Hey everyone. I’ve just been admitted to Princeton SCEA, which has been one of my top schools. I plan on studying neuroscience, but from what I’ve seen, Princeton isn’t very strong in this area. I know the university just created a new neuroscience concentration-- can anyone give me more information on how good it is? I don’t know if it’s worth it to apply to other schools, such as UChicago and Penn, which have also been among my tops for a while. Any help would be much appreciated!!
If Princeton has created a new concentration you can be very confident they’ll make it very strong. That, together with the fact that you considered it enough a top choice to apply SCEA means, to me, that you should relax, enjoy your winter break, and forget about college applications.
Congratulations, and don’t be tempted to go trophy hunting. One and done is the best feeling.
If neuroscience is indeed your chosen field then you’ll probably end up getting a PhD or MD (or both) so from an undergrad perspective Princeton is a great choice. If you go the PhD route you’ll be well prepared to tackle that dissertation with Princeton’s Senior Thesis requirement.
Princeton’s brain sciences programs are wonderful. Don’t miss out on that opportunity - you will want to work with the Princeton Neuroscience Institute as an undergraduate.
@ComplimentMyBrain not sure why you picked Princeton if that was your intended area of study… personally I would go to a school with a more established program and a medical school ie… .Harvard, Stanford, Penn, Yale, U Chicago etc.
Just think about it like this…if everyone has the mindset of “oh it’s not that great” or “I’m unsure whether I want to do neuroscience since it just started,” then that just means more opportunities available for you.
Cheers, you got into Princeton!
ps also planning to do neuroscience there, maybe we’ll cross paths one day haha
Wow! Good job w getting into a school like Princeton!! Trying to do the same lol. Would you mind posting your stats? 
I think Princeton is an excellent choice for this, for all the reasons stated above. I would go full steam ahead and enjoy the rest of your senior year - anyone in any field will do well at Princeton, and that includes someone such as yourself with the talent and drive to be admitted in the first place.
There are better schools for neuroscience specifically, and if you got into Princeton, you have a good chance of getting into Penn. I’d consider Penn because it has similar academic reputation, and it has a very highly ranked neuroscience program (top 10 in the world according to US News). But, Princeton is Princeton. Any education received there is well worth it.
@sbballer @neuronerd31 I’ve heard that it doesn’t matter for the undergraduate degree if the school is good in the area you study. Do you think this is true? Will going to Princeton as opposed to Harvard or Penn for neuroscience really hurt me in the long run?
No, that won’t hurt you at all! It’s not where you go, it’s what you do there, and Princeton is as abounding in opportunity as any other school in the world, perhaps even more so. If you REALLY want to, you could send off a couple of applications to top neuroscience programs and see what comes back, but really why cause yourself the stress? You like Princeton and you’re in. That’s a dream. And who knows? maybe you’ll discover that neuro isn’t for you and decide to study something else (I went through that very same thing this semester, and tho I loved my neuro class, I’ve decided it’s not the major for me) and odds are Princeton will have one of the top programs for that new interest. For me, I’d get excited about the DREAM school that loved me back and go to Princeton. But suit yourself.
You are right in that your undergrad school doesn’t mean much. My uncle got his bachelor’s at Penn State and went for his PhD at UPenn and his post doc at Harvard. As long as you put in the work, you can make anything happen.
@ComplimentMyBrain if you’re set on neuroscience and thinking of medical school Princeton would not be my top choice… you will have more and better opportunities at other schools especially in research.
A lot of the applications from Neuroscience research need to be tested in the clinic. Princeton unfortunately does not have a medical school, so all of the research faculty will have to collaborate with faculty at other schools. Now there certainly is a lot of research that can be done that does not require patients - most of these involve animal models, imaging, and in vitro work. You will undoubtedly find some great bench-type research going on at Princeton, but these won’t necessarily have any clinical component.
This is a great source for info from current Princeton students:
http://realtalkprinceton.■■■■■■■■■■/