I have heard some rumors that engineering at Princeton is easier to get into than many of the other majors - is there any merit to this? I am a girl as well if that makes a difference.
I absolutely love math and science, and have debated between majoring in neuroscience (with a computer science certificate/minor) or pursuing chemical engineering (with a biology or neuroscience certificate or minor). If engineering gives me an edge in Princeton EA admissions, I will probably note that as my major and complete the additional essay. What do you all think?
Well you have to write an extra essay if you want to major in Engineering so that sort of weeds out the people who try to get in because it’s easier.
Majoring in Engineering will not give you an edge.
No it’s not easier, in particular because you are admitted to Princeton as a whole, not to a specific school within the university. Once admitted you make take any course of study for which you have the required preparation.
^Unfortunately the linked website doesn’t list data by gender. So one approach to estimate this is to look at acceptance stats for “pure play” elite STEM schools like MIT and Caltech as surrogates, since gender data for the complete school is known. For these schools the number of female applicants is 1/3 - 1/2 the number of male applicants, and the female acceptance rate is 2-3X the male rate (source: College Navigator).
Can you apply those same metrics to Princeton Engineering? Don’t know. It’s reasonable to think that there may be some benefit. But this isn’t the kind of bump where you can start counting it as likely. More like the needle moves from “ludicrous reach” to “hyper reach”.
@mobius911 That makes sense. I definitely know being female is an advantage at schools like MIT, but Im not sure if this advantage would carry over to Princeton as well. I have also read that although the female acceptance rate is higher, it does not mean that these women are any less qualified than the men. But at a school like Princeton, any boost would help. I have the stats to get in - now I just have to stand out.
Additionally, I have heard that Princeton’s engineering is not as well known as some of the other, more math/science focused elite schools (like MIT and CalTech), and they are working on increasing the engineering program as a whole (which would lead to a high acceptance rate). I feel like the extra essay also points to a higher acceptance rate, as they want to discourage applicants from stating engineering as their intended major just to get in.
Anyway, I guess we will just have to see what happens. I do think that I will apply engineering, as I really am interested in pursuing it. Any extra boost helps with admissions
Women in engineering are a hot commodity. Yes, it’s definitely easier for a WOMAN to be admitted to engineering than arts & sciences. The fact that choice of program for all applicants doesn’t matter may indicate that engineering is actually harder for men than otherwise.
Any yes, you are specifically admitted to the school of engineering and applied sciences to pursue a BSE degree. Yale and Harvard are different.
N.B. My friend’s wife is a Princeton civil engineering alum, and I asked.
Princeton does not admit by major, although it does consider whether you have put down a preference for a BSE or a BA. Here’s what the website says:
“We ask you to tell us on the application which degree program you may be most interested in following: A.B. (liberal arts), B.S.E. (engineering) or undecided. We look closely at the math and science preparation of students considering engineering studies. However, students apply to the freshman class of Princeton University, not to the engineering or liberal arts programs, and are not locked into a degree program (or a specific department within that degree program) upon admission. Students in the engineering school choose a concentration (major) by the end of the first year; liberal arts students have two years to choose a concentration.”
That means that Princeton understands that students can change their majors prior to entering the school. Thus, while there might be a very small bump for females interested in engineering, it will probably not be as large as at school where such a choice is more binding. Moreover, 41% of all students in the freshman engineering class at Princeton are females - once again, this is relatively high and I don’t think that the school is hurting for female engineering applicants.
@rhg3rd
The FAQ section of the Undergraduate Admissions section of the Princeton website says this:
Do students apply to specific academic departments or schools?
We ask you to tell us on the application which degree program you may be most interested in following: A.B. (liberal arts), B.S.E. (engineering) or undecided. We look closely at the math and science preparation of students considering engineering studies. However, students apply to the freshman class of Princeton University, not to the engineering or liberal arts programs, and are not locked into a degree program (or a specific department within that degree program) upon admission. Students in the engineering school choose a concentration (major) by the end of the first year; liberal arts students have two years to choose a concentration.
@MAOnemom is correct. Students are not admitted to the school of engineering but to Princeton as a whole. My son is a BSE senior at Princeton and his female student colleagues are every bit as qualified as their male counterparts. One of his friends came to Princeton from a STEM magnet school with 25 AP credits as well as several years of interning in the engineering field. It’s hard to imagine that her acceptance was based on anything but her incredibly strong experience and resume.
I’ve heard these rumors as well, but I don’t think that it is the case. It depends on the number of applicants in the engineering pool; Princeton likes to keep its engineering class at around 20-30% of its total incoming freshmen, so a higher number of engineering applicants may lower the rate of admission. One thing is for sure though: Princeton looks at an application for BSE differently than an application for AB, hence the extra essay.
@ccmember11598 Just out of curiosity though, which specific engineering concentration are you interested in at Princeton?
@azwu331 Interesting - okay! And I am interested in Biological and Chemical Engineering - and what exactly do you mean they look at the application differently?
@ccmember11598 The admissions officers place more emphasis on your math and science scores/grades if you choose to apply for the engineering school. For example, a lower than average Math II Subject Test score may not hurt as much if you plan on applying for an AB degree; however, it could potentially hurt your application if you apply for a BSE.
In addition, around 20% of Princeton’s early action acceptances are engineering applicants, while 80% are AB applicants. For the Class of 2019 it was 21%; for the class of 2018 it was 22%; for the class of 2017 it was 25%; for the class of 2016 it was 23%. This 20-25% number has been pretty constant over the last few years. For example, if Princeton accepts around 750 students during its early round, 150-175 of those students will be engineering applicants. Whether or not engineering actually makes it easier to get in depends on the strength of the applicant pool.
So, is engineering easier to get into? Maybe. Maybe not. So many variables are involved in the application process that the data for every year may be different. One thing is for sure though: your choice of AB or BSE will not be the factor behind an acceptance or denial.
Nevertheless, even though applicants are accepted into the school as a whole and not into a specific major, Princeton does take into consideration your choice of BSE or AB. Around 161 of the accepted SCEA applicants last year were engineering applicants. About 157 of the accepted SCEA applicants for the Class of 2018 were for engineering. 174 were BSE students for SCEA '17, 167 for SCEA '16. Once again, this 150-175 number has remained constant; perhaps the number of qualified engineering applicants has always been within that range, but I feel that Princeton might have a certain goal for the number of BSE applicants that want to accept during SCEA.
My advice? Just apply to whatever major you want, regardless of whether it is BSE or AB. There is very little difference between the acceptance rates for BSE and AB students. If you want to do Biological and Chemical Engineering, put down Biological and Chemical Engineering because you are passionate about the subject, not because you want a suspected back-door into Princeton.
@azwu331 Wow, thank you so much for this great information! This is the most helpful post I have seen in a while. I actually just submitted my application to Princeton, and applied Biological and Chemical engineering. It has always been my passion, and I think this really shined through in my essay. Now, I guess I will just have to wait and see! I do hope that being a girl in engineering gives me a slight advantage, but even if it doesn’t, I am glad I decided to apply engineering because it is truly what I want to do.
@ccmember11598 Good luck! I also applied to Princeton SCEA for engineering last week. Perhaps we might end up being classmates in the future… who knows? One can dream.
