By the midpoint of the semester, I usually have a sense of what to expect in my courses, and I start to find which topics I'm really enjoying. This semester, my favorite course is probably CEE308: Environmental Engineering Laboratory. When I first enrolled, I wasn't sure exactly what the course would entail—environmental engineering is a broad field, after all, with many possible laboratory experiments. It turns out that we experimentally show many of the concepts I learned about last semester in CEE207: Introduction to Environmental Engineering, which is a really satisfying progression of my studies. For instance, in the first lab we measured the soil partition coefficient of a contaminant, and partition coefficients is a topic Professor Bourg covered and assigned a problem set on last semester in CEE207. I also really like the weekly workflow of this lab course. On Monday, we meet in a classroom with Professor Jaffé, where he discusses the theoretical concepts behind the lab we'll be doing on Wednesday by writing equations and diagrams on the blackboard. On Wednesday, we meet in Professor Jaffé's laboratory to carry out the lab. Sometimes the lab requires measurements on multiple days, in which case we'll also come to the lab over the following days to take readings. Each lab is building towards the final report, which is going to be an Environmental Impact Statement of a hypothetical plan to use golf course pesticides on the Princeton lawns and athletic fields. 

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I was nervous about the course at the beginning, because I had not-so-fond memories of my previous lab courses, which were remote (holding my breadboard up to a Zoom camera to try to understand why my circuit wasn't working was a bit of a challenge). But in person, I've found that I really love laboratory work, even the problem-solving and explanation-finding of experiments that don't go as planned. During our first lab, for instance, the data showed a mostly horizontal line when we were expecting a linear trend. At first, I thought that maybe my lab group had made an error in the experiment—why doesn't this look how I'm expecting it to look? I showed the results to Professor Jaffé, though, and he helped me realize an explanation for why the trend appeared as it did. We might have carried out the experiment correctly, but the concentrations used may simply have been too high to see the linear trend we expect at low concentrations. In my report, I simply showed the unexpected results and gave my best explanation for what could possibly have caused them. This skill, accepting unexpected results and working to understand them, is likely just as important as understanding the chemical and physical concepts behind the results we expect to get. 

As the weather gets nicer, Professor Jaffé is planning to assign experiments that require soil and water samples from around campus. I'm looking forward to this, as an afternoon spent outdoors in the sunshine will be a nice treat midweek as the semester gets more hectic. I have my fingers crossed for nice-weather Wednesdays during the second half of the semester.

The first day of classes always brings a contradictory mix of emotions. Everyone feels a little nervous regarding the uncertainty of new courses and professors: Will I be able to handle the problem sets? Do I know anyone in my classes? Can I really make it from the Neuroscience Institute to the Friend Center in ten minutes? There's also, however, the excitement and promise of a fresh semester. You look forward to learning from some of the best minds in their fields, pushing yourself to improve your critical thinking and problem solving skills, and working with your friends to tackle challenging yet rewarding assignments. To capture some of this excitement and help calm any first-day nerves, our Undergraduate Student Government (USG) traditionally hosts a bagel and coffee stand on the first day. Princetonians will gather on McCosh Walk to eat breakfast, catch up on how they spent their break, and have first-day photos taken. Due to Covid restrictions this year regarding gatherings with food, Student Council decided to host a scarf distribution instead. In my opinion, this was far better than bagels! Not only does a scarf last, it proved very useful on the chilly January morning that marked the first day of the spring semester. Students lined up for their scarves and took photos together (with the Tiger mascot appearing at some point during the morning), and then they wore their new gear to their first classes of the new year. 

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After bundling up in my scarf, I continued to the Neuroscience Institute for the first lecture of Probability and Stochastic Systems. Professor Ramon started by giving us an intuitive definition of probability, and then he computed the probability of an event in two different ways. He asked us which computation was correct. The catch, though, is that with the intuitive definition of probability he gave, both are correct! This first lecture established why we need a rigorous mathematical definition of probability, and it made me excited and motivated for the course. 

Next I went to my lecture for Environmental Engineering Laboratory. This is my first lab course in person, and I'm really looking forward to the hands-on data collection we'll be doing. Professor Jaffé introduced the topic of our first lab and explained how we'll write our reports. I didn't know anyone in that class, but at the end I introduced myself to the people around me and formed my lab group.

