I plan to major in physics and continue education till a PHD. I know that both universities are really great.
However, which one is better if one wants to do research oriented physics. I like both the campuses and environments.
It is just about where would I get better opportunities for research internships, challenging courses etc.
Also, is one able to take graduate level courses at both these universities if one is able to? and am I also able to do a double major in both of them?
Both are super for research opportunities and challenging courses, and both are top schools for physics. From your other threads you haven’t even applied yet, so my advice would be to apply to both- and many others, including some with much higher admission rates- and see what your choices are.
When you are choosing a range of sure-thing, match and reach colleges & universities to apply to, remember that the physics curriculum is comparatively standardized, and and all even moderately selective school will have a physics major that will prepare you to get into top tier PhD program. If the school you end up attending is not as blessed with research opportunities as UCB & Cornell, paid summer research programs through REUs can put you into top labs.
In the meantime, I suggest doing some research on UCB undergraduate physics to find out about practical parts of being a student, such as how easy / hard it is to get the classes you need.
Thank you for your answer.
However, my concern is that I am thinking of applying Early Decision to Cornell. So, if I am going to apply ED, then I must be pretty sure about it right? Because, if I get accepted, then I have to attend it, even if I get Berkeley Regents!
also, are there any long terms benefits in going to one of these colleges in terms of job opportunities, salaries, connections, etc
Berkeley … Cornell … Measurement Description
$21,934 … $24,604 Instructional Spending per FTE Student 2015 (Source: IPEDS)
(nb: UCB uses GASB accounting, Cornell uses FASB)
$152,521 … $154,379 Avg Full-Time Professor Salary 2011-12 (Source: IPEDS)
… 640 … 680 SAT-M 25th Percentile 2015 (Source: IPEDS)
… 770 … 780 SAT-M 75th Percentile 2015 (Source: IPEDS)
51% … 49% Parchment Cross-Admit Preference
73% … 86% 4 Year Graduation Rate (Source: Kiplinger’s)
4.7 … 4.6 US News Peer Assessment Score
59.6% … 56.9% Percent of Classes with < 20 Students (Source: US News)
15.8% … 17.2% Percent of Classes with >= 50 Students (Source: US News)
3406 (43rd in top 50 per capita) … 2646 (23rd in top 50 p/c) Alumni-Earned STEM PhDs 2002-11 (Source: NSF)
(https://www.nsf.gov/statistics/infbrief/nsf13323/)
204 … 163 Alumni-Earned Physics PhDs 2006-15 (Source: WebCASPAR)
44 … 25 Average Number of Graduating Physics Majors 2003-2007 (Source: IPEDS)
$60,800 … $72,100 Median 10y Alumni Salary (Source: Kiplinger’s)
(nb: measures only alumni who received federal financial aid)
I encourage others to double-check some of these numbers if you find them interesting.
(As stock brokers like to say, the numbers are “deemed reliable but not guaranteed”.)
On-line class schedules are a better way to compare class sizes (if listed there or can be inferred from number of labs/discussions attached to each lecture).
Comparisons of STEM majors and overall graduates are not particularly useful, due to the varying distribution of majors. Note that “STEM majors” typically includes very few physics majors in comparison to biology and engineering majors – at both schools, biology majors outnumber physics majors by more than 10 to 1.
If you know which specific classes interest you, and you have the time and motivation to pursue that level of detail, go for it. Berkeley does provide class size information in easily searchable online schedules.
I don’t know about Cornell.
I also provided some numbers for physics PhD production.
If the OP wants to investigate more, the NSF WebCASPAR site provides massive amounts of data on earned doctorates by institution, institution type, broad discipline (e.g. life sciences), detailed discipline, etc.
No differences in potential long term benefits. Understand that at any school what will matter is what you do with the opportunities. For example, “connections” don’t just happen- you have to make them, which means engaging in constructive ways with the people around you. A bland recommendation from a high profile name will do you less good than a thoughtful, specific recommendation from somebody less well known- and to have the latter, they have to know you, have seen your work, etc. All a long way of saying: what you do in college will matter much, much, much more than whether you are a Regents scholar or go to the # 4 or the #15 or even the #30 program.
As for ED, well that is the trick of it, yes?! Your application might get a bit of boost, but in return you have to commit. Everybody’s calculation of the risks and benefits is different. For most students funding is a core part of the equation, and the advice on CC is always to sort that out first.