Daily Princetonian: Major Choice Linked to High School

[Periwinkle]

<p>[Major</a> choice linked to high school - The Daily Princetonian](<a href=“http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/2005/04/15/12543/]Major”>http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/2005/04/15/12543/)</p>

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In a study of 32 prep schools and 32 public schools, The Daily Princetonian found that 54.6 percent of prep-school graduates concentrate in the five largest departments, compared to 43.1 percent of all University juniors and seniors, and only 37.7 percent of public school graduates.</p>

<p>The five most popular concentrations for the 2004-2005 academic year are, in decreasing order: politics, history, economics, the Wilson School and English.</p>

<p>The prep school group is also disproportionately represented in the humanities.(…)</p>

<p>On the other hand, prep school alumni are relatively underrepresented in engineering. Only 6.5 percent concentrate in engineering, compared to 16.5 percent of undergraduates as a whole and 18.6 percent of the public school group.

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[wcmom1958]

<p>Interesting! And with the increased focus on STEM – and measurable decline in humanities – in public school curriculum this trend is bound to accelerate. The implications are scary.</p>

[lemonade1]

<p>Just a suspicion— but it seems to me that kids interested in science at NY daughter’s school prefer Stanford or MIT (and kids with the credentials to get into Princeton are strong candidates for those schools, too). Public school kids might not have the same sense (or maybe biased view) of the schools that you get from knowing a dozen kids at a college. Princeton’s a fine place for science.</p>

<p>Edit: just read the article and saw the same idea about Stanford and MIT!</p>