Princeton University Top Questions

I loved my relatively small department - Art and Archaeology. The professors all fostered personal relationships with students, occasionally even inviting to their homes for dinner.

Yes, professors definitely knew my name. My favorite class was taught by a truly captivating professor whose lectures were more like enlightening shows. It was Soviet History taught by Professor Stephen Kotkin. My least favorite class was organic chemistry, since in my opinion the professor displayed an almost criminal habit of favoritism. Students study as often as they need or desire, as I would imagine is the case in almost every school. Class participation is indeed common. Princeton students do have intellectual conversations outside of class. Some students are more competitive than others, but again, that is probably true of most schools. The most unique class I've taken was Spanish. I love history so I thoroughly enjoyed my major. There are certain departments that are much more pleasant and personable than others. The history department is one of the greatest in the world, but is a little too large to truly be as personal as smaller ones, also with great people, like Spanish and Physics. I did not spend time with professors outside of class. I think Princeton's academic requirements are fair and indicative of the caliber of student you'll find there. The education at Princeton overall is whatever you make of it. If you are only using it as a stepping stone to get a job, you can certainly do that. But if you want to indulge pure intellectual curiosity, that is certainly a realistic possibility as well.

If you're in a smaller class or seminar, and if you make the effort to introduce yourself/get to know the professor, they usually know your name. Not as much the case in a big seminar, though it depends how much effort you put into it outside of the immediate class time, presumably (i.e. do you go to office hours?). Students are somewhat competitive, but I have never felt a real negative vibe from this--most are willing to share notes, study together, etc. Princeton's academic requirements are generally not bad--the distribution requirements make it so that every undergraduate has some exposure to most general areas of academics without making any particular class (besides freshman writing seminar) an absolute must. I think both of these factors are generally positive, because they offer choice while still structuring your courseload/study somewhat, especially in your first 2 years; and then when you pick a major, you acquire some additional (self-imposed) requirements in your particular department, which generally ensure that you get a pretty good range of knowledge/education in your area of focus (though even then, you have a good amount of freedom in structuring your studies).

I had an incredible academic experience at Princeton. The school really pushes for education for its own sake, encouraging students to take courses in a variety of subjects and to challenge themselves as much as possible. The environment is fairly intense (people generally take academics seriously and spend a lot of time studying) but it never felt very competitive. After starting law school, I realize how collegial my classmates at Princeton were. We would ALWAYS help each other and work in teams whenever possible. Professors were also always willing to interact with students. I had an incredible thesis advisor who I still talk to all the time. My other professors were also great teachers in addition to being (mostly) brilliant.

On the whole, Princeton students devote a lot of time to their classes. They are not cutthroat and often study in groups, despite administrative efforts to combat "grade inflation" by putting departmental guidelines on the number of A's given. Classes range from 200-person lectures to 6-person seminars. Lectures are broken down once a week into "precepts," roughly 15-person groups often led by a TA but sometimes by a professor. Precepts range widely in quality, but instruction in general is of a high caliber and TAs never lecture. People keep a good pulse on which classes are good, so it helps to ask around when selecting classes. Despite the administration's promotion of small classes, some of my own favorites have been large lectures: macroeconomics with former Federal Reserve Vice Chair Alan Blinder, or microeconomics with former Council of Economic Advisers member Harvey Rosen. Seminars delve into advanced topics and are held once a week for three hours. This setup suits some students and not others; it's a matter of preference. It's advisable to take a few, though, because that's where you'll get to know your professors and fellow students better. Introductory language classes, too, are smaller and you're likely to befriend your grad student instructor or fellow language students. A few classes (such as in art history) take expenses-paid trips over breaks. They're by application, but it's well worth seeking them out. Requirements: Princeton is flexible, but it's not a free-for-all like Brown. A.B. students (engineers differ) take 10 different classes in 7 designated course areas, theoretically providing the "liberal arts" education Princeton is meant to be. Some are less than rigorous, which is useful in that the biggest science-phobe can find a manageable class, but something of a detriment in that they can seem like a waste of time. Overall, exposure to different fields is a good thing and many people find their majors through experimentation. A writing seminar, hateful but helpful, is required freshman year. There is a language proficiency requirement which AP credits can cover. The language departments are great, with many opportunities for study abroad and internships, so experiment with languages if you have time. The requirements for your major vary by department. Some, like econ, have prerequisites which take careful planning. My department, Spanish, is more flexible, requiring 8 upper-level Spanish courses. Some can be "cognates," courses outside the department that engage the field in one way or another. I've thus had time to experiment with other fields like economics and art history even as an upperclassman. The most unique part of Princeton academics is the mandatory senior thesis, a 60-100 page independent project. Junior papers (usually 2, of about 25 pages each) in the third year lead up to this but don't have to relate to the thesis topic. This seems overwhelming, but when senior year rolls around, everyone gets through it. Some seniors hate the thesis and others get into it, but in hindsight, most find it a valuable academic exercise.

