<p>Cambridge if you are really determined to study Maths</p>
<p>I think the Princeton-MIT choice is easy.</p>
<p>If you like to think of yourself as geeky, MIT is going to be heaven. If you look at the MIT kids and think “what a bunch of geeks” Princeton is the place for you.</p>
<p>Derivative, your choice is clear: Princeton. I attended Princeton as an undergrad, I did Part III at Cambridge for my Master’s, and am now a grad student at a major US dept. PLEASE, take it from me: when it comes to math undergrad, Princeton is the way to go. Cambridge (UK) is a great, but compared to Princeton, it is provincial. I would not even consider MIT, except perhaps for the fact that it has Harvard right next door. Princeton is, and has been for a long time, essentially the world capital for mathematics. The courses at Cambridge are very nicely structured, but the level of access to the faculty at Princeton is just amazing. In retrospect, I simply cannot believe the amount of time and attention I was given by the <em>very</em> best mathematicians in the world. There is no way you will have that kind of access at Cambridge. If you have any questions, I’d be happy to try to answer them.</p>
<p>@mathmo: what do you mean when you say “Cambridge is provincial” ? As a non-American myself, I can’t think of a (developed) country that is more provincial and inward-looking than the United States.</p>
<p>On the issue of personal attention, keep in mind undergraduate students at Cambridge benefit from the tutorial system (called “supervisions” in Cambridge lingo), which provides them with a level of “personal attention” that would be hard to match in any American college or university.</p>
<p>mathmo = ■■■■■</p>
<p>You are right. The level of attention provided by the tutorial system <em>is</em> hard to match, yet there it is: the institutional culture at Princeton does result in matching it, and then some. Princeton was the first American university to introduce the concept of small-group discussion sections as a standard teaching method, and the University prides itself on inculcating in the faculty the idea that training undergraduates is an essential part of their mission. This is by no means true of all the American elite universities. Also, bear in mind that 1) the Cambridge tutorials are pretty infrequent: any given course might have no more than 2 or 3, and 2) they are typically taught by post-docs. At a US school, one will typically attend a small-group meeting once a week for 12 weeks, and the professors hold office hours at least twice a week. Ultimately, there is simply more flexibility in the US model. For example, in my time at Princeton, I took several “reading courses” on more advanced topics. This would involve reading and solving problems on my own, and meeting with a prof one-on-one maybe once or twice a week. I yes, I do mean: with people who are leaders in their fields. I don’t think you would be able to do that at Cambridge.</p>
<p>As for the “inward-looking” thing: I agree that the US is, socially speaking, the armpit of the world. However, that’s simply not the issue here. I was commenting on the position of the math department in the mathematical culture. Of course Cambridge and Princeton math depts are both great – that’s why we’re having this discussion – but if you were to ask virtually any professional mathematician, they would tell you Princeton is “the” place. Having said that, I would be happy to retract my claim that Cambridge is “provincial”. :)</p>
<p>Oh no! I’m a ■■■■■! What do I do? Is there some kind of a pill I could take?</p>
<p>mathmo know what hes talking about so listen</p>
<p>The OP chose Princeton</p>
<p>end of story</p>
<p>Historically, Cambridge has made great contributions to math. Isaac Newton was there. But today, the center of math has migrated to USA.</p>
<p>In my view, Princeton has the best math department in USA, has won most Fields medals, has most membership in national academy of sciences. No other place in the world can match Princeton in pure math.</p>
<p>MIT seems to have the most math talents among its students, based on the results of math contests such as Putnam. And US-NEWS ranks it #1 this year.</p>
<p>OP, you should deal your dilemma this way:
If youre an American, youre better off attending Cambridge. Youll gain a lot through the unique Cambridge experience. If youre British, choose either MIT or Princeton. I would personally choose MIT as it is a school that specializes in sciences and engineering, although Princeton wont be a terrible alternative to MIT.</p>
<p>If youre neither American nor British, choose which country you would like to work in after your college degree. If you want to work in the UK, go for Cambridge. Otherwise, go for either MIT or Princeton.</p>
<p>RML, the OP has already decided and chose to go to the best undergraduate school in the country overall and best for Math.</p>
<p>I’m still taking my STEP though.</p>
<p>^ Good luck on STEP. The new Cambridge admissions require that you pass STEP II, isn’t it? </p>
<p>JohnAdams12: I’m not sure which school are you talking about.</p>
<p>“The best undergraduate school in the country overall.”</p>
<p>Ah, but you didn’t specify which country.</p>
<p>RML and MSauce, ha!</p>
<p>you got me there!</p>
<p>{wink} {wink}</p>
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<p>I sincerely doubt that claim. If you take for example the list of Abel Prize winners, there is an equal number of European and US laureates (including foreign-born US citizens in the latter group). If you consider instead the list of Fields medalists, US citizens are well represented, but I believe they are still in the minority compared to Europeans (including Russia). I would say the US has an edge in experimental sciences (like physics or chemistry) and in engineering/technology, but not so much in math.</p>
<p>Besides, the OP question concerned undergraduate math education, not math research. I guess most people would agree that, compared to the math curriculum in France, Germany or England, US undergraduate math training is pretty shallow.</p>
<p>Just to update this thread. </p>
<p>I sent in my SIR to Princeton. It was a hard choice between Princeton and MIT, but ultimately, it seems that Princeton has a more vibrant pure math culture.</p>
<p>However, I am waiting on my STEP results (which comes in 6 days!!!) and if I meet my STEP offer, I am 90% sure that I will choose Cambridge over Princeton.</p>
<p>But currently, I feel awfully guilty for holding two offers. And I have to deal with the bill that’s due for Princeton, housing contract, roommate etc…</p>
<p>Without being any sort of math person, I’d advise you to go to Cambridge simply for the experience of living abroad. Plus, I’ve been to Cambridge (not on a university visit, just as a tourist) and the atmosphere is amazing.</p>
<p>But wherever you end up going, don’t feel guilty for keeping your options open for as long as possible. It’s a reasonable thing to do. And I assume the Princeton waitlist has already been exhausted, which means that even if you choose Cambridge, you won’t be depraving anyone of a place at Princeton (as for Cambridge, UK universities don’t make new offers after losing accepted students, so this isn’t an issue at all).</p>
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<p>Congratulations on choosing Princeton. I don’t think it matters that much at the undergraduate level, but Princeton does have a “more vibrant pure math culture”.</p>
<p>BTW, what did you think of STEP ? Was it hard ?</p>