<p>Just returned from Princeton Preview. Very impressed with everything that Princeton has to offer. Our only concern is the lack of flexibility to double major. D intends to double major in Math and Econ, Mgmt Sci, OR/FE, or CS. Interested in comparison between Princeton's Major + Certificate vs. Double Major. Your thoughts are very much appreciated. Thanks.</p>
<p>I truly would not worry about this. There seems to be a real fad right now for double majors, or certificates, or minors, or whatever, but as someone who interviews and hires people for jobs that would be looking at graduates with the quantitative expertise that goes with some of the potential majors you list below, the transcript itself and courses listed more important than whether someone has an official double major, or minor or whatever! And can go to graduate school in any of these areas simply based on course preparation and scoring on entrance exams, so this really is not an important issue. My daughter majored in one field at Princeton (graduated last year) and did get a certificate in another, had lots of job and grad school offers in both areas and some that combined them, and others in an unrelated area she took a few courses in. The certificate ended up being easy for her because she had without even thinking about it taken lots of courses that “counted” but if that had not been the case she would not have bothered with the certificate, she would have taken the individual courses that made the most sense to her, prepared her the best for the future and that she enjoyed the most. The actual education is most important and the networking, that happens as much outside class and academics as in. If a student felt great otherwise about Princeton, this is just not an issue.</p>
<p>I would caution against any serious intentions before coming here (or anywhere). Not that it’s wrong of course to have interests going in and an idea or two, but very often things change as you start taking courses and such. I think it’s best to take classes in areas of interest (and some in other areas) and then things will sort themselves out very nicely. </p>
<p>But as far as if it actually matters if you get a double major or not, I really doubt it. If your daughter was able to take all the necessary classes for two majors, that would be more than sufficient.</p>
<p>Many departments have “tracks” so that students with particular interests can more narrowly pursue them. In particular, your DD might be interested in math-track Econ. The CS certificate is also a great option for those who want to take COS classes but not pursue the major. And of course, you can also take a large number of classes in another field just out of sheer interest. Some employers will ask to see her transcript, and so will see those classes, and even when employers don’t, she can bring up her experience programming, with math, etc. Finally, each department allows a certain number of courses from other departments to count as “cognates” if their curricula are at least 50% related to the major department. </p>
<p>All in all, it’s pretty easy to get an interdisciplinary experience at Princeton. In fact, the one-major policy allows students to craft more individualized, more interdisciplinary experiences, because they’re not trying to simply squeeze in the requirements for another major; they’re taking classes in other departments that they personally find interesting and relevant. Additionally, because Princeton places such an emphasis on junior and senior independent work, your DD would be able to delve deeply into a specific topic that interests her. As long as it relates to her major, nothing would stop her from making it also relate to other disciplines.</p>
<p>Thanks very much for your responses - rufusww, Princeton2014, and glassesarechic. My daughter did end up choosing Princeton. Truly appreciated.</p>
<p>Welcome to the Princeton family!</p>