<p>So let me explain really quick. I'm a rising senior. I've got as good a shot as anyone at getting into the ivies/pseudoivies (Duke, Stanford, handfull of others), not trying to brag BTW. I just took a trip out east to visit the majority of the ivies. One school we did not visit however was Princeton. I was not terribly interested in Princeton primarily because of the fact that Princeton lacks a Medical school and/or a strong graduate program. As research is EXTREMELY important to me, is this a fair reason not to apply to Princeton? I actually loved everything else I read about Princeton and the photos of the campus are beautiful, but I guess the big question is, is there really any REAL, serious research going on at Princeton where undergraduates can assist, or are my assumptions correct. Please be brutally honest, I need to know.</p>
<p>Your assumptions are incorrect. Despite Princeton’s emphasis on undergraduate education (not absolutely, but relative to its peers), it has very strong graduate programs. Check out rankings if you don’t believe me; Princeton goes toe to toe with the other Ivies’ graduate science departments. And because of the undergraduate focus, you will likely have more research opportunities than you would elsewhere. No, we don’t have a medical school, so if clinical research is a must for you then look elsewhere. But there is a lot of exciting molecular biology research going on, so that might dovetail with your interests. So tl;dr is that you’re mistakenly equating “undergraduate focus” with “no serious research opportunities.”</p>
<p>It wasn’t so much the “undergraduate focus” part as it was a lack of a Med School. Thank you very much.</p>
<p>You have not specified the type of research that you would like to conduct. At Princeton students are required to conduct independent research and write a thesis. At Princeton undergraduates do not assist in research they are required to be a principle investigator. I have no way of knowing if you consider the publication of undergraduate research in peer review journals to be a sign of serious research, but graduate schools do.</p>
<p>The undergraduate program in Molecular Biology at Princeton is committed to providing the intellectual foundation and practical skills to conduct original research in the biological sciences. All Molecular Biology undergraduates are given the opportunity to become fully integrated members of cutting-edge research laboratories. One indication of the success of the program is the number of research publications with undergraduates as authors. Since the inception of the department in 1985, over 160 undergraduates have co-authored significant research papers. Another hallmark of success is the career paths taken by Molecular Biology majors. Approximately 70 per cent of Princeton University Molecular Biology majors obtain a higher educational degree, including MD, MD/PhD, MD/M.P.H. and PhD. About thirty per cent of premed students major in Molecular Biology.</p>
<p>All biology students do junior independent work and will write a senior thesis. A large number of students generate original findings that are eventually incorporated into peer-reviewed scientific articles. Molecular Biology juniors writing a laboratory-based senior thesis are invited to participate in the Summer Undergraduate Research Program. Each student joins a world-class research group headed by a faculty member and carries out an original research project. Participants are immersed in a culture of close collaboration with other undergraduates, graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and faculty, and thereby experience first-hand what it is like to be a scientist. Over half of the molecular biology majors become paid researchers through this program while attending Princeton.</p>
<p>The Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, housed in the Carl Icahn Laboratory at Princeton University, was established to innovate in research and teaching at the interface of modern biology and the more quantitative sciences. The Institute is the hub of the Center for Quantitative Biology, funded by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS), of the National Institute of Health (NIH). The program in Quantitative and Computational Biology is designed for students with a strong interest in multi-disciplinary and systems-level approaches to understanding molecular, cellular, and organismal behavior. [Princeton:</a> Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics](<a href=“Lewis-Sigler Institute”>http://www.genomics.princeton.edu/) </p>
<p>The Princeton Neuroscience Institute is designed to integrate the work of theorists and experimentalists through new quantitative methods and an arsenal of cutting-edge technologies. It aims to do so in a way that treats the brain as a unified if complex whole, rather than as a multiplicity of parts, and in keeping with this holistic approach, it plans to incorporate the insights of a wide range of disciplines, from biology, psychology, and physics to mathematics, engineering, and economics. The institute is expected to expand basic knowledge about the brain, gaining insights that could lead to breakthroughs in treating diseases such as schizophrenia and epilepsy. It also is making significant contributions to developing, and using, new imaging and microscopy technologies as well as biochemical and genetic tools. The Institute has a Confocal & Electron Microscopy Core Facility. The Center for the Study of Brain, Mind, and Behavior (CSBMB) seeks to establish an integrated continuum of research on the relationship of brain and mind. In pursuing this scientific mission, the CSBMB embraces a multi-disciplinary, multi-methodological, and multi-institutional approach that draws on expertise and advances in mathematics, physics, chemistry, molecular biology, neuroscience, and psychology. The facilities include an EEG lab, a neuroimaging facility, and a Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS)/Eye tracking laboratory, and a functional MRI scanner specially designed to focus exclusively on brain study. Construction has started on a new 248,000-square-foot complex to house the neuroscience institute and the psychology department. [Princeton</a> Neuroscience Institute](<a href=“http://www.princeton.edu/neuroscience/]Princeton”>Home | Neuroscience)</p>
<p>Thank you so very much. I had no idea!</p>
<p>Don’t take this the wrong way, but:</p>
<p>For someone for whom research is EXTREMELY important, you didn’t really do your research. Pick any relatively broad subfield in biology (or any of the other sciences) and look at who the big names are or where big contributions to the field come from, and see what institution they work at. You’ll find that Princeton has no small number of the top scientists in the field. And due to the undergraduate focus, there is arguably much EASIER access to these scientists (for your required undergraduate independent work) than at other institutions.</p>
<p>To be fair, it’s not like Princeton has the absolute highest concentration of top researchers in the world. It’s not far behind, but it’s not the number one. But you have unrealistic expectations if you think that small difference is going to make or break your career. You’re going to be an undergrad, and as an undergrad Princeton will give you as good an opportunity as any.</p>
<p>Also, the presence of a Medical School is neither necessary nor sufficient for producing top notch (biology related) research. Sure it’s often correlated but, as we should all know, correlation does not equal what? That’s right, causation.</p>
<p>I do also want to reiterate Weasel’s point. Princeton’s lack of a Medical School indeed means that there is minimal clinical research going on, so if that’s what you’re into, then don’t come here. Then again, you’re going to be an undergrad, so there’s really not much chance of you being involved meaningfully in any sort of clinical research anyway even if you did have a Med School.</p>
<p>I remember I had the same thought about loss of research opportunities when I was making my college choices. But I can personally vouch for the fact that those worries are baseless.</p>
<p>PS Your original post was borderline offensive. You accused Princeton of not doing any serious research. As if we just play around with mice all day or something.</p>
<p>you are very right. I should have done more research. And for my original post, the original title was “Not trying to insult Princeton, but…” so yeah, I realized that. Sorry! I understand that Princeton is a fantastic school, and I’m terribly sorry. I tried to make it as unoffensive as possible. Thanks for understanding!</p>