Princeton has some of the most unbelievable opportunities in the classroom. While it is a lot of work, the payoff is incredible and the quality of the classes make the work worthwhile. Last fall I took a Freshman Seminar course with eleven other students on materials science. With only twelve students were were able to work extremely closely with a professor in the Chemical Engineering department who works on grants for NASA developing new materials for applications in airplanes and space. To be able to work so closely with an expert in the field was an amazing experience and many schools don't offer these kinds of opportunities to students at the Freshman Level. I am an engineer and while we have to take more classes than the B.A. students here, I have really developed a bond with the other engineers in my class. It's a ton of work, but it's worth it. The biggest concern with Princeton is their grade deflation policy that limits the number of A level grades a teacher can give in a semester. This makes some classes extremely competitive, but it's part of the Princeton process.

Professors are wonderful, especially if you take time out to get to know a few personally (tragically, I have only begun this practice my senior year). Always choose your classes based on the professor. Students are sometimes overly competative, but you need not be. History is a wonderful department, since it is populated by tweed jackets, properly dusty bookshelves, and professors who spiritually exist in the 17th century. Also, you can study anything that happened before last week, and so have plenty of academic freedom and range. Also, you should certainly pick out one professor who you admire, and ask him/her your freshman year to help design a four year course of study for you. There is no way to properly take advantage of the preponderance of good course Princeton has to offer if you're only getting a taste here and there, or planning a single semester ahead (like I did). Devise multi-yearl trajectories of learning, with the help of an admired professor (who are mostly very helpful and happy to assist you in your academic pursuits). Professor Robert George is the nicest and most exciting professor at Princeton. Be sure to stop by and say hi to him during office hours, and definitely become his student and acquaintance. You will learn more than you thought possible.

There's no getting around it: you will work very hard at Princeton. As an engineer, my life was dominated by problem sets and design projects. I was often overwhelmed, but ultimately felt extremely proud of my accomplishments and the work that I produced. My professors were very approachable and usually held regularly scheduled office hours to further discuss lecture material. Additionally, precepts were an excellent time to clear-up any confusion, to go over problem sets, and to hear other students' thoughts and opinions. The most memorable part of your undergrad experience will likely be your senior thesis project. This represents an enormous amount of work, but if you select a topic that interests you, it is easy to become engrossed in your research. Looking back now, I almost can't believe that I was able to produce a 100-pg document about a topic that I knew very little about at the beginning of senior year. I really value this experience and am extremely proud every time I look back at the finished product.

With all the engineering classes I've taken, the professors really make an effort to get to know each and every student individually. They stop in the hallway and say hi and make smalltalk. My favorite class so far has been solid state electronic devices. The class was really small; it was more like a seminar. We could always ask the TA for help whenever we needed it, and the professor made an effort to get to know us. Also, the material was really interesting because it filled in a lot of informational "holes" that had been left by previous "handwaving" in more elementary electrical engineering classes. Professors are always very approachable, and if you ever express interest in getting involved in research, they're more than happy to tell you about their research and bring you into their lab.

How much do students study? A LOT. But not in a bad way. It's great to be in an environment where most people put studying first during the day on most weekdays, but make fun a priority on nights and weekends. Actually, that's not even true. Kids here know how to make studying fun. And the parties are great.