While the first class doesn't usually cover the complicated derivations or deep discussions that take place in the heart of the course, it can nonetheless be a little overwhelming. Navigating campus to find unknown buildings and classrooms, introducing yourself to your new professors and classmates, and hearing about the upcoming expectations and assignments of your course load can be a lot to take in. Getting back into the flow of courses felt nice, though, as I'd begun to get a little bored towards the end of winter recess. By the second week, I was beginning to feel more confident in managing the workflow of each class, and I'd arranged study groups for most of my courses. The first day marked the beginning of a promising new semester, and I'm looking forward to what's to come.

The Princeton academic experience offers a liberal arts education to each student, even those not majoring in the humanities or social sciences. Kevin has a lovely post about what a liberal arts education means to him as an engineer. Like Kevin, I chose Princeton in part because I hoped to gain the technical knowledge needed for my engineering career as well as broaden my perspective on major life themes. I wanted to be trained in the knowledge and skills for environmental research, yet I was also seeking a liberal arts education that would guide my decision-making and problem-solving throughout life. 

Engineering students at Princeton take a writing seminar in their freshman year, and they take a minimum of 7 additional humanities or social science courses before graduation. This averages to one humanities or social science course each semester for engineering students. There is plenty of room for selection with these courses, which can span topics from Happiness and Being Human in Catholic Thought (a philosophy freshman seminar I took last fall) to Mother Tongues (a linguistics freshman seminar I took last spring) to Advanced French (a language class I took last spring).

This fall, I decided to enroll in a visual arts course called Fabric Logics: Textiles as Sculpture. The major units in the course are string art, sewing and weaving. The structure and assignments of the course are very different from what I'm used to: the class meets only once a week, but for a 4-hour class, and instead of being assigned papers or problem sets, I create artworks using the techniques we learn in class. For the sewing unit, our sample project assignment was to create a fruit or a vegetable to practice machine and hand sewing. Please enjoy this image of the banana I made:

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Being able to explore courses in the humanities and social sciences each semester allows me to pursue other interests and learn techniques and ideas that could one day influence my engineering career. For instance, the weaving technique in Fabric Logics could be similar to a lab procedure I'll need one day, or my studies in French culture could influence the type of environmental solutions I propose for a francophone city. Princeton's liberal arts education prepares me to be a creative and dynamic problem-solver, which I hope will allow me to have the greatest positive impact I can have in the world.

One aspect of the college transition process that I was worried about was how the workload and workflow would be different from high school. For my science and math courses in high school, I generally had daily textbook exercises to complete before school the next day. In college, instead of textbook exercises assigned every day, I usually have one problem set (p-set) per week per STEM course. A p-set is a series of problems of varying difficulty that you complete and hand in to be graded, and the questions are based on the material covered in class that week.

The number of p-set courses you take in a semester depends on your concentration, and most students try to strike a balance between p-set courses, writing courses as well as courses that don't fall into either category (like art courses). This semester, for instance, I have three p-set courses, one art course and my independent study.

My first p-set course at Princeton was MAT202 Linear Algebra. I completed the first few p-sets on my own, but I soon found a study friend with whom I could collaborate. Working with someone else really helped me grasp the material and learn better, and since then I've always made sure to find my study buddies early on in my p-set courses. This level of collaboration is what I've found to be the biggest difference between high school homework and college homework.

P-sets are designed to be challenging, and it often takes a group to figure out the toughest questions. When I'm stuck, someone else can explain how they approached the question, and at other times I'm the one explaining my method or reasoning. Additionally, it's simply more pleasant and rewarding to work on something and come to a conclusion with a group than completely solo. To give you a sense of what completing a p-set is like, I've outlined the general steps I take for each of my weekly p-sets:

1. Read and attempt

Before we start covering the material in class, I like to read the textbook section and give the p-set a first try on my own. I can usually figure out the easier questions, but it's unlikely I'll be able to complete everything on this first pass.

2. Go to lecture and precept

During the week I'll go to the lectures and precepts (small group problem solving sessions), which will often help clarify what I didn't fully understand from the reading. Sometimes a slide in lecture will show me how to approach a question I couldn't figure out before, so I can go back and try it again.

3. Check with a friend

Once I've given all the problems a try, I'll meet up with friends from the class who have also attempted the p-set and we'll compare our answers. When we have the same answer, we'll feel pretty confident that we're right. When we have different answers, we'll each explain what we did and try to understand how the other person solved it.

