Hi! This is my first thread, so sorry if I mess something up! I’m a high schooler looking at different colleges. I have already decided that I am without a doubt going to be a political science major, and I was wondering what Princeton’s department looks like from a student’s perspective. I’ve studied the website and while it has been VERY helpful, being presented by the college means that it lacks something that is really important to me. I want to know about what you’ve learned from the department other than the curriculum. What moral lessons have your professors taught that you’all carry with you? How much has it impacted your political beliefs and formed you into not just someone with the knowledge to go into the field, but the integrity, decision-making skills, and principles to be good at it and to do good in it? This is kind of a hard question to answer, but if you could try your best I would really appreciate it, as this is really important to me as I figure out what decisions to make about my future. Thank you so much!
I happen to be sitting next to a Princetonian who concentrated in Politics and has agreed to try to help you. Her goes:
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I can’t help but I’m sitting next to someone who can. Here goes:
Good on you for having such a strong desire to major in Politics! To preface, I never expected to major in Politics. I entered college fairly undecided about my major and found that the Politics department was the best fit for me based on:
–professor availability and dedication to student success (in some departments mostly grad students are available, not professors)
–my interest in a social science that dealt with real events in an analytically rigorous way
My sub-concentration was in American Politics and my independent work focused on public opinion and persuasion. In the Politics department, there are several sub-concentrations including: American Politics, International Relations, Political Theory, and Comparative Politics. There is also an option to “minor” in Political Economy.
I provided the background above as context for my answers:
Q: I want to know about what you’ve learned from the department other than the curriculum.
A: I learned that skepticism and differing opinions create stronger reasoning on both sides of an issue. I am not a confrontational person, but I learned that “confrontation” can itself be a good end.
Q: What moral lessons have your professors taught that you’all carry with you?
A: I took mainly constitutional law and public opinion courses. In my coursework, my professors focused on being impartial during class and therefore refrained from “teaching us” moral lessons. In all of my classes, we discussed all sides of a situation to understand the theory behind political situations.
Q: How much has it impacted your political beliefs and formed you into not just someone with the knowledge to go into the field, but the integrity, decision-making skills, and principles to be good at it and to do good in it?
A: I went into the department not having very strong political beliefs and I remain that way. I did not intend to enter the field after majoring in politics, so my situation might be different from yours. What I learned is that with politics, at the end of the day, people are making decisions that affect others, which is a huge responsibility. To be “good,” it’s less about knowing everything and more about being humbled that any decision made by a political actor is inherently imperfect. The important thing is to understand to the best degree possible the depth of the consequences not only for those affected but for the broader systems in the world.
Let me know if that helps!
Thank you so much for your reply! I really like that they had you debate all sides of an issue; that’s something very important to me. After reading your assessment of the department, I really feel like it could be the place for me. You’ve definitely made up my mind about applying. Thank you so much for all of your help!