Hi guys,
I was wondering if the econ major/finance certificate at Princeton is incredibly competitive for admission. I know that Princeton in general is competitive, but obviously some majors are more competitive than others.
Furthermore, would Wharton be harder to get into (generally) than Princeton Econ? I think yes, but I want to hear other opinions.
It doesn’t quite work like that. On your application, you simply list what degree you would most likely pursue at Princeton and certificates if accepted. You don’t officially declare your concentration (or major) until your sophomore year.
Wharton is different, on the other hand. You would be accepted to the school and pursue a Bachelor of Science in Economics with various business concentrations.
With all that said, you would be applying to Princeton University and Wharton School of Business.
Princeton: 20% acceptance rate (SCEA) 7% acceptance rate (RD)
Wharton: ~10-11% with slightly higher for ED
Good luck.
All student’s apply to Princeton as Liberal Arts Majors and choose a major during their sophomore year. See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberal_arts_education
Princeton asks student’s about what they would like to pursue or their “intended major” to gauge a student’s interests, but as the majority of college students switch majors at least once during their 4 years of college, Admissions cannot use a student’s “intended major” as a recruiting tool. It’s the same at Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Dartmouth, and Brown. The only two ivy league schools that are different in that respect are Cornell and UPenn, which recruit by majors.
FWIW, you might find this perspective on the topic interesting: http://www.quora.com/Why-do-most-Ivy-League-schools-only-Cornell-and-Wharton-do-and-Stanford-not-have-an-undergraduate-business-major
The posters above are correct. On his admission application my son indicated an interest in two arguably unrelated fields, physics and philosophy, and once admitted he was free to pursue any concentration he chose.
Edit to add: I wrote that physics and philosophy are “arguably unrelated”, but in such an argument I’d take the position that they’re closely related.
Thanks all!
Actually, just to clarify, Penn doesn’t exactly “recruit by major.” You don’t apply to any specific major at Penn but you do apply to be part of one of its four undergraduate schools: The College, Wharton, Nursing, and Engineering. For the College, you could list any major or no major at all as your intended field of study. For Wharton, you will automatically be enrolled in a BS program in Economics but your actual concentration (finance, marketing, etc. etc.) isn’t something you would declare until later in the program. For more information, feel free to check out Penn’s admissions page:
http://www.admissions.upenn.edu/academics/majors-minors#Penn
So while you might become involved in your general field of interest earlier at Penn by virtue of your decision to apply to one of Penn’s preprofessional undergrad schools (nursing/engineering/wharton) it is by no means necessary. However, as a consequence of Penn’s one university policy, you can easily take classes outside of your homeschool if you choose. Additionally, transferring between Penn’s undergrad schools can require a little bit of effort but it is by no means impossible if you realize, for example, that you matriculated at Wharton but belong in Engineering or the other way around. And finally, all four schools have various interdisciplinary programs with one another that allow you to pursue certificates and minors in the other schools. So you aren’t so strictly bound just to the undergraduate school to which you matriculate. Students in the College can earn a minor in Engineering, for example, without having to enroll in the engineering school. Additionally, students in the college could pursue a minor co-offered between the College and Wharton such as Legal Studies and History or Consumer Psychology.
http://www.admissions.upenn.edu/academics/interdisciplinary-programs/inter-school-minors
https://www.college.upenn.edu/minors-policy
And finally, it is possible to pursue a dual degree between Penn’s undergraduate schools, so even if you matriculate at nursing but want to pursue a degree in Engineering as well, it’s definitely an option assuming you are doing well in your program and you are prepared for a bit of paperwork. http://www.upenn.edu/programs/interschool
As for which is harder to get into, I think it mostly depends on which way the wind is blowing that day. Many students are rejected by Penn and accepted at Princeton. Many are rejected at Princeton and accepted at Penn. Good luck 
“Princeton: 20% acceptance rate (SCEA) 7% acceptance rate (RD)
Wharton: ~10-11% with slightly higher for ED”
Keep in mind that almost all recruited athletes (probably somewhere in the range of 200) apply and are accepted EA, as do most legacies and the children of faculty. The unhooked acceptance rate is probably closer to that of RD.
“Fall 2016 applicants - We are aware that applicants working early on Saturday (8/1) encountered an error message after completing the citizenship section. The issue has been resolved. We are sorry for the inconvenience.”
This just got posted on the login page, so anybody with those errors–I wouldn’t worry about it 
My application works now!