How do intended majors correlate with the Class of 2029’s top college choices?

For which current Tigers was Princeton their top choice school? In the 2029 Frosh Survey, 70 percent of first-years indicated that Princeton was their first choice, and over 12 percent indicated that Princeton was their third choice or lower. The most commonly favored schools other than Princeton were Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Yale University, favored by 20.1 percent and 19.4 percent of first-years who didn’t rank Princeton first.

For each major, students had a range of top-choice schools. However, there were some trends in top-choice colleges based on major.

Princeton, with its famous Physics department, was the first-choice school of 100 percent of respondents intending to major in Physics. 73 percent of prospective Math majors said Princeton was their top choice.

Similarly, MIT, which is ranked first in Aerospace Engineering and Mechanical Engineering, was chosen by 25 percent of prospective Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering majors, a larger percentage than nearly any other major’s second most common first-choice school. Prospective History majors were split 50/50 for their top-choice school between Princeton and Yale.

Yale was also a top choice for many Comparative Literature, Psychology, and Chemistry majors. Stanford and MIT were popular choices among prospective computer science majors.

Ultimately, most Princetonians wanted Princeton the most, across nearly all majors.

But among those who didn’t, some trends were apparent. MIT was the first-choice school only for STEM majors, and was most popular among prospective MAE majors. Prospective Economics and Molecular Biology majors were overrepresented among those for whom Harvard was their first choice.

There was not a significant relationship between first choice college and one’s intended degree option. For A.B, B.S.E, and undecided students, approximately 70 percent responded that Princeton was their first choice. 16 percent said that Princeton was their second choice and fewer than 20 percent said that Princeton was their third or lower choice.

The college decision process can feel overwhelming, and major is just one of many factors that students consider when deciding on their future campus. For the Class of 2029, major was not necessarily a determining factor in a student’s top college. Regardless, whether Princeton was their dream school from the beginning of the application process or an unexpected choice they made on decision day, the new Tigers have found their home within FitzRandolph Gate.