<p>I'm about to have a mental breakdown because I can't decide what college I want to go to and I have about two days to decide. Here's what it seems to have come down to for me:</p>
<p>I LOVE Princeton - I love the feel of the school and I felt at home there. However, I am very concerned that I won't have much time for extracurriculars or a social life senior year and possibly junior year because of the workload. I have heard from a few people that your upperclassman years are a struggle especially in "difficult" majors. I plan to major in physics (which I have been told has this classificiation) and I don't want to work myself to death in college. Are there any upperclassmen that could tell me their experience? Do the science majors just shut themselves in their dorms once they hit senior year? </p>
<p>I've also talked to physics professors at Princeton and they basically said that if you major in physics, a double major, an unrelated concentration, or studying abroad is nearly impossible (though they'll let you do it.) My other option is Stanford, which I don't necessarily love the same way but the students and professors both say it's pretty easy to manage the workload and still have a life, travel abroad, or double major. What I think that means is that at Princeton I would just be working loads harder. Maybe that is all just in my head though. After all, don't they teach the same physics everywhere?</p>
<p>Obviously I've walled myself into a corner with logic and I need help from current students before I make a college decision. I don't want to decide based on one thing (like the workload) if I'm mistaken about that one thing. </p>
<p>SO, will I have to struggle for a life as an upperclassman at Princeton, or am I just fooling myself that Stanford will be any easier?</p>
<p>You'll work very hard at both Princeton and Stanford. I think that unless you decided to consciously work less hard at one of the schools, you'll end up working basically equally hard at both schools.</p>
<p>As for double majoring, you can't actually double major at all at Princeton. you can, however, get certificates, which i doable for every major, though a physics major with certificates might have trouble studying abroad as well.</p>
<p>I am close friends with several physics track majors at the moment. They say that physics definitely allows for a social life if you manage your time well. If anything, it seems that the load lightens up a bit once junior and senior year hit if you are careful to spread some distribution requirements out among the first two years. For example, with my current proposed schedule (I am a freshman), after taking 5 classes this semester and taking 5 next semester, I will only take 3 each semester junior year and 3 and 2 senior year.</p>
<p>However, I am not an upperclassmen, and can't speak from any experience. However, from this year, I would predict that majoring in physics and having a decent social life w/ extracurrics and all is very feasible.</p>
<p>you can't take 3 and 2 senior year, no matter how many extra classes youve already taken.. sadly you need to take 6 senior year as an AB student. (you can either do 3/3 or 4/2)</p>
<p>I meant that the administration doesn't let you, even if you have enough classes to graduate. If you're an engineer you need to take 8 classes your senior year (i think)</p>
<p>My daughter is a junior. Psych major concentrating in neuroscience. This year she is president of her dance club and an editor on the Prince. And a member of a very active eating club. </p>
<p>Does she get As in every class? No. Does she have a very respectable GPA? Yes. Has she also learned Mandarin in two years? Yes.</p>
<p>You do have a life at Princeton. This is an honest answer.</p>
<p>You might be able to cut down on your courseload senior year with advanced standing. Knowing most of the people on CC, you probably have at least a few AP credits racked up. All you need is 4 5's (or even a 4, depending on the subject) in different departments to qualify for a semester of advanced standing.</p>
<p>My S is a junior math major who does a year round varsity sport and is active in an eating club. He goes to lots of parties and has an active social life. His first two years he actually followed the curriculum for both math and physics majors. I have to admit that the requirements for junior and senior research can seem overwhelming, but everyone gets through it, even the athletes. S says there are some kids who study all the time and some kids that party all the time. They all end up with a degree from Princeton - look at the high graduation rate.</p>
<p>Princeton works you hard. Stanford does too, but the students deny it more (duck illusion - the duck seems to be calmly floating but its feet are going crazy underwater).</p>
<p>But really, what do you want from a school? What's the point of getting prestige if you don't have skills/knowledge to back it up?</p>
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You might be able to cut down on your courseload senior year with advanced standing. Knowing most of the people on CC, you probably have at least a few AP credits racked up. All you need is 4 5's (or even a 4, depending on the subject) in different departments to qualify for a semester of advanced standing.
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<p>Sounds more like Harvard's AP policy than Princeton's to me.</p>
<p>Frog - It will be easier for you to get into the top 5-10% of the class. If I say anyting more, it will turn this into a worthless Princeton vs Stanford thread. But I believe you get the point.</p>
<p>No, piccolo, Princeton has the same policy for advanced standing. You can get either a semester or a year, and you apply for it at the end of freshman or sophomore year, I think.</p>