<p>i was admitted to princeton (class of 2014) as a BSE candidate (ORFE/ civil engineering). however, i decided to switch to econ or math as i've heard engineering students have more requirements and i want to be able to take more classes in the humanities. is this discouraged/looked down upon? i filled out the AB candidate form and received an email stating that princeton would have to change my academic advising, etc.</p>
<p>Your engineering advisers will be upset and try to talk you out of it (especially if you’re a girl because they’ll think you gamed the system), but honestly there’s nothing they can do to stop you. Switching to AB is pretty common, so don’t worry about there being any stigma.</p>
<p>Chill out.</p>
<p>The freshman courses for engineering or math can be very similar. You do not have to select your major now. Princeton encourages students to switch majors into the smaller departments so switching majors is not a big deal. Tell your advisor that you want to take freshman courses which would allow you to major in econ, math, ORFE, or CE. Many freshman find that they have new interests and major in a field that they have not considered. After your first semester map out the required courses for possible majors. Enjoy your education.</p>
<p>Actually, since he has decided that he really would like to have the ability to take more electives, transfering to AB from Engineering NOW would make sense. It is not as if the amount of electives available for an engineering major is going to change in the next year or so. So why not start in AB from the first day of school.</p>
<p>why? you might ask…</p>
<p>just compare the first year courses for an engineer versus and econ major</p>
<p>Since you were considering ORFE and CE I assumed that you have an interest in math, science, engineering and liberal arts. A BSE student generally take math, physics, and chemistry during the first semester of their freshman year. If you switch majors these courses can be counted toward your distribution requirements. You can take an econ course your first semester. You can switch out of the BSE program easily. If you do not take these courses you cannot switch into the BSE program. </p>
<p>I would not advise someone that I have not meet the major they should choose. I am suggesting that you can keep your options open. You may decide freshman year that you are interested in environmental engineering, robotics, sustainable energy, computational math, or econometrics. During your freshman year you will be exposed to academic areas that did not exist at your high school. Talk to your academic advisors, the college RAs and others to select your freshman courses.</p>