Choosing Your Classes: A Guide
Choosing Courses at Princeton University: A Comprehensive Guide
Navigating the vast array of courses available at Princeton University can be a daunting task, but with a strategic approach, students can make informed decisions that cater to their academic and personal interests. Here's a guide to help you effectively choose 4-5 courses each semester.
1. Understand Distribution and Degree Requirements
Familiarize yourself with Princeton’s core curriculum or distribution requirements relevant to your major or university policy. This will ensure that the courses you select fulfill necessary categories like humanities, sciences, social sciences, or electives.
2. Assess Workload Realistically
Research course difficulty and expected workload. Some courses, such as Princeton’s graduate algorithms, have high workloads (23 hours/week) and require significant commitment. Balance harder and lighter courses to manage stress.
3. Prioritize Academic and Career Goals
Choose courses aligned with your major or future aspirations, focusing on specializations Princeton offers (e.g., Public Administration, Computer Science, Molecular Biology).
4. Explore Personal Interest and Intellectual Curiosity
Select courses that genuinely engage you, which is essential for motivation and success. Princeton values intellectual curiosity, so choosing courses that stimulate you can enhance your college experience.
5. Use Resources and Advice
Consult academic advisors, course reviews, and syllabi. Engage in online forums or use campus resources to learn about teaching style, workload, and grading policies.
6. Mix Breadth and Depth
Combine courses that build core expertise with those that broaden your knowledge, possibly including interdisciplinary or lesser-known subjects.
7. Consider Timing and Course Scheduling
Review the timetable for courses to avoid conflicts and maintain a balanced weekly schedule.
Course selections begin with senior selection on December 5th and end with first-year selection on December 14th. Each course at Princeton is an opportunity for travel, getting to know professors, learning methods for independent work, and exploring interests.
Taking Advantage of Resources
For more information on course selection timeline, spring add/drop, and PDF periods, see the Office of the Registrar. Resources for course selection at Princeton include online applications for course searching and scheduling, such as TigerPath, Precourser, and the Princeton Courses app. ReCal is a popular course selection/scheduling app, while TigerPounce notifies users about course or section availability when someone drops a course.
First-year students are encouraged to explore and take random classes to discover new passions. Balancing course sizes, distributions, and assignment types is recommended. Taking at least one small class per semester is suggested for getting to know a professor well and potential letter of recommendation needs.
Princeton University offers over 1,000 courses each semester, and although it can be challenging to choose just 4 or 5, it's important to balance workload and exam schedule, considering the number of pages of readings per week and the types of assessments (midterms, finals, take-homes, papers).
Remember, sophomores are advised to start thinking ahead, but not to make distribution requirements the leading factor in course selection. Juniors and seniors are advised to get most departmentals out of the way junior year to avoid being overwhelmed senior year.
Ultimately, start by mapping your graduation requirements, weigh course workloads realistically, make selections that excite and challenge you intellectually, and leverage advice and feedback to finalize your list. This strategic balance will help you effectively choose courses from Princeton’s vast offerings.
For those who have served as Presidents, won Nobel Prizes, made groundbreaking discoveries, and received Pulitzer Prizes, Princeton's hallowed halls have been a testament to the power of intellectual curiosity and the pursuit of knowledge. Embrace this tradition and make the most of your course selections at Princeton University.
Here are two sentences that contain the given words and follow from the provided text:
- Pursue independent work and online education in the realm of education-and-self-development by selecting Princeton University courses that stimulate intellectual curiosity and offer methods for individual study.
- Balance distribution requirements with personal and academic interests to ensure a successful learning experience in online-education, prioritizing Princeton's vast array of courses that cater to both education-and-self-development and future career goals.
