressful. Don't come here unless you are willing to work. In the end, you will graduate as a much better writer and conversationalist, so it is worth it. The job market recognizes this, and many firms come to Princeton and other Ivy League schools first (and sometimes do not recruit at other colleges).

Classes are hard, but if you're going to complain about Princeton being too hard then don't come, I mean it's the best school in the country, of course it's hard. Many of the classes are big lectures and when I was in high school I thought that I wouldn't like that, but the fact of the matter is that the professors here are some of the most famous academics in the world and big classes let everyone experience them, which is good. Lectures always are accompianed by precept as well, which is a small class setting with a TA or sometimes the professor. There would never be a lecture that didn't have a precept too. If you want to get to know a professor that's easy to do. Almost all professors like talking to people that are interested in what they teach so lunch meetings and whatnot are easy to arrange. A Princeton education is geared towards whatever you want it to be. If you want to live your life researching in the world of academia then go for it. If you wanna be an Ibanker then you can do that too.

Are tough, but do-able. Especially if you come from a high school that prepares you well. Don't get discouraged if you don't get all A's. Everyone did in high school. No one does anymore...its Princeton

Academics are difficult especially given grade deflation. However, while it is very hard to get an A, getting a B isn't very hard. The professors in upper level classes will know you and take time to answer your questions and see how you're doing. Independent work is a major focus and is worth the time and effort it takes. My department is molecular biology which tends to be a magnet for pre-meds. This can make things a bit more competitive but the classes are interesting and the professors are brilliant.

As a former MOL major and now econ major, I think only one professor knows my name because of all the large lecture classes I go to. My favorite class was a crossover class between WWS and ECO, Economics and Public Policy. My freshman seminar was terrible. I would say the economics department as a whole is very job oriented. There are many finance classes and being in an atmosphere so charged about i-banking and consulting is somewhat anti-intellectual.

are tough but manageable. depending on your future plans, you can squeek by doing really not that much work at all with gentlemans Cs, some work and take the esaiest classes and do well, some work and take hard classes and do mediocre, or a shitload of work and hard classes and do well if youre smart, for princeton standards which are high.

I study quite a bit, but this is because I am pre-med. However, don't be fooled, everyone has to do some work one way or another. In most classes, class participation is crucial, competition is tense, and workload is tough but manageable. Students are able to get very close to professors because of the relatively small class sizes, and students are easily able to get extra help whenever needed through classes taught by the T.A.s (precepts) or office hours.