<p>I might be in the wrong place to ask, but could someone please help?</p>
<p>I want to major in mathematics. But, I really like Bucknell's atmosphere and size. Would it hurt that it is a liberal arts school? Or should I go to a prestigous math school like Berkeley? Is it worth going to a school I don't like(Berkeley) worth it in the long run?</p>
<p>What do you think? Thanks for the help.</p>
<p>Happiness > Reputation</p>
<p>berkeley is way better, especially if your in-state you'd be crazy to pass up on it</p>
<p>i agree: happiness > reputation...im at a school i went for the engineering reputation, and i hate it, id rather go somewhere else</p>
<p>Interesting... I thought I was the only person who faced this "issue" so to speak. My top two schools were Bucknell and Berkeley. I would have been a 4th generation student at UC Berkeley for my family (they don't honor legacies). It was my dream to go to Cal every since I was six when I would go up to watch Cal football. Until last year I hadn't even heard or considered Bucknell when my CC suggested Bucknell to me when I was doing a back east trip for colleges. I had already seen some colleges like Tufts which I really liked but I basically visited Bucknell and loved it. I was still torn between Cal and Bucknell, but once I went up and visited Cal, I put my views on reputation and family history behind me and thought about what college I think I would be the happiest at for four years. I applied ED to Bucknell and am going to attend next year.</p>
<p>Bucknell vs. Berkeley...
since it's a LAC vs. a huge state school, i think you should really take the atmosphere of the school into consideration. do you prefer & work better in small size classes or do you prefer & work better in bigger class sizes? </p>
<p>& remember, prestige does not guarantee success. </p>
<p>good luck!</p>
<p>I have not been on the Bucknell campus in 10 years or more, and Berkeley in a zillion. If accepted to both and you can afford it, stay overnight. Bucknell 10 years ago was very white. Even the minority children looked like Abercrombie models. Every building was red brick with "bucknell" white paint.
A friend's dd went there on a ride - bio major - she was working with her teachers on research very early in her time there, published by senior year. Think about who you will actually study with, what like of classes do you do best with - small, large, doesn't matter. What kind of kids do you enjoy? Can you handle a small town in rural PA? Can you handle the TA's of Berkeley?</p>
<p>generally I would choose berkeley over bucknell, however ... if I was a math major I'D GO TO BERKELEY</p>
<p>Berkely is really overrated. People in Cali always just trump it around because its basically one of the only universities that can even barely compete with those on the East coast.</p>
<p>"Berkely is really overrated. People in Cali always just trump it around because its basically one of the only universities that can even barely compete with those on the East coast."</p>
<p>Excuse me.
I'd like to see some evidence, any evidence, for this nonsense.</p>
<p>"Berkely is really overrated. People in Cali always just trump it around because its basically one of the only universities that can even barely compete with those on the East coast."</p>
<p>You are stupid.</p>
<p>O__o;</p>
<hr>
<p>All the posters above are right that talk about happiness over reputation and figuring what kind of environment you would really want to be in for the next 4 years. I was an undergrad at Berkeley and really liked it. However, I would say that if you are not expecting to be a top-tier theoretical mathematician or dually pursue something like computer science or go to grad school in the subject, why would you need to go to a school like Berkeley that squarely rates on a par with MIT, Princeton, etc. in math if not above them? Unless you want to push the envelope of the study of math, you could go to a lot of places that would probably be sufficient. On the other hand, if you do want to pursue grad school, Berkeley hands down, no question.</p>
<p>NOTE: It was only when I went back to grad school at a prestigious university on the East Coast that I realized how fantastic the quality of professors and many students was at Berkeley. Contrary to what one poster (Agb41) said, what I felt was overrated was the education manifest by many of my fellow students from top-tier schools. It wasn't that the education of the East Coast was worse -- not at all -- but I and fellow Berkeley grads really held our own and excelled. To Agb41 who didn't spell Berkeley correctly: you remind me of a close friend of mine who had gone to Harvard and, when it came to law school, chose to go to Cornell over Stanford because he considered himself an "Ivy League" kind of guy. He really missed a chance. Putting aside the relative merits of each school, he was an idiot for not checking out Northern California for the 3 years he was in school. It would have benefitted his overall education. You Agb41 should put away your narrow parochialism, if you know what that means. Get out from your little view of the world and your place in it; there's a big world out there.</p>
