Are applicants admitted to Princeton as a whole or to the college they indicate?

[PersonalVietnam]

The Princeton application asks you to indicate whether you want to major in Bachelor of Arts or in Bachelor of Science in Engineering, with the BSE applicants having to write an extra supplement. When you indicate either as your choice, are you bound to that school if you get accepted and choose to attend, or can you make the final choice later?

[psywar]

You are admitted to Princeton itself, and can choose between AB or BSE before school starts. You can change your mind freshman year too. It becomes more difficult to switch INTO BSE after the first year because of engineering class requirements.

See:http://admission.princeton.edu/whatsdistinctive

Students apply to Princeton University, not to individual departments, programs, or schools. Once enrolled, students may pursue either the Bachelor of Arts (A.B.) or the Bachelor of Science in engineering (B.S.E.) degree. Within these degree programs, students can choose from among 37 concentrations (computer science offers both A.B. and B.S.E. degrees) and 53 interdepartmental certificate programs. The A.B. degree includes concentrations in the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs and the School of Architecture.

During their first two years at Princeton, students in the A.B. degree program are encouraged to explore the curriculum. They are required to complete 1 or 2 courses in each of seven general areas: epistemology and cognition, ethical thought and moral values, historical analysis, literature and the arts, quantitative reasoning, laboratory science and technology, and social analysis. All A.B. students must demonstrate proficiency in English composition through a one-semester writing seminar. They also must become proficient in a foreign language. Princeton offers courses in more than 18 foreign languages. In the spring of their sophomore year, students choose a major to pursue in their junior and senior years.

The B.S.E. degree is granted by the School of Engineering and Applied Science. More than 20 percent of each class is enrolled in the B.S.E. program. At the end of their freshman year, engineers choose to concentrate in one of the six engineering departments.

[PersonalVietnam]

@psywar Thanks for the info!