Hi, everybody, I am an international student, planning to study Engineering/mathematics in university. And I was accepted to Cambridge University, Brown University and NYU(Full FA). I am also waiting for Caltech, Duke, Columbia, UChicago(FA) waitlist decisions.
So currently, which one seems to be a better option to you? Going to Cambridge or Brown or NYU?
BTW, the college in Cambridge is not a major huge college.
First time posting in CC, hope somebody give some advice haha
Cambridge for Maths and caltech if waitlist comes through.
You understand that the curriculum at Cambridge is very different from the US, right? At Cambridge, you have less flexibility (you may be able to switch to a business tripos later). At Brown, you may study anything you want. Is NYU with Tandon in Brooklyn? The environment would be different as well. Getting off the WL’s are extremely unlikely so forget about those.
What are total costs at all of them and what can you afford?
What are potential goals/plans?
For your areas of interest, Cambridge would appear the logical choice for educational quality and post grad opportunities internationally. Brown, as strong as it is generally, is not an engineering powerhouse (don’t know how committed you are to Engineering - you’ve applied to UC with no engineering at all) and NYU will be across the undergrad academic spectrum weakest of the three. The physical environments will obviously be quite different from one another. Providence is a fairly small city, fairly, well, provincial, with the advantages and disadvantages that entrains. Don’t know how important being in US is to you.
Yep, I’d prefer caltech
Thanks for your input! I think the total cost I can afford is around 200k USD. Cambridge is just around that, Brown a bit more expensive and NYU cheaper. I wish to work at big tech companies or startup my own. I intend to go for master degree in US later regardless which undergrad i eventually attend. I just wonder if attending cambridge make it harder to apply for US graduate school like Stanford? (Since cam is not in US?)
What will each school cost and do you prefer the breadth of a US Bachelor’s degree or the much narrower study offered in Britain?
Thanks for your answer!
Although Brown not a engineering powerhouse, Brown has a strong applied maths major. However, for the undergrad, I prefer cambridge due to its less cost and international recognition. But on the other hand, UK’s salary is terribly low compared with US. I am not sure if I will be able to work in US after attending a uni in UK. Also, I wish to take grad school in US, does that mean Brown, being in US, make it easier to apply for US grad school?
Brown most expensive, Cambridge comes second since it’s 3 years. I’ve been thinking about the breadth issue. I’ve been more comfortable to work with sci/maths/engi disciplines, but not that comfortable with humanity. But at brown, other than Maths, maybe I can take up CS as well. While at cambridge, the only option is engi(which I was offered). So, it’s a tough choice…
Did you get some aid from Brown and more from NYU? And again, is it NYU Tandon?
I don’t think attending Cambridge would make getting in to an American grad school harder, but if you are certain you will go to grad school, that is an argument for the cheapest option.
But a lot of kids (Americans, anyway) enter a big tech company or start their own straight out of undergrad. That would be more likely from Brown than NYU.
The style of teaching and marking would be very different at Cambridge than the American unis as well. Cambridge probably isn’t so hands-on. Have you looked in to the curriculum?
Which would fit you better? Continuous assessment with tests, projects, and homework due all the time or the tutorial system but where your marks come down to a few big tests (and maybe projects/papers) at the end?
And there’s no way 3 years at Cambridge is $200K.
Hmm. I looked. Close to $200K. How much are Brown and NYU total?
There’s OPT for working in the US after attending an American school, but I think betting on working in the US afterwards is risky.
Nope haha, it is NYU College of Arts and Science since I chose Maths for NYU. No aid for Brown.
I am more inclined towards the choice between Brown applied maths and Cambridge engineering, abondan NYU for now maybe…
I have been in the Alevel system before and I think I can perform better with a few big tests, but I am also comfortable with continuous assessments. It’s not a big issue to me.
There are laboratory experiments, projects and computing exercizes at Cam as well.
So that’s the situation.
If I can graduate in Brown with 3 years, maybe amount to the same as Cam. But again, I dunno how hard is it to graduate in 3 years. And NYU is around 140k USD for 3 years if I graduate in 3 years,
I think NYU is more generous with A-levels credit than Brown is.
It’s pretty easy to figure out if you can graduate in 3 years from both NYU and Brown by looking at how much A-levels credit they give and graduation and major requirements.
So the difference between Cam and Brown is more like $190K vs. $260K.
That’s about the cost of a good one-year Masters. Seems like that points to Cam, then. If you decide that you really want to study CS, you can get a CS Masters after your Cam undergraduate degree.
Wait, but engineering at Cam is 4 years: http://www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/courses/engineering
If cost is the same, I prefer the flexibility of American colleges. But both would be around $250-260k, which is above $200K.
And going back to your home country is a real possibility. What are perceptions of the schools under discussion like there?
Yep, it is advised that students complete four years in Cam for a Master of Engineering degree together with BA degree, but a few students may opt to graduate in three years with a BA degree only. So the four years are for the majority who wants a MEng, but I’d prefer to take grad school at another US Uni like Stanford or MIT if get accepted.
My home country is China, so maybe Cam has the same reputation as Penn, but not to the level of Harvard/Stanford/MIT. Brown, on the other hand, is well perceived of but a little bit lower than Cam.
Cambridge – not even close.
Haha, more inclined for cambridge now