<p>Hey guys, I was hoping some of you could help me with something. I'm a math/science sort of person, and I am absolutely dreadful at the humanities/social sciences. I will be going off to college at Princeton University next year, and I was looking into possible majors in the handbook that I recently received in the mail. As of now, I am interested in either ORFE or mathematics. ORFE is part of the bachelor school of engineering whereas math is part of the school of arts.
If I major in math, I'd have to take a lot more humanities courses, have a lower gpa, whereas if I major in ORFE, I would only have to like 7 humanities courses, and probably have a higher gpa. GPA is not the only issue here, as I would guess that I would take far more time to write essays and papers, and it may create a lot of unneeded stress.<br>
Also, I've heard that the math majors at Princeton are absolutely ridiculous and extremely bright, and it may be very competitive. So basically, I am not sure which path to take. Although it is a bit early for me to think of these things, I was wondering if any of you guys would happen to have any advice for me. Thanks so much!</p>
<p>you lucky son of a b***h.</p>
<p>.....Princeton ORFE majors are a hot commodity obviously. But some say specialization early on isn't a good idea. Either way you're set man!</p>
<p>Oh, also, if I want to be like a quantitative analyst or something, should I major in math?</p>
<p>if you want to be a Quant, do the Financial Engineering.</p>
<p>I was an undergrad at Cornell who majored in OR/IE in the engineering shool. As a sophmore when I was picking my major I investigated both the OR/IE and Math options so I have travelled a similar road. Here are my suggestions. </p>
<ul>
<li><p>I would not worry too much about what your GPA might be depending on your major but more on what courses you will most likely take and which appeal to you more ... for me having to take a host of language courses was enough to make me shy away from picking Math as my major (and switching schools to do so) ... it is far from clear if my grades would have gone up or down if I switched schools; while I would take more classes I wouldn't like as much as a Math major was also true as a Liberal Arts major I would take less courses overall and that the grading tends to be higher in those courses.</p></li>
<li><p>I found out being a Math major at Cornell led to a study of theorectical math ... and that after receiving my degree with a Math major would not provide practical training for careers in Math. It would provide a lot of intriguing math courses and greatly improve my ability to think through abstract problems.</p></li>
<li><p>I found out that Operations Research was essentially an applied math discipline (those are my words) ... it is major focussing on using analytical techniques to solve real world operations/business problems. (FYI - Operations Research tends to solve more complex problems using closed form math solutions while Industrial Engineering is similar but tends to solve somewhat simplier problems using heuristic based solution techniques).</p></li>
</ul>
<p>I was much more interested in the practical application of math techniques than abstract proofs and problem solving so I picked OR/IE. Both paths teach you think analytically, both paths lead to great analytical jobs, both paths can lead to great grad schools. For me and my friends most of us were intellectually drawn strongly to one of the two paths ... no right or wrong path ... just different paths.</p>
<p>Thank you so much for the replies everyone! I really appreciate it!</p>
<p>How about economics and math?</p>
<p>Yeah, I heard ORFE is now the most popular major in Princeton engineering lol.</p>
<p>You said you wanted to become a "quantitative analyst" though. If that's the case you would probably need to go to graduate school, and in that case choosing Princeton's applied math major would be a smarter choice. (it won't be useless and theoretical)</p>
<p>ORFE is best choice forget the rest.</p>
<p>Alot of my mates here are taking ORFE. Orfe in the higher levels I hear is pretty amazing and job prospects are off the hook. However, being technically an engineer you'll have to take the intro physics/chem which can be pretty daunting for some.</p>
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Also, I've heard that the math majors at Princeton are absolutely ridiculous and extremely bright, and it may be very competitive
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<p>They generally are extremely bright and maths courses can be pretty challenging. however, if you're the maths type then you'd probably enjoy it more and there higher level maths courses that could interest you.</p>
<p>Once you get your second mailing from Pton, it should come with a course guide which you can see whats on offer.</p>
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How about economics and math?
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<p>Sry, can't double major here</p>