4. Go to office hours

For the toughest questions that stump my entire study group, or for questions that we just can't agree on, we'll go to the office hours of the professor or the assistant instructor (AI) or a teaching assistant (TA). Office hours are designated times outside of class  to give students the opportunity to ask questions, receive clarification, or just to catch up with the professor or instructor. In my experience, we'll explain our reasoning and thoughts to the AI, who will help clarify where our approach is correct and where we're missing something. The AIs won't tell you how to solve a problem, but they'll often drop helpful hints.

5. Submit!

When I agree with my study group on all the questions, I'll finally submit my pset! Most submissions are through Canvas, so I'll scan and upload my work.

6. View feedback

Wait, submission wasn't the last step? In a few weeks, I'll get back my graded p-set. This feedback is a great resource for studying for exams so that I don't make the same mistakes.

You're likely familiar with Princeton's senior thesis, where each student works closely with a faculty advisor to conduct original research, and you might have even heard of the "JP" or an "independent study," which are earlier opportunities for research. But there are also so many ways to get involved in research during the summer months, which offers you the chance to explore a research field at a time when you're not juggling your coursework. This summer, for instance, I got to work on an amazing molecular dynamics project with Professor Bourg through an internship with Princeton's High Meadows Environmental Institute (HMEI).

Each summer HMEI offers paid internships for Princeton students, many involving international travel! Some of the ones this year included studying rock dissolution in the French Alps, studying dinosaur extinction in the Andes mountains, and conducting X-ray diffraction experiments at Princeton. When Covid-19 travel restrictions led to my HMEI internship being transferred to an online format, I was initially disappointed (sadly no French Alps this year). But I found the new project, which studied organic contaminants via molecular dynamics simulations, to be incredibly fascinating and its findings applicable to the real world. I even decided to continue it this fall as an independent study with Professor Bourg, which will allow me to see the project through more of its phases.

The best part of research at Princeton, in my opinion, is getting to work closely with your professors. You see how they approach challenges and problem-solve in the quest to uncover new information and develop solutions, and they get to know your strengths, weaknesses and working style as well. For me, getting to know Professor Bourg was particularly rewarding because he is one of my professors this fall! When I walked into his class on my first day of Introduction to Environmental Engineering I was a little overwhelmed by seeing live people in the classroom! But Professor Bourg immediately recognized me and welcomed me to the class, which made me feel much less nervous and more comfortable.

My summer research brought me into a community on campus this fall, which has opened the door to meeting even more environmental researchers on campus. Each week at lab meetings I'll get to hear what the other graduate and undergraduate students in Professor Bourg's lab group are working on, and they can tell me about projects they've worked on with other professors in other departments. I'm really looking forward to continuing my project this fall and meeting more of the brilliant and welcoming people here at Princeton.

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One of the toughest choices to make every semester as a Princeton student is course selection. This may not seem immediately apparent once you set foot on campus (especially as an engineering concentrator) as our first-year schedules are often congested with mandatory prerequisite courses. However, once you declare your concentration and move past the introductory courses, you have more availability to delve much deeper into specific interests and even explore courses outside of your comfort zone. Thus far, I have really enjoyed my classes this spring semester as a sophomore, and one in particular has changed my approach to understanding molecular biology and bioengineering -- Biomechanics and Biomaterials: From Cells to Organisms (MAE344).  While I am taking this course initially to fulfill one of my requirements for the Engineering Biology certificate, it's turning out to be an amazing class experience that I would recommend to any engineering concentrator.  

First of all, the instructor for the course, Professor Daniel Cohen, is extremely knowledgeable and is currently spearheading research in controlling group behaviors in tissues. His lectures, which never fail to spark my interest, strike a healthy balance between teaching important biology concepts and establishing mathematical intuition necessary for engineering. For example, one of the lectures dealt with one of the most groundbreaking methods employed in this field for cell imaging: atomic force microscopy (AFM). AFM relies on a tiny cantilever to detect specific features on the surface of a cell by measuring deflection forces that result from interaction with the cell. While Professor Cohen emphasized the cantilever equations that are pivotal for AFM, he also carefully explained the advantages of using different cantilever tips for certain applications. He ensured that we did not simply memorize the material, but that we were able to think critically and synthesize from the scientific techniques that we learned.

