Undergraduate Announcement

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Academic advising of undergraduates in the A.B. program is centered in the six residential colleges. Every freshman in the A.B. program is assigned to a faculty adviser who assists with course selection and other academic matters throughout the year, and normally who continues as the student’s adviser through the sophomore year. Freshmen in the B.S.E. program are advised by faculty members in the School of Engineering and Applied Science. Each B.S.E. sophomore is assigned an adviser whose area of specialization matches the student’s area of interest. In the upperclass years, all students are advised by members of their academic departments who also supervise their junior and senior independent work.

All students are encouraged to make full use of the academic resources of the University and to seek advice on specific academic matters from professors and departmental representatives in their particular areas of interest. The masters, deans, directors of studies, and directors of student life in the residential colleges are available for academic advising and for counseling about matters pertaining to other aspects of undergraduate life. The staff of the Office of the Dean of the College is available for discussion of academic questions or problems, and the staff of the Office of the Dean of Undergraduate Students is available for discussion of questions about undergraduate life outside the classroom.

Every year approximately 90 students are selected to serve as residential college advisers. RCAs live in each of the six colleges. Under the supervision of the college masters and directors of student life, the RCAs are responsible for advising freshmen and sophomores on many aspects of University life, including those related to diversity and multiculturalism. RCAs are assigned approximately 12 to 15 freshman advisees, whom they assist in their adjustment to the University. They are also available to sophomores who wish to seek the counsel of an older student. While the RCA is immediately responsible for the first- and second-year students in his or her advising area, he or she also works as part of a small adviser team in order to combine advisers’ strengths and give the students a choice of advisers in whom to confide. During the year, RCAs are expected to initiate a variety of activities, to facilitate friendships among advisees, and to foster a safe, inclusive, and welcoming community within the college. Through programming and counseling efforts, the RCA also promotes the community’s sensitivity toward the experience of underrepresented groups, as defined by ethnicity, race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, and other personal characteristics. RCAs are familiar with University resources and can refer students to appropriate people and offices as necessary.

Counseling and Psychological Services (CPS), a division of University Health Services (UHS), serves as a focal point for students’ mental health concerns and psychological care. CPS is located on the third floor of McCosh Health Center, (609) 258-3285. The central mission of CPS is to collaborate directly with students in overcoming difficulties that may interfere with the definition and accomplishments of their educational, personal, and life goals. CPS strives to provide students with opportunities to develop greater self-understanding, identify and solve problems, and improve academic performance through the alleviation of psychological, emotional, and cognitive impediments. This mission often extends beyond the consultation room and into the campus community. Through outreach, partnerships, and consultation with faculty, staff, parents, and many campus agencies, CPS works toward promoting psychological health as a value to the Princeton community. CPS offers a range of time-sensitive psychological and psychiatric services that attempt to balance the unique needs of individual students with the broader demands of a diverse campus community. Service offerings include: psychological evaluations, short-term psychotherapy, and referral; psychopharmacological assessment and medication follow-up; campus psychoeducation and community consultation; and urgent care assessment and intervention. More information about facilities and services is provided at the UHS website.

Princeton welcomes students from across the globe. Currently, students from more than 95 countries are enrolled at the University. The particular needs of Princeton undergraduates who are citizens of other countries are the concern of the international student adviser, who is an assistant dean of undergraduate students. As such, the dean is responsible for the issuance of immigration documents and the maintenance of the legal status of non-U.S. citizens. The dean also coordinates and implements the annual pre-orientation program designed for first-year students from abroad. Following matriculation, the dean works closely with academic advisers, the residential college staff, the Financial Aid Office, and other related University offices to continue to provide support for students as they transition into the University community.

Staff members in the Office of Career Services assist undergraduate and graduate students and alumni in exploring their career-related interests and developing effective strategies when searching for summer or permanent employment, seeking admission to graduate schools, or changing careers. Services and facilities include: individual and group career counseling; career and self-assessment inventories and computer-assisted career exploration programs; references on financial aid for graduate study, and a wide variety of directories, periodicals, books, and newsletters; the hosting of business, law, and other graduate school admissions visits to campus; information on corporate and nonprofit organizations; an On-Campus Recruiting Program for seniors, graduate students, and undergraduates seeking permanent and summer employment; sponsorship of career and graduate school fairs; access to alumni through the Alumni Careers Network program; Web-based employment listings (summer and permanent); and additional online resources and guides available through Career Services’ home page. The staff conducts and hosts an assortment of panels, workshops, and presentations on careers and experiential options, resume writing, employment searching, and the preparation necessary to effectively pursue post-college goals. Career Services also handles letters of recommendations for Princetonians seeking graduate and professional school admissions.

