| here is another post by senior about jacobs major. i hope it will be helpful for those who did get accepted at jacobs and thinking to go there. by the way the post is by the senior who is currently on senior year at jacobs.
First of all, I recommend that you don't come here unless you have a strong background in what you plan to study. It might even be better to go to a state college in the US because you will be able to make money by working. Getting jobs in Germany is quite hard because of the language barrier.
However, if you have made up your mind to come to Jacobs, I can only offer the following tips:
1) Know what you want to study: I guess a lot of people won't agree on this one but I think this is the most important thing for studies at Jacobs. If you know what major you want to study then you can ask us (people at Jacobs) what you should study before hand. Also, changing your major in the middle of semester usually entails a lot of problems like increase in course load to catch up with subjects from your new major and having to compete with other pre-established students in another major who already know what they wanted to study in the first place.
2) Build a strong background in what you want to study: I don't think I need to explain this point. You can ask your seniors for your help about what you need to study and what kind of preparation you need. You still have summer and you can catch up a lot during summer.
3) Learn to manage your time properly: Learn to be efficient and stick to your routine. This skill will help you in any University.
4) Be determined: It is going to be tough. Everyone is going to say that but that does not mean you can't do it. If you have firm determination then your determination will take care of everything.
5) Know what you want from Jacobs Education: Is it graduate studies in the US that you want from Jacobs ? Do you want a good paying job directly after jacobs? Or do you just want to chill for 3 years and visit various places in Europe? ==> If you know what you want then you can already carve a path out for yourself.
6) Don't be a bug running into the light: Have you seen those bugs that run into the light because it is so bright and then end up dead? Well what I am trying to say is that there are some majors that look amazing on paper but might not be that great in real life. Let me give you a brief overview of some of the popular majors here. These are my own personal views.
Applied Computational Mathematics - If you are a Nepali then Forget it.
Biochemical Engineering - It is sounds great on paper so it is really good if you want to go to Industry afterwards. However, if you want to do a good PhD, you will require a good internship and you should take a lot of good courses from Chemistry or BCCB. Most of the Nepalis from this major have been very successful to obtain a good Graduate studies position.
BCCB - It is a very good major which is building a good reputation. New York University offers 1 internship every year to a student at Jacobs because of ties and a lot of Professors from other Universities seem to really like such a specialized program. If you want to study this major, I recommend you study either Horton's Biochemistry or Lehninger's Biochemistry. Voet and Voet's also offers a good comprehensive education. It is important that you have a strong background in Organic Chemistry. Professors are great and pay good attention to you except for one.
BICB - Excellent major because of the specialization but it is quite limited. You will need to develop a very good programming background especially Perl and Python. You also need to study some Biochemistry
Biology - Good major but it is quite narrow and limited as it is mostly Neuroscience and Professors are too awesome and busy to give a crap about you. Not a lot of things to do after you complete your Bachelors.
Chemistry - Excellent major. Professors are very good. You will need a strong background in Chemistry.
Computer Science - I don't recommend this major. If you want to study CS then you should study EECS. I think a person who wants to study CS must also have a good background in EE. You will mostly study Applied Mathematics and you will have no background in this. It is very tough for a Nepali.
ESS - I think this is the best major to pursue at Jacobs because of good opportunities afterwards, great professors and a lot of different possible career paths.
ECE - I recommend that you do EECS. ECE is very tough at Jacobs because of harsh grading and Professors who are excellent researchers but bad teachers. Study the 1st year BSc. EE coursebook from KU so that you have some background when you come here. Take tuitions if need be.
EECS - A very good major if you want to go get a job. If you want to do a Masters or PhD afterwards, you will need to get a very good grade otherwise you won't end up at a nice university in US. Read what I wrote about what to study from the ECE and CS.
ILE - This major is overrated. This is an excellent major to pursue but you need a strong command of English. If you don't have a good English then you can never be a good Logistics Student. You should expect to go directly to Companies afterwards. The main problem associated with this major is that Professors come from other Universities to teach whose knowledge of English is weak and students face various problems. Also, it is the newest major here so course plan changes all the time and even the Admin is not so sure about what to do.
Mathematics - Forget it!
Physics - You will require a strong background in Maths and Physics. What do you want to do with Physics afterwards? - If you want to go into something applied like Nanotechnology then I highly recommend this major. Otherwise, I don't see a lot of opportunities after you studies from this major.
Humanities.
As a Nepali, I can only recommend 3 majors to you:
ISS: A good major without any specialization. If you want to study Economics for Graduate School then I recommend that you take a lot of Math courses along with ISS courses. You will require good English skills. I also recommend that you study about the Freedom House Survey, World Value Survey as well as read "The Clash of Civilization" by Samuel Huntington. It is a good idea to have a good base interms of European and World History.
IPH: It is the crappier and easier version of ISS. Don't do it.
Psychology: It is a good program but seriously what are you going to do afterwards? As a Nepali, you will be rather limited in your choices. | 
College Confidential is dedicated to providing the best free college admissions information available on the Web, through our many articles and this discussion forum.
