<p>id say im a pretty strong science and maths student and have no obvious preference for studying science or engineering. this sounds kind of bad but i just want to have the highest chance of getting into princeton; is it "easier" to get into either BSE or AB?</p>
<p>I am always interested in this question since it seems to be a “strategy” that applicants are trying to use to advantage. And I understand why but you may not really like the answer. The accurate answer is, it depends. If you have highschool algebra based physics and a strong enough background in calculus that you could start in MAT 103, you would qualify for BSE. If you have an interest in something in the AB program and a willingness to pursue a second language, you’d be a good candidate for AB. </p>
<p>Both are extremely hard to get into. EXTREMELY. What gets you in is not the probability of one program over the other. It’s what you convey about yourself and how it fits into the given program, and whether the admissions committee agrees that you are a great candidate. If you don’t know which one is better for you, take the time to figure it out before you apply. You must sound convinced about your path…not necessarily the details, but your passion about what you enjoy and how you fit.</p>
<p>Applying as an engineer to schools with very weak STEM (Yale’s engineering is ranked 44th…44th! behind noted stoner school UC Santa Barbara! This is the second oldest university in the nation!) will help you out because you will have less (and probably weaker) competition. Princeton’s engineering is top ten and the students are about 20 percent of the school population. It probably won’t help if you apply for BSE. Context: I’m A.B. majoring in the natural sciences.</p>
<p>Hmm… I’d say I lean very slightly toward engineering. Another problem is SAT though. I’ve got one more chance to take SAT which I could use to take Maths IIC (which I need if I want to go for engineering) or take SAT reasoning again to hopefully improve my score more. Would they see taking Maths IIC in January as a last minute decision to do engineering and therefore not genuine? </p>
<p>(I have 790 in SAT bio, 800 in chem and phys and I’m fairly good at calculus)</p>
<p>you should’ve taken Math II much earlier. No…it’s recommended for anyone majoring in anything (I.E. people applying as music majors, English majors, etc.) It doesn’t look like you’re trying to become an engineer because it’s so basic.</p>