<p>How many classes are required to graduate?
How many classes does the average student take per term?
How many days do different type of classes?
What time do classes begin and end?
How long is one class?
How much time would you say you spend studying per day? (this is my biggest ?)
How hard is it to get an A?
Since there is no grade inflation unlike at Yale and Harvard wouldnt this lower medical school placement?</p>
<p>I think most majors require at least 30 some classes; I know engineering requires 36. Most students take 4-5 classes a term. I have no idea what you’re trying to ask in your third question. Your fourth question is incredibly general (classes start and end at all sorts of times!). Some classes are only 50 minutes, many more are 80 minutes. I’m a graduate student, so I study all the time because that’s what I’m paid to do. Getting an A is pretty tough in graduate courses, not so sure about the undergrad ones. Medical schools are aware of what schools inflate grades and which ones do not, so it probably won’t hurt your chances too bad if at all.</p>
<ol>
<li> For non-engineers, 31 courses plus two junior papers plus a senior thesis.</li>
<li> The minimum would be:
a. 5 courses per semester, once
b. 4 courses per semester, five times
c. 3 courses per semester, senior year, two times
Many students will take five courses more than one semester so that they can meet the requirements for certificate program(s) in addition to their concentration or just to study things in which they are interested.</li>
<li> Is your question, how many days a week do classes meet? Introductory language courses meet five times a week, seminars may meet only once a week, most classes have one lecture and one precept and meet twice a week, but some have either two lectures and one precept or two precepts and one lecture and therefore meet three times per week. Classes with labs may meet two or three times a week.</li>
<li> The earliest scheduled classes I believe start at 8:00 a.m. Most classes are scheduled between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Some classes having evening sessions that may end as late at 9:30 p.m.</li>
<li> Classes vary: the most common are 50 and 80 minutes. Seminars and labs and classes in the performing arts often run 2.5 hours.</li>
<li> I’m a parent, not a student, but based on observations of my child and my child’s friends the amount varies considerably based on the individual. It wouldn’t be unusual for a serious student to spend 30 or so hours a week in total doing the readings and problems sets, writing papers, and studying for exams. Sleep deprivation is common around mid-terms, finals, and dean’s date, when final papers are due. There are many students who get by devoting far fewer hours to their studies, particularly if they don’t bother with the recommended (or even required) readings, and I’m sure that there are some who study even more this, particularly seniors working on their thesis.</li>
<li> Princeton’s goal is that no more than 1/3 of grades in courses and 55 percent of grades for advanced independent work be A’s or A-‘s. In the humanities and social science this target has not yet been met, but in natural sciences only about 1/3 of grades are of the A variety. I think the median GPA is around 3.4 or perhaps 3.5, which would mean for a typical student the majority of grades would be B+ or A-, with some B’s and A’s as well. </li>
<li> Princeton asserts it will not. Since no class has yet graduated that has spent four years under the new policy, it is too soon to tell, but I think it is reasonable to believe that medical schools are aware of the policy and will factor it into their decisions. In fact, even before grade deflation, students at Princeton in the natural sciences were only getting A’s about 1/3 of the time, so the only real effect upon them is when they take courses to fulfill their distibution requirements, as it is now more difficult to get A’s in the social sciences and the humanities.</li>
</ol>
<p>30 hours a week is not bad. Thats about 4 hours a day. Thats what I am doing right now.</p>
<p>30 hours a week is a typical week. Mid-term and final period and when final papers, JP’s, senior thesis are due students might be working/studying up to a 100 hours a week. Generally, there are from six to eight weeks a year out of the 30 that are really intense.</p>
<p>the average GPA is actually around a 3.0, and a 3.5 would be considered (by most) to be really good.</p>
<p>3.0? ouch. Thats got to hurt hen the average gpa at Harvard and Yale is 3.4 and 3.5 respectively.</p>
<p>what??? 3.0, are you sure?</p>
<p>The last official data I could find was from [1997-2002[/url</a>], in which the mean GPA was 3.36 (note that median may be lower, since the grade distribution is most likely skewed by outliers at the top). An unscientific Daily Princetonian poll found [url=<a href=“http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/archives/2006/10/11/news/16142.shtml]a”>http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/archives/2006/10/11/news/16142.shtml]a</a> median between 3.2 and 3.3 and a mean of 3.52](<a href=“http://www.princeton.edu/odoc/faculty/grading/grading_proposals/04.html]1997-2002[/url”>http://www.princeton.edu/odoc/faculty/grading/grading_proposals/04.html) for the class of 2006.</p>
<p>Thus it seems fair to say that the median GPA is probably in the range of 3.1 - 3.3 (since the Princetonian poll likely overshot the actual numbers slightly) and the mean somewhat higher than that – around 3.4, probably.</p>
<p>Interestingly enough, Princeton informs students of their [quintile</a> GPA rankings](<a href=“http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/archives/2004/09/22/news/10792.shtml]quintile”>http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/archives/2004/09/22/news/10792.shtml). If a bunch of current students posted their GPAs and corresponding quintile ranking, a very accurate distribution could be constructed.</p>
<p>So is it worth going to Princeton in your opinion despite the grade deflation?</p>
<p>Yes, absolutely. Grad schools are aware of the policy and take it into account. However you decide what school you want to go to, please don’t knock Princeton out because of an overhyped system of grade deflation.</p>
<p>So its not really that bad? is it cut throat like Berkley, MIT, Cal tech, Johns Hopkins?</p>
<p>Depending on the major you choose, it may or may not be very intense, it’s really up to you. It is not, however, cut throat. As a pre-med with many pre-med friends at Berkeley right now, I definitely appreciate the less competitive, more collaborative atmosphere at Princeton.</p>
<p>Wouldn’t pre-med be really intense as would molecular bio?</p>
<p>yea, i’m going to be premed and i’m so worried about the effect of grade inflation on my med school chances</p>
<p>collegehopeful: I can’t speak to comparisons on your list except for Caltech, and all I can say about that is that despite its reputation for extreme excellence in its chosen fields, and the very very intelligent and driven students, Caltech is one of the most uncompetitive places I’ve ever been.</p>
<p>I see. Its still worth going to Princeton right? I have become absolutely obsessed with everything about Princeton.2 The opportunities for undergraduate research, pre-med advising, top notch molecular biology program, the campus, the dorms, the financial aid, the location. I am trying to not like Princeton so much since I probably won’t get in (check my chances thread if you don’t believe me).</p>
<p>It’s too early to say exactly what the consequences will be for medical school admission, but they seem at least for now to be limited at best. Look at the table [here](<a href=“http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S15/90/45C97/]here[/url]:”>Committee issues report on grading results for 2005-06):</a></p>
<p>Percentage of applicants accepted to medical school:
2004 – 88.5%
2005 – 92.9%
2006 – 95.0%</p>
<p>Grade deflation might make you complain a little, though its hard to tell whether it would even affect you and your courses – in any case, its not anything that should deter you from choosing Princeton, especially if you like everything else about it. I worried about it before I came here, but its really an insignificant matter in light of the school as a whole.</p>
<p>GR Elton’s estimates for median GPA seem on target. I should have written “mean” not “median” in my post.</p>