maintained by and for Applied Math Graduate Students at Princeton University
(questions/problems: please email rward@princeton.edu or jianfeng@math.princeton.edu)

 

Which prelim topics should you choose? Which professors should you take on as prelim advisors? In the past, new students have found that advice from more advanced students is a useful aid in making this decision.

The intent of this website is to make it easier for incoming students to find others students to talk to as they set up their prelim. Within each broad topic area we list the professors who have given exams, and the students who have taken them. If you would like to work with professors x on subject y, talk to the students who have gone through the same exam before!

We've included advice, and, where possible, actual questions.

The Prelim Data Base!

General Advice
  • Take at least one course from each of your examiners!
  • Practice working problems with your fellow students ON THE BOARD in exam like situations.
  • It is important to narrow the range of topics with your examiners well in advance of the exam. For example, your exam on the topic "stochastic modeling, probability, and information theory" might focus only on stochastic calculus, with the material restricted to one or two courses and/or texts.