Designated faculty members and administrators are available to counsel students who are interested in applying for the Churchill, Dale, Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst, Fulbright, Gates, Goldwater, Hertz, Labouisse, Luce, Marshall, Mitchell, National Science Foundation, Rhodes, Rotary, Sachs, Truman, and other scholarships or fellowships. All except a handful like the Dale, Labouisse, and Sachs, which are available only to Princeton seniors, are awarded on the basis of national competition. Applications are generally made early in the fall of the senior year, except for the Rotary fellowships, for which students in any year may apply; the Goldwater scholarships, which are available to sophomores and juniors; and the Truman scholarships, which are available only to juniors. Further information and the names of the advisers for each fellowship are available from the Office of the Dean of the College.

The Program in Teacher Preparation, 41 William Street, provides information and advice on careers in teaching at the secondary level, in both public and private schools. Students should visit the office or consult the program’s website for information about Princeton’s undergraduate program and the courses required for certification to teach in the public schools.

Students considering teaching either as summer interns during college or full time after graduation should confer with a program staff member. Information on a wide range of teaching opportunities is available in the office files and the office provides workshops to help students find teaching jobs. Seniors should inquire at the office about interviews with visiting placement agencies and school heads.

In general, for admission to a Ph.D. or academic master’s degree program in a particular discipline, candidates must show scholarly distinction or definite promise in their undergraduate studies in that discipline or in a closely related one. Moreover, as fields of study become more interdisciplinary in nature, applicants from a relatively wide variety of disciplinary backgrounds may be encouraged to apply. (Check directly with the department or program.) Graduate programs normally require official transcripts of all prior undergraduate and previous graduate work, three letters of recommendation from faculty who know the applicant well, a detailed statement of academic purpose, and scores from the Graduate Record Examination General Test. Individual departments may additionally require scores from a relevant subject test. International students whose native language is not English may be asked to take and submit scores from an English language test such as TOEFL or IELTS, or may be required to submit a “proficiency in English” form. Students applying to joint Ph.D. and professional school programs may also be asked to take the GMAT or LSAT, or other similar exam. Many programs also require a reading knowledge of at least one foreign language. Increasingly, graduate admissions committees require, in the case of humanities and social science disciplines, samples of the applicant’s written work and, in the case of science and engineering disciplines, evidence of prior research experience.

Students intending to pursue graduate studies should seek guidance from faculty advisers and departmental representatives early in their undergraduate careers, preferably in their sophomore year as they consider their choice of major, and certainly no later than the beginning of their junior year.

The staff in the Office of Career Services maintains extensive information on law schools, including requirements for admission, scholarships, joint degree programs, specializations, and admission statistics. Acceptance results are updated annually and include median GPA and Law School Admissions Test (LSAT) scores for matriculated or admitted Princeton applicants. Prelaw programs include fall and spring orientations, guest lectures, panel presentations, admission representative visits, and individual counseling sessions with the prelaw adviser.

A database of alumni volunteers in the legal profession (Alumni Careers Network) is maintained by Career Services for those students who wish to speak directly with practicing lawyers about their law school experience and/or legal careers.

Admission to the better-known law schools is highly competitive, and a strong scholastic record is desirable. Because there is no specific “prelaw” course of studies, students may pursue their own academic interests. Applicants are urged to review the “Prelaw” material under the Graduate School section of the Career Services website.

The Masters in Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree that provides course work and training in a variety of business disciplines. Most full-time MBA programs are two years. While there are a number of institutions that offer the MBA, the more competitive universities do not commonly accept applicants without several years of relevant post-undergraduate work experience. Students considering an MBA should make use of the individual counseling, library resources, panel presentations, and admission representative visits that are available at Career Services. Additional business school information can be found in the Graduate School section of the Career Services website. The Graduate Management Admissions Test (GMAT) is required for many schools, and students often take the exam at some point in their senior year. The score for this test is valid for a period of five years, and there are official test centers throughout the world where the test may be administered. It should be noted that the test measures skills and abilities that have been developed over time. Because there is some emphasis on verbal and quantitative abilities, students should consider these factors as they plan their academic curriculum.

The Office of Health Professions Advising encourages all students who are considering a career in the health professions to familiarize themselves with the resources of the office as soon as possible. A strong application will demand careful planning, both of one’s curriculum and one’s academic year and summer activities.

Health professional schools require for entry a set of science courses that must be taken, regardless of major:

• Chemistry 201(207)–202, or 215 (if one unit of AP)
• Organic Chemistry
• Ecology and Evolutionary Biology 211 and Molecular Biology 214 or 215
• Physics 101–102 or 103–104

Students with advanced placement in any of the areas above should contact their dean or director of studies about possible substitution.

In addition, two semesters of English (which may also be comparative literature or literature in translation) and mathematics through calculus are required. The premedical requirement in mathematics may be satisfied by completing calculus through Mathematics 102 or 103. It is recommended that students who complete Mathematics 103 at Princeton (or who receive the equivalent AP credit) also take either Mathematics 104 or a course in computer science or statistics, with the approval of a health professions adviser. A copy of “Planning for a Career in the Health Professions” is available in the Office of Health Professions or on its website.