In addition to the lectures, the class also meets every other week for “journal club,” in which we read an assigned scientific journal article so that we can discuss anything we find interesting. This has been tremendously helpful because these sessions have trained me to skim through an article in order to parse through specific information. At times, academic writing can often be very dense, cluttered with jargon and indecipherable figures, and it used to take me hours to get the general gist of a paper. However, I can now take this newfound skill with me through the rest of college and even graduate school.

I’m also looking forward to the final project, where we will take all that we've learned and will individually attempt to solve a bioengineering problem by designing a biointerface, allowing us to fully embrace our creativity.

I have really enjoyed this class so far and encourage anyone interested in the physics of cells and tissues to take it!

One defining component of Princeton’s academic curriculum is its preceptorial system. While classes are already small, precepts offer students the opportunity to engage with course materials in small discussion groups. The precept is like an open forum in which the preceptor or professor guides students in an invigorating intellectual discussion.

Precepts provide you with the tools and framework necessary to fully grasp and understand the course material. You get to utilize what you learn in lectures to critically analyze texts. Often, while humanities precepts revolve around readings, for quantitative courses, precepts allow you to go over practice problems or tough concepts as a class.

One of my favorite precepts has been in “Approaches to American History.” In this course, the class was divided into two small precepts of twelve students and the professor. The course consisted of only primary sources related to 3 major historical events. While many of the readings were lengthy and at times difficult to understand, being able to deconstruct their meaning with my peers proved indispensable. I also noticed that at the beginning I was scared to voice my opinion or participate, but by the end of the class, I was more comfortable contributing to the conversation and crafting my own arguments. 

Another precept I really enjoyed was in the class “Technology and Society.” What made this precept really special is that this course was interdisciplinary, so there were students from a variety of concentrations, all the way from sociology to mechanical aerospace engineering, so we all had different perspectives on the readings. When we were discussing misinformation in the media, computer science concentrators shared potential technical solutions that could spot tweets with false information, while humanities concentrators shared the implications behind “fake news” and the role of social media companies. There were many times when my opinion changed on certain technological issues because of what a student shared. This is what precept is all about!

Before coming to Princeton, I was apprehensive at the prospect of participating in a precept, but I have gained so much from them in regards to crafting my own arguments and challenging my own thinking. I have also been able to form bonds with the professors and my peers because of the meaningful interactions that small precept sizes naturally facilitate. My academic experience at Princeton wouldn’t be the same without the preceptorial system!

Since the start of high school, I knew that I wanted to pursue a career in engineering and nobody could persuade me otherwise. I applied to Princeton with the sole notion that I would take mathematics and science courses and follow this linear path that would allow me to graduate with a degree in engineering. Many of my friends questioned why I chose Princeton instead of a STEM-oriented university. Yet as I sit here and look back at my first year of college, I realize that it is precisely Princeton’s emphasis on a liberal arts education that has enriched my learning experience through interdisciplinary lectures.

The liberal arts curriculum starts with the First-year Writing Seminar, which all first-year undergraduates are required to take. This intensive writing course embodies the ideals of the philosophy behind academia and scholarship: it teaches students how to think critically and analyze complex issues, skills that are a must for any discipline. As such, Princeton recognizes that our decision to concentrate in engineering or the humanities is just as important as preparing us to become society’s future leaders and researchers. This notion became apparent only after I reached out to a few alumni, a majority of which seemed to have ended up working in a discipline that had little association with their undergraduate concentration. I myself initially grappled with this conundrum as I wondered whether I would dedicate four years of my life toward Chemical and Biological Engineering (CBE), my prospective concentration, only to completely abandon all my work after college.

Interestingly enough, while I was working on a problem set for a CBE course, I came to the conclusion that it wasn’t exactly the mass balances and thermodynamics that attracted me to this concentration, but rather the problem solving aspects that it demanded and how it tied my love of mathematics to biomolecular science. Sure, the courses that I take will prepare me for a smooth transition into the workforce. Of greater significance is that Princeton’s liberal arts education will teach me to challenge preconceived hypotheses and theories and think creatively to develop my own. Thus, I now view engineering not simply as applications of science to the real world, but more so an interdisciplinary field characterized by an intersecting network of natural and social sciences, where clear writing and multilingualism foster scholarly communication, artforms in nature inspire innovation and history guides scientific morality and ethics. To be an engineer, we must understand the world around us, and only through a liberal arts education can we achieve such a well-rounded perspective.

