How should I arrange my senior schedule for an engineering major?

Cantiger
Sat, 08 Jun 2013 13:24:46 +0000

My son is a BSE student so perhaps I can help. Your schedule looks great for chemical engineering. Have you done any java programming? COS 126 is required for all engineering students and can be very time consuming, especially without a coding background. Then again some students just “take” to COS from what I understand but my son found it really difficult.

I am assuming you have a senior credit in Spanish which would have been completed prior to considering AP Spanish. If so, you have certainly fulfilled the recommendation outlined on the admissions page. A second language will only be necessary at Princeton if you decide to switch from BSE to AB, which surprisingly a large number of students do (and some vice versa). Some engineering students (my son included) do choose to continue with the second language. Placement in course levels is done by an online placement test for most languages and the result is fairly accurate although my son chose to place in a course one level higher than he tested for and did very well in the course.

If you do choose to continue with a second language, courses at or above the 107 level (I believe) can be used to satisfy a distribution requirement. This would be your only consideration if you are admitted and remain as a BSE student - can you place into a course level high enough to satisfy the requirement without AP Spanish? Otherwise you end up needing to complete a lower level course before you can enroll in a course at a high enough level. Does that make sense?

You will be grateful for the preparation you gain from the math and physics AP courses if you gain admission at Princeton. I’m not sure the AP English will help that much except to round out your application. It cannot be used to satisfy the writing seminar requirement that all first year Princeton students must take, but I’m sure it can’t hurt.