<p>hey, this is my first time posting at CC : )</p>
<p>so my two dream schools are mit and princeton; however, i would prefer to apply to only one. i'm almost certain i will end up majoring in philosophy, but classics (latin) is a close second (or a double major with ancient and medieval studies for mit), and i intend to be pre med unless i'm weeded out. i'm leaning towards princeton right now, but only because i happen to know that the philosophy department is highly regarded. i'm also interested in italian/dante. but i guess i could cross register at harvard for language courses if i went to mit? can anyone here at CC please help me make a decision (especially people who have similar aspirations/are doing similar things at mit or princeton)? the only thing i know right now is that i want to to be in a place where science majors understand the importance of the humanities and humanities majors understand the importance of the sciences. i'm not being much help explaining what i need to know, but any comments about your personal experiences or those of people you know would be greatly appreciated! thank you!</p>
<p>this is another thing i just thought of…princeton doesn’t have minors, there are certificates instead. so what’s the difference? that could definitely affect my decision as well.</p>
<p>Why don’t you want to apply to both schools? </p>
<p>Also, Princeton’s certificate programs are basically minors, there’s just a different name for it. It’s similar to how a concentration is the same as a major.</p>
<p>I echo Peytoncline…why apply to only one of them? Neither acceptance is a sure thing, so your best bet is to apply to both. If you have a choice, great! If you don’t, then, well, no use in worrying about it in the first place! I would save this kind of deliberation until after you have acceptances to choose from, and instead focus your energies on actually gaining admission!</p>
<p>I went to an MIT tour and the guide said that MIT currently has nine philosophy majors (that is, students who are majoring in philosophy). I’m pretty sure that Princeton has many more. I don’t know if that’s good or bad for you, but you should consider what that means.</p>
<p>princeton will definitely have the academic atmosphere that you desire. science and humanities abound there. MIT’s philosophy department, however, is also very good i think but there’s less of a point to go there if you aren’t going to major in a science. that being said, definitely apply to both schools so you have options. weigh the options when you get them, and don’t assume anything.</p>
<p>Last I checked, the entire MIT undergraduate population numbered about 50 kids who were not majoring in math, science, engineering or economics. If you want to spend your four years with brothers and sisters who are into philosophy, I would not even consider MIT. I am not knocking the “quality” of the philosophy department at MIT; rather, I am questioning the ability of MIT to provide you with like-minded souls. As a former philosophy major myself, I can assure you that the coffee (or scotch) klatches with fellow travelers is what it’s all about.</p>
<p>Why not go to college where your interest is not aberrational? Like Princeton? Or Yale or Columbia or Harvard? I suspect I am starting a flame war, but I firmly believe that MIT and Caltech (and Wharton in its world) are “specialty” schools that are important, but not appropriate for anyone with any interest outside their respective specialties.</p>
<p>I suspect my son will major in physics, but he has tremendous interest in political science, economics and other “social sciences.” I believe his ED choice of Columbia (where he starts next month) was perfect for him. He had no interest in MIT due to its math/science/engineering/economics culture (or Princeton, but for different reasons).</p>
<p>Princeton has a Humanities sequence most taken by some Freshmen, by choice, that is a double course both Fall and Spring semesters. My daughter took this, with about 1000 pages of reading a week in the original texts. I cannot a better preparation for the study of Philosophy. Typical of Princeton, the most common complaints were such as “What, only a week to talk about Aristotle? What the f…”.
For your purposes, Princeton is the place. Not that Princeton is any better or worse than MIT as an institution.</p>
<p>I think you should start considering the campus environment you want to be in. I’ve been to both and I must say MIT is MASSIVELY metropolitan whilst Princeton is really in a sprawling set of suburbs. Princeton is a nice small town that’s cozy and interesting, MIT is in the big city. Think what you’d rather have (I know, I’m attracted to both myself).</p>