<p>I'm going to be majoring in math (probably with a more theoretical, not applied, focus) and I don't know which one to choose. After being admitted to Harvard REA I was leaning slightly toward that, with Caltech as a close second choice when I got in there. However, I received surprise acceptances to Princeton and Stanford as well. In addition, I got into Berkeley with the Regents scholarship and I am instate; the other 4 schools are about the same cost but Berkeley is a huge amount cheaper (around $25,000 per year). Which school is the most prestigious and best for a math major? People have been telling me all sorts of things - Harvard for the name, Stanford for the name, Princeton's math department is better, Caltech's math department is more hard-core, Berkeley is so cheap that I shouldn't pass it up, etc. (All of them are affordable for me but Berkeley is still a lot cheaper.)</p>
<p>Where should I go? (In case anyone's wondering, I withdrew all my other applications except for MIT, where I was rejected for some reason.)</p>
<p>Hell, for anyone that’s not you the best we can tell you is too pick one randomly. You have no bad choices and it’s all up to fit and environment. Anyone who tells you otherwise is biased. Then again, I guess the first question is how important cost is to you. If very important, choose Berkeley. Otherwise, pick from the others.</p>
<p>Cost is not that important. Prestige + quality are my two main factors. I don’t really care about location/environment either. Fit is hard to tell, I visited all of them already and I honestly liked them all, I think I’d be able to fit in to any one.</p>
<p>They’re all excellent for math, and none are much better than the others. You should message mathboy98, who has broad knowledge and balanced perspective on this.</p>
<p>Yes, they are all very good. And the gigantic lower division math classes at Berkeley can be avoided by choosing the honors courses for any lower division math courses that you need (except one that does not have an honors version, but is generally merely large, not gigantic); most upper division math courses are taught by faculty in small classes.</p>
<p>$100,000 over four years is nothing to sneeze at.</p>
<p>I doubt I’ll be taking many lower division math courses at whichever school I attend, anyway, I’ve already finished most of the equivalents and will most likely be placing/testing out of all of them.</p>
<p>To be frank about it, there is NO school in the universe that is worth 100k more than Berkeley math. So, while Harvard and Stanford maths are awesome and Princeton’s math department is fantastic, Berkeley’s math is equally respected in the mathematics world. Caltech is good but the school fits only to a certain profile. I would not count on it if I have 100k savings from Berkeley and Harvard and Stanford in my options.</p>
<p>Stanford! Not biased by the way. well maybe a little :). Where do you see yourself having the most fun? For me it was Stanford, hands down. The weather is great and the social scene is great as well. Berkeley is a close second, and it’s in the same area as Stanford. You have such great choices though and I’m sure you will succeed at any of those schools.</p>
<p>^ Stanford too is great for maths. It has a fantastic campus, which is like “heaven on earth”. But is Stanford maths worth $100k more than Berkeley maths?</p>
<ol>
<li>Princeton (most US NAS members in math section, most Fields medal winners, the math department to beat in the whole world)</li>
<li>Harvard/Berkeley</li>
<li>Stanford</li>
<li>Caltech</li>
</ol>
<p>But in applied math, such as statistics, computational math
<p>In addition to the considerations discussed in the link, consider:</p>
<p>1) talking to current math majors and math graduate students (that attended one of the other schools you’re considering for their perspective on the differences)</p>
<p>2) visiting the schools, talking to faculty members, and sitting in on classes</p>
<p>Are you planning on going to graduate school? If so, the name of your undergraduate institution will have little bearing compared to that of your graduate institution when you apply to be a professor (or whatever path you choose) after getting your Ph.D.</p>
<p>I recommend looking for the best QUALITY of education, as well as finding a place where other students are friendly and will do mathematics with you. I find working with others in mathematics to be motivating and much more worthwhile.</p>
<p>Yes I’m going to graduate school. That’s why I was a bit concerned about Berkeley, since I’ve heard that for undergraduate the quality of education is a little less, so I thought I might just go there for graduate school instead since it’s ranked #2. But for Undergraduate the other choices seem more quality and prestigious, especially since the $100k is not going to cause any financial problems for my family. However the majority here seem to be saying Berkeley, so I don’t know…</p>
<p>Go anywhere except Berkeley. I don’t know why people have not pointed this out yet. Although