<p>I am a junior currently looking at Princeton. My college advisor asked me where I was thinking about applying early, and I am honestly stuck between Columbia and Princeton. The main reason is that, as much as I love Princeton, I am interested in majoring in molecular biology but I want to read a lot, especially the "great works"; the kind of education that the Columbia Core achieves.</p>
<p>Though I love sciences, I am not a "math" person per say, and I love to read. I found the HUM sequence on Princeton's website and it looked perfect for me. However, are there any molbio majors who have taken it? </p>
<p>I hear very mixed messages about the integrated science curriculum, and based off of what I hear, I don't think it is for me.
(I also want to take the HUM sequence to see if I may possibly want to major in the humanities... I am open to change).</p>
<p>I don’t know any science/math majors personally who have taken the HUM sequence. Theoretically it’s doable but it might not be <strong>advisable.</strong> HUM is intense! You should try to find a science/math person who has; maybe even email the head of HUM and ask? I have heard rave reviews about its awesomeness though!</p>
<p>Regardless, you’ll totally be able to take lots of reading-based courses even if you don’t do HUM. 
I don’t know the molbio sequence, but you’ll probably be able to take 1 or 2 reading-based courses a semester.</p>
<p>Is the Integrated Science curriculum very very difficult? As I said, I am not a math genius, though I do well in my Physics B and Calculus AB courses at the moment.
Is it possible to do the HUM and ISC curriculums concurrently?</p>
<p>MOL senior who took the first half of HUM here. it’s doable. the reason why i didn’t continue was bc i had scheduling conflicts with classes i had to do (for the purposes of certificates i thought i was going to get and pre-med reqs). it was a pretty eye-opening experience, and i’m glad to have done it. but honestly i can’t say that it was my most favorite, interesting, or influential course at princeton. i wouldn’t take HUM and ISC together.</p>
<p>So what was your most influential course?
I am thinking of just pursuing my science and computer science courses with an English course and possibly a language course on the side each course… I feel that I could fulfill what the same curriculum as HUM just taking courses spread out over my four years.</p>
<p>So what was your most influential course?
I am thinking of just pursuing my science and computer science courses with an English course and possibly a language course on the side each course… I feel that I could fulfill the same curriculum as HUM just taking courses spread out over my four years.</p>
<p>most influential courses were my russian lit and upper level MOL classes. and yes. you could easily cover most of the texts taught in HUM just by taking several different english, comp lit, religion, philosophy, or history classes. honestly, i think HUM is a bit hyped, but it was still interesting and unique. having multiple professors lecture and precept allows either for experts to talk about their subjects or for different interpretations/angles of a certain text. it’s refreshing.</p>
<p>So would you advise someone to take HUM or not? I also feel that I may end up studying the same texts twice anyway since I have heard that HUM does not always go very in depth.
Asdf10101: how did you like your MOL major? We’re you able to take a lot of liberal arts classes on the side?</p>
<p>would i advise someone to take HUM? sure. i’m probably not the most enthusiastic advocate for the sequence, but i think that’s more a reflection of the other interests i have more strongly cultivated over time (i.e. molecular biology), rather than any major problems with HUM. of course, HUM has its shortcomings, and you mentioned one of the big ones: the lack of time afforded to each reading. it’s not something anyone can change, since the purpose of the course is to give a very cursory survey of the western literary canon. if that really bothers you, then perhaps it would be better for you to take classes that are more specific to a particular period, author, or theme. on a practical level, consider whether you will have the time to read most of the texts. it’s a heavy reading load, as you are probably aware, and i’m sure no one ever finishes all of the assigned reading. but it would be to your benefit to try your best (makes lectures and precepts more interesting). so decide whether or not you’re willing or able to devote a significant amount of time. there are also several writing assignments scattered throughout (the course registrar says 6 now, but back when i took it there were 4 plus a final exam). like i said, i personally found HUM to be a unique experience. it didn’t define my princeton academic experience, but i am still glad to have gone through it, even if only halfway.</p>
<p>i love the mol department. this is where i truly became aware of what science actually is. research is a big part of my life, perhaps more so than other mol majors, and it certainly has shaped my outlook and goals for the future. i also happened to really like my mol classes, even the department requirements. as for time for other types of classes, i am actually getting a russian lit certificate. my class schedules for my first 3 years were essentially 50/50 russian/mol+chem. so, yes. i would say that i had a decent liberal arts education.</p>
<p>Both Princeton and Columbia are very very selective colleges. So while it makes sense to understand the nuances of their respective curriculum in the sciences and humanities consider that inspection in the context of the selectivity of the two colleges.</p>
<p>Princeton allows you to apply Early Action, which is non-binding. Columbia is early-decision, which is not. So if you get accepted to Princeton you can still apply to Columbia. Ideally you’ll get accepted to both and you can then decide on where to attend based on the differences.</p>
<p>Half of the people I know in HUM are pre-med</p>
<p>All my HUM friends like HUM a lot. In terms of Columbia’s core…it seems as if they aren’t trusting their students with crafting their own schedules. I feel that if you put in a little effort, you can design a schedule at Princeton that’s far superior to any generic Columbia program because you can control every little aspect.</p>