<p>Which one is better for Physics (NOT Engineering) and Mathematics? Undergrad and Grad please.
Or is there another one that is probably better at Mathematics and Physics?</p>
<p>Grad level I'd have to say Harvard.</p>
<p>Undergrad is trickier. Columbia math and physics are very good. Top ten in math, I know, and either top ten or just below that for physics. But both departments at Columbia will give you the research opportunities (physics, especially) and enable you to develop the kind of relationships with profs you need to apply to top grad schools. </p>
<p>Columbia's applied math department is generally seen as better than Harvard's applied math. While no one can argue with Harvard's greatness in pure math, the math department at Harvard attracts the superstars and has a reputation for more of a "star system" among undergrads than other places.</p>
<p>Columbia will require you to take the core curriculum, which is a plus for some math/physics majors, but a minus for others who don't want to spend that much time on the humanities. If you like Columbia better overall, you will certainly not damage your chances to go on to Harvard or anywhere else for grad school by choosing Columbia. The value of a Columbia education is well recognized by other universities.</p>
<p>Hope that's helpful.</p>
<p>^perfectly written, exactly what i was thinking</p>
<p>"Top ten in math, I know, and either top ten or just below that for physics. But both departments at Columbia will give you the research opportunities (physics, especially) and enable you to develop the kind of relationships with profs you need to apply to top grad schools."</p>
<p>that's for grad school, grad school i'd probably put harvard physics over columbia.</p>
<p>undergrad i'd go with columbia, because research opportunities for undergraduates are easier to come by here, I also feel that the dept is quite undergrad focused top profs teaching undergrad courses and such. met tons of kids who almost chose to go to caltech and currently study physics here, so I would really caution you - those guys are smart, the socially dysfunctional kind of smart :p, and on top of that, work hard and care about theoretical physics, you're probably one of them though :)</p>
<p>Right, one point of emphasis is how much attention the university spends on undergraduates in the first place. Harvard is very much all about its grad schools, to the exclusion of the College, and a couple students have told me they occasionally feel like second-class citizens. No such issue at Columbia - the core itself is evidence that the university cares a whole lot about its undergrads.</p>
<p>Lots of smart kids and professors at both places, you can't go wrong. I grew up around harvard, I was sneaking into widener library by age 14, taking Extension School classes, etc. I don't have a bias against the place, I just think the undergraduate experience at Columbia is better.</p>
<p>How can this be a pressing choice for you, though, when you can only have been admitted to one school at this point?</p>
<p>It's not a pressing choice yet. I'm just thinking about it.</p>
<p>Thank you all, you helped me a lot.</p>