<p>oh wow. THAT TURNED ME OFF 100%. I’m sad that princeton doesn’t have that field as a full major!!! =(</p>
<p>update: I’m seeing Columbia (to finally judge if New York is for me) && Upenn (due to the fact that princeton lacks one of my interests…ugh im so bummed)</p>
<p>honeyjay</p>
<p>Harvard does not have neuroscience as a full major either. It offers neurobiology as a concentration in the biology department and last year there were only 29 people who received a degree in the area (I assume that means that it has slightly fewer students than the Princeton certificate program). The same is true of Penn–neurobiology is a concentration in the biology department. And the certificate program at Princeton is also part of the biology department.</p>
<p>But I think that you should probably do your own research on what these programs consist of, how many faculty members there are, what the research opportunities are etc. I think that you are making an assumption about the Princeton program that is form over substance–the program provides every that is offered at Harvard and Penn.</p>
<p>honeyjay,</p>
<p>If you haven’t done so already, be sure to fully explore the web site for Penn’s undergraduate neuroscience major, called Biological Basis of Behvior:</p>
<p>[Biological</a> Basis of Behavior Program](<a href=“http://www.psych.upenn.edu/bbb/]Biological”>http://www.psych.upenn.edu/bbb/)</p>
<p>It’s really an extraordinary program, founded in 1978, and is an EXTREMELY popular major at Penn. It’s one of the most comprehensive interdisciplinary programs of its kind, as you can easily see by perusing the program faculty list:</p>
<p>[Biological</a> Basis of Behavior Program Faculty and Staff](<a href=“http://www.psych.upenn.edu/bbb/BBBFacultyandStaff.htm]Biological”>http://www.psych.upenn.edu/bbb/BBBFacultyandStaff.htm)</p>
<p>In addition to the usual Biology and Psychology professors found in other programs, Penn’s BBB program includes LOTS of faculty from Penn’s Medical School, Veterinary School, Dental School, and Engineering School (Penn’s Bioengineering Department is ranked in the top 10), as well as other departments in the School of Arts and Sciences (e.g., Anthropology), and other clinical/research institutions (e.g., the top-ranked Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, the Monell Chemical Senses Center, the Clinical Smell and Taste Research Center).</p>
<p>And the incredible thing is that ALL of these facilities–Medical School, Vet School, Dental School, Children’s Hospital, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, etc.–are literally within 5 or so blocks of each other, right on or immediately adjacent to Penn’s campus. There is no other school among the ones you’re considering that offers this breadth and depth of resources–including the plethora of associated research opportunities–in such a compact area within a few short blocks of an undergrad’s dorm, classroom buildings, etc. In fact, there’s no other school on the face of the earth that offers it. None, nada, zilch. And as an institution in general, and specifically in the BBB program, Penn is quite serious about pushing interdisciplinary education and research, and about deeply involving undergraduates in that enterprise.</p>
<p>But don’t take my word for it. Explore the BBB web site in depth, visit the school, and ask lots of questions. There’s a reason it has become one of the most popular majors at Penn.</p>
<p>Oh, and I should also mention that Penn plans to build a new $78.5 million Neural-Behavioral Sciences Building in the next few years:</p>
<p>[PennConnects</a> : <em>—</em>Neural Behavioral Sciences Overview](<a href=“Penn Connects : A Vision for the Future.”>Penn Connects : A Vision for the Future.)</p>
<p>soon after i posted my comment i searched for upenn neuroscience and saw the neurobiology field. </p>
<p>I was so quick to eliminate a school because of a nuance (im so stressed about all this)</p>
<p>i think the major thing about princeton that got to me was isolatedness (compared to chicago). I visited Amherst and it had the same small town vibe…but it had the 5 college consortium which I liked.</p>
<p>^ Be sure to check out Penn’s Biological Basis of Behavior Program–that’s what the undergraduate neuroscience/neurobiology major is called (and it’s NOT just a concentration in the Biology Department, as midatlmom erroneously indicated–it’s a distinct and separate major). Explore the site to which I linked (including the faculty list, research opportunities, courses, etc.).</p>
<p>45 percenter–I stand corrected. Penn has a terrific major in BBB (but that doesn’t mean I would rule out the Princeton concentration).</p>
