Is there academic freedom to explore?

Colleges & Universities Princeton University
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<p>Hello everyone,</p>

<p>I was accepted into P’s Class of 2012 but am currently undecided on it. Like many prospective freshmen, I have very little idea of what field I want to pursue. I’m the kind of person who loves learning about basically everything: while my resume paints me as a very science/math-y person, I am as fascinated by history as I am with physics. With that said, how much freedom do students feel they are given to explore all of their intellectual interests at Princeton? Are there any Princeton students out there who were as undecided as I, then had some “Eureka!” moment when they found their true calling? One of my main fears about college is that I’ll be locked into a field of study without having had sufficient time or freedom to look into some of my options. Princeton’s emphasis on undergraduate research, while awesome and greatly appealing, only confirms this fear because of the pressure it seems to cause to settle down early and then strive for depth, not breadth. Any advice/anecdotal evidence on this front would be greatly appreciated!</p>

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<p>^ I’m in the exact same situation.</p>

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<p>echang08, HandsAcrossTime, I was EXACTLY where you were two years ago. I came into freshman year not knowing whether or not I was an engineer, whether or not I was premed, whether or not I was a science person or a humanities person. Concentrations I’ve flirted with include everything from Psychology to Physics. </p>

<p>However, here is where I am so glad to be at Princeton. I knew, in the midst of my decision making process, that whichever concentration I chose, I would be getting access to top-notch faculty members, be working with students who were excited about learning, and that no major I chose (or did not choose) would bar me from doing whatever I wanted after graduation.</p>

<p>So, even though my first two years were completely science-heavy, I was also able to take Chinese and study abroad over the summer, take courses with brilliant professors from Chemistry to Religion, and finally come to a decision about my concentration.</p>

<p>I’m now a Woodrow Wilson school concentrator with certificates in neuroscience and teacher prep. Now at first glance they don’t appear to have any commonalities at all, but that’s what I love about Princeton, that if I have an interest in all three, I will have the support and faculty guidance I need to explore to my heart’s content. My neuroscience professor, for example, has said that she can see herself advising my thesis on language learning in Deaf students and my classes on education policy will be with experts in the field. I’m SO excited for my remaining two years here.</p>

<p>Another friend of mine turned down his Woody Woo acceptance to create an independent major. </p>

<p>Others are engineers with certificates in vocal performance.</p>

<p>If you have a desire to explore, you’ll find a way, guaranteed. </p>

<p>Basically, Princeton has room for both those who desire breadth and for those who desire depth. </p>

<p>This is not to say that you’ll be able to take absolutely EVERYTHING (there are way too many awesome courses for that to happen), but a reassurance that exploration is more than encouraged here.</p>

<p>Good luck with your choice! You can certainly PM me if you want. And congrats!</p>

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<p>Thanks, debryc. Your post was very helpful and did much to ease some of my doubts about Princeton.</p>

<p>Anyone else?</p>

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<p>Over half of my freshmen advisees had no idea of what major they wanted to do during the advising week. This is no problem as by the end of their sophomore year they had made up their minds. Deciding what you want to do based on your HS experience isn’t a good idea in my opinion, come to Princeton and take advantage of the variety of courses available and make the decision based on that.</p>

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<p>I have a good example on the ‘breadth’ side – one of my friends ‘switched’ his major about 7 times during 4 years I believe :slight_smile: …ranging from EE to Visual Arts. I think he couldn’t make up his mind until the senior year, as I heard he was doing 2 JPs at the same time (not recommended). He ended up with a degree in Psychology.</p>

<p>Also, yesterday I just one of my friend who was a Philosophy major. However, she took 2 neuroscience courses during her senior year and fell in love with it. Now she’s going to grad school in neuroscience.</p>