<p>I'm still waiting for the decisions from UCB and UCLA, but for the following I'm going to assume I get into both.</p>
<p>Now I plan to major in mathematics (pure or applied, I'm not sure of yet) with a minor in physics and from what I heard, the consensus seems to be that UCB is world-class in both these deparment. However my best friend is most likely going to UCLA and overall it seems that going to UCLA would be more convenient (much closer to home). So I was wondering if the difference in prestige and department strength would make a difference at the undergraduate level. I plan on going to graduate school later on and I also plan on visiting both campuses to get a feel for them, but I was wondering what opinions you guys would have.</p>
<p>UCB’s math department is a tier one program, along with MIT, Chicago, Stanford, Harvard, Princeton. Its faculty are simply out of the world. LA has some faculty of that caliber too, however, but the main advantage here is the faculty is very well-rounded and incredibly strong at various areas. This may interest you if you plan to interact with them a lot. If not, then LA should offer solid coursework and prepare you for grad school very well, and again, its program is strong enough that as an undergrad, you’d be fine attending there. </p>
<p>It is definitely in general false, though, that an undergrad cannot benefit from the top caliber research faculty in a broad number of areas, because they can be exposed to their ideas if they try very, very hard, although for a vast majority of undergrads this will never happen.</p>
<p>You really should go where you think you’ll be happiest. Both places will prepare you well for graduate school.</p>
<p>I went to UCB over UCLA BECAUSE I wanted to get away from home.</p>
<p>I don’t expect undergraduate mathematics at UCB to be much different from mathematics at UCLA and I think both would prepare you well for graduate school.</p>
<p>@Grumpster: I definitely intend to do that, but I’m interested in just the academic aspects in this post. As for enviroment, I’ve lived in both SoCal and New Jersey and I don’t think weather will be a big difference. I know the cities will be different, but that’s what the visits will be for and both schools will definitely be big enough for me to find some way to fit in.</p>
<p>@mathboy: very useful post. thank you. so do you think it would be a reasonable idea to go to UCLA for undergrad and apply to UCB for graduate studies? I know that’s planning a bit far ahead and assuming many things, but that’s the impression I’m getting at the moment.</p>
<p>@cavilier: I thought the same as well, but as mathboy pointed out Berkeley is tier one when it comes to both math and physics. Being one of those dreamer types who wants to do great things, I was wondering if it would make a difference.</p>
<p>Well, here’s my opinion – both have tier 1 level faculty, but Berkeley has more. As an undergrad, you have a lot to learn before you can even begin to imagine why certain faculty are tier 1. Even being able to answer that is a huge deal and probably means you’ve prepared yourself exceptionally during your years at the university. It is not impossible to do this, but requires you to be obsessed with the field. All this means that if the environment at LA drastically is of preference to you, you should go there instead of UCB. There are some of the highest caliber faculty at LA. Someone like Terence Tao is second to nobody. The real question is if the undergrad students here can be more strongly interested in mathematics, which is entirely possible because some would come for the repute of the program.</p>
<p>If your primary concern is obsession with the fields, it’s a worthwhile project to interact with the diversely talented faculty here and experience the student culture of the few math students who really care about what the faculty here are like.</p>
<p>You can make it to top grad programs from LA; I certainly know at least one grad student here who went to LA as an undergrad. Berkeley accepts even students from smaller-name schools if they do very well on the GRE, do some kind of project at a respected program, and get solid letters. Keep in mind, however, that having access to top faculty in your home school is invaluable because their letters of recommendation flatly trump comparable letters from faculty of lower tier. Just how the world works.</p>
<p>Just know that if you choose Berkeley…you better be pretty d*** good in math, because the math grading here is merciless.</p>
<p>@mathboy: thanks again for the input. I appreciate it.</p>
<p>@zorro: I’m not that great, but I’m the best at my school and I really do enjoy math. If I need to put extra effort for it, then it’s fine.</p>