<p>And honeyjay, that’s why I have recommended visiting. If you haven’t been to Princeton, you should find out if in fact it feels isolated or too far from a city. I love the location, and the fact that it provides easy access to NY and Philly, but also has a beautiful, vibrant, albeit suburban campus. You might find that you love it too, or that it’s just not for you.</p>
<p>can someone give me a princeton link?</p>
<p>now i have a huge problem.</p>
<p>im going to see columbia…&& harvard. cant see brown (and there’s no changing that) =(</p>
<p>but princeton and upenn’s preview days that I can attend are in the same week!! should i go see princeton since I have no feel for? or upenn (which I have seen several videos about and in depth video tours) ?</p>
<p>Something tells me that midatlmom would recommend that you visit Princeton, while I’d recommend Penn. ;)</p>
<p>Penn, Princeton and Harvard are all top 15 in Psych. They each also appear to be top 15 in NeuroPsych. They’re all three prestigious as institutions.</p>
<p>Now, it’s all about geography and department resources/access to undergrad research. If I were you, I’d ask current students about how easy it is for undergrads to hook up with professors to research in the neuro area. I suspect Princeton will satisfy that requirement more than the other two. If I were you I’d also try to connect with Drs Cohen or Tank and get their take on your choices.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Asking questions of the people who run the programs is a good idea, but I wouldn’t limit such inquiries to just Princeton. Questioning current students is also a great idea. While the conventional wisdom is that Princeton is generally more undergrad focused, that’s just what it is–conventional wisdom. You’ll certainly find a great deal more CLINICAL research going on in the Penn environment than you will at Princeton, the fictional Dr. House notwithstanding. 
And if that’s your interest, find out how much undergrads get to be involved in that.</p>
<p>This may sound silly, but if the best you can do is check out the neighborhoods on Google Earth, then it’s worth doing. Use street view to stroll around the area. The fact that a locale is too gritty/too bucolic for you may be obvious when you can virtually “look around.”</p>
<p>honeyjay</p>
<p>Is there any way you can go to both programs and spend a day at each?</p>
<p>i cant do that. It’s the last month before AP tests, so I can’t miss much school. many of the programs have sessions that all occur within the week of the 17th. =( </p>
<p>I think I’m just going to visit Penn and google map Princeton.</p>
<p>I also have a friend visiting Princeton (he’s interested in cognitive science/neuroscience/biochem) -So he can’t definitely inform me about the environment/professor availability.</p>
<p>So thanks to him I’ll have the best of both worlds.
Even though I can’t visit, princeton will still stay in my thoughts.</p>
<p>I have to agree that Princeton is isolated. When I visited I thought the campus and the adjacent Main street was beautiful, but the town and surrounding area is very small-town America. And that comes from someone who goes to a high school with 450-450 students total, although it is near a major city.</p>
<p>Columbia is a GREAT place and I personally would probably choose to go there for ME. That being said, it is not your typical college experience. It is an urban campus and NYC is just as much a part of the Columbia experience as being a Columbia student is. I get the feeling you may want more of a college experience in the traditional sense while maintaining a balance of some urban life. In that sense Columbia may not be the best fit. Given your options, I think Harvard offers a better combination for you with a more balanced experience.</p>
<p>Well if you don’t want TA’s you should probably lean towards Princeton or Amherst. None of those schools are extremely isolated or anything, so as a city girl you should be fine, but if you love the city obviously Columbia should be strongly considered.</p>
<p>“if you don’t want TA’s you should probably lean towards Princeton”</p>
<p>Princeton has TAs, just like Harvard. Both schools have special names for them, but they are TAs.</p>
<p>If your interest is neuroscience or cognitive neuroscience, not checking out Brown would be a mistake.</p>
<p>If your interest is more pure psychology, less so.</p>
<p>That being said, your schools are so different and all strong enough in enough fields that you should be thinking about where you are going to be set up for your greatest success.</p>
<p>ok so columbia’s off the list now</p>
<p>its btwn upenn (will visit), harvard (will visit), amherst (already seen), & brown (won’t be able to visit but it still has a place in my heart.)</p>
<p>also, I DONT care about prestige</p>