<p>Princeton representatives and current students/alumni please dispel this myth for me - after reading 'The Thesis: Quintessentially Princeton', various other Princeton publications and forum discussions, I have an impression that Princeton is extremely strong in abstract social science stuff like int'l relations, philosophy, linguistics, etc.; while course offerings in the natural sciences appear to lean too much towards the physical sciences, which is not exactly my type. How do you feel at Princeton as a major in Biology or a life science subject?</p>
<p>I applied to Princeton because their department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology is probably one of the strongest and most established in the country. They offer more opportunities for students pursuing this major than most other schools I looked at, with the main competitors being UChicago and UC Berkeley. Princeton's E&EB department was established very early on, in 1990, and is much more well-grounded than, say, Yale's E&EB department, which was established I believe in 2004. It also has tip-top study abroad opportunities for Tropical Biology in Panama, and also in Kenya and Bermuda, but in research groups with professors, students have gone to many locales worldwide to do excellent work. In addition, the E&EB department looks like its getting a new home soon (pics on <a href="http://www.eeb.princeton.edu/index.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.eeb.princeton.edu/index.html</a> ). The promises for independent and group research at home and abroad propped Princeton way ahead of the rest when making my decision. </p>
<p>Yes, Princeton is very well known for higher mathematics, theoretical advanced physics and such, but biology there is as strong as ever.</p>