I’m a tour guide with Orange Key, Princeton’s student tour guide service. Other than “What is your most commonly asked question?” the question I am most frequently asked is about the different kinds of classes required for Princeton students. It makes sense: coming from high school, where courses for students are mostly pre-determined, many students are itching for the opportunity to take courses in subjects they’re passionate about. Oftentimes, students aren’t excited about a potential new slate of mandatory classes. 

My answer is always the same: there’s only one required class at Princeton, but even that is largely up to you. Every student has to take a Writing Seminar, a semester-long course that teaches students to formulate researchable questions in preparation for junior and senior independent work. Not every writing seminar is the same, however. After being assigned to either the fall or spring semester, students are sent a list of the different seminar options to choose from. Usually, these fall into clear interest areas: seminars offered this semester include “The Future of Food” and “Justice Beyond Borders.” The customizable nature of the writing seminar tailors even this required class to student interests.

Princeton’s set of distribution requirements also affects students’ course choices. These are different for students in the Bachelor of Arts (A.B.) and Bachelor of Science in Engineering (B.S.E.) programs. Students enrolled in A.B. programs — which I describe to my tour groups as “(A)nything (B)ut” Engineering — must take ten courses of their choosing across seven different broad ‘distributions,’ in addition to achieving proficiency in a foreign language. These distributions include categories like “Social Analysis,” which covers everything from psychology to politics to journalism. For B.S.E. students — our engineers — the situation is a bit different. In addition to general math and science courses relevant to their chosen disciplines, engineering students must take four classes among the non-quantitative distribution areas.

I tell my tour groups that I think Princeton’s distribution requirement system captures the best of both worlds. On one hand, it clearly frees you from the monotony of high school classes: with the exception of the customizable Writing Seminar, there’s nothing you have to take. I didn’t want to see math in college, and aside from a Politics-y statistics course, I haven’t! But the distribution requirements also push you out of your comfort zone: I’ve taken classes on everything from bridges to audio journalism (complete with an expenses-paid trip to Alabama and Mississippi) in fulfillment of my distribution requirements, and they’ve allowed me to enjoy disciplines I never dreamed I would.

The story begins here, during...

Highschool, Senior year, Fall

I’m busy applying to colleges and I want to express my potential academic interest and potential major for the first time. What do I say? “Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering” (MAE). How did I decide that? These are some of the things I thought about:

• I’ve done well in STEM classes throughout school.
• I’ve been involved with engineering activities at school (i.e., robotics club).
• Mechanical (and aerospace) engineering seems cool.
• Plus, both my parents studied engineering.

Princeton University, First year, Fall

I’ve just selected courses for my first semester at Princeton. As an engineer, I take math, computer science and chemistry classes to satisfy prerequisites for the B.S.E. (Bachelor of Science in Engineering) degree, and a Chinese class for fun. I enjoy what I am learning.

Princeton University, First year, Spring

Now, I’m taking computer science, math, the Writing Seminar, Chinese and painting classes. I like my Writing Seminar (the topic is political theory) much more than I expected to, and it makes me wonder if I’d rather study something other than engineering. This isn’t a new thought. While I enjoy my STEM classes, I’m not sure that I really want to be an engineer. I certainly don’t seem to have the same passion for it that others (like my roommate, who’s been buying parts for the drone he’s designed) have. As an engineer, I declare my major at the end of this semester. I choose computer science (not MAE), which I’ve developed interest in. I almost switch from B.S.E. to the A.B.(Bachelor of Arts) degree to try the humanities, but back out at the last minute.

Princeton University, Sophomore year, Fall

Over the summer, I’ve decided to switch to A.B., put a hold on computer science and explore other disciplines (and potential majors). Back on campus, I make the switch and enroll in politics, religion, psychology and Chinese courses. It turns out that I like all of these courses (enjoying politics and religion immensely), but I’m still not sure about my major.

Princeton University, Sophomore year, Spring

I’ve settled on concentrating in politics, focusing on political theory. This semester, I am taking journalism, computer science (aiming to get the certificate, similar to a minor) and two political theory courses.

This is where I am at now. To keep the story short, I’ve left out some details, but this is essentially how I completely changed my major over the course of three semesters at Princeton. Who knows - maybe your journey will be even more exciting than mine!