<p>You know, when I see students applying to colleges, just about ALL the good students applied to Ivy League schools. Now some of them are attending those schools. Some love their schools, and some really hate them. Others...didn't get into them but are still quite happy at the colleges they ended up attending. If you think about it...Harvard can't be right for everyone. It can't be a good fit for every single top student (who all inevitably applied). Yet they did. What I am trying to say is that when applying to colleges, students often just hear a few things, visit the campus, read a few things, and decide they like this college or hate that college. I think you should carefully think over exactly why you like Bucknell and do not like Berkeley, and try to find out more about both schools (visit definitely if you haven't). If you truly feel that Bucknell is a great fit and you can't stand Berkeley, then by all means go for Bucknell. I always feel personal fit is very very important. But...I and most people tend to think Berkeley is overall a better school.</p>
<p>Are you kidding me?</p>
<p>That's like choosing between Stanford and Penn State.</p>
<p>Berkeley is one of the newest Top 25 Ivies.. Bucknell is.. what, top 50? 60?</p>
<p>Trust me, Berkeley is 10x harder to get into because its classes are 10x better. It might be a bit overrated for its reputation, but it's still no in competition with Bucknell.</p>
<p>If you don't live in Cali and you want to save some money.. by all means go to Bucknell.</p>
<p>if you don't like a school then you shouldn't go there, no matter the ranking of the school. Fit is the key to picking the right college. </p>
<p>In the long run going to a school you dislike is going to hurt you more than the prestige of getting a diploma from it will help. You won't learn as much if the setting isn't right for you, the size classes aren't what you want, the advising isn't what you'd like, and son on.</p>
<p>as probably the only person on this board with a math degree from bucknell, i figure i need to throw my hat into the ring on this one.</p>
<p>does berkeley have one of the top four or five graduate math departments in the country? yes sir. does that translate into having one of the four or five best undergraduate math departments? probably not.</p>
<p>does bucknell have a faculty that can compare with berkeleys in terms of research quality and quantity? no. does that make them worse teachers at the undergraduate (and masters) level? again, probably not.</p>
<p>does bucknell nonetheless have a fantastic undergraduate math program? oh yes. a quick look at the results from the 2004 putnam mathematics competition should show you that much. the eight american universities in the top ten: mit, princeton, duke, caltech, berkeley, harvard, stanford... and bucknell. yes, bucknell beat out teams from the likes of uchicago and michigan.</p>
<p>are there downsides to studying math at a lac? sure. one, the faculty isnt going to be huge (though bucknells is decent in size, with over 20 faculty members and a handful of active emeriti), which means that not all research subdisciplines are going to be strongly respresented. two, the faculty isnt strong enough academically to handle the most talented math students in the country (perhaps the top 50 or so).</p>
<p>but for the most part (and for most everyone) the experience is great. the department is incredibly close-knit (we even have well-attended annual picnic/reunions!) and offers all the support in the world to its undergraduates. the courses are much more demanding than those ive encountered at penn state, research opportunities are very available, and graduates do go far (one of my friends is at a top 10 economics program, another at a top 15 mathematics program; ill be headed to a top 20 (or perhaps better, if im lucky) math program next fall).</p>
<p>again, from a purely academic perspective there is nothing wrong with berkeley. and on average it may indeed be the better choice for most students. but college selection is about fit, and therefore isnt an issue of pure academics or whats better for most. its whats best for you. and in this case, it seems like bucknell is that glass slipper... a perfect fit.</p>
<p>and if you have any further questions about the department, feel free ask away (preferably via pm, so i dont miss it here). either way, good luck with your decision.</p>
<p>I didn't read any replies to my statement, because I know its true and you are all insecure and in denial- BERKELEY IS OVERRATED</p>
<p>abg41 = silly dumba**, as determined by his post which responds to posts he says he didn't read.... </p>
<p>but on to something more important: I am a Berkeley grad (though not in math), but given what you said about liking Bucknell's atmosphere and what EricaatBucknell wrote: go to Bucknell, why wouldn't you? Fit is important, the most important. You only have one college to attend (well, usually); if you don't like a place, you miss a great opportunity. And when you get to Bucknell, do really well and go to Berkeley as a grad student. On the other hand, if it's close to a toss-up in terms of your comfort level, go to Berkeley 'cause you seem to be placing so much value purely on your academic potential.</p>
<p>lol abg41 is a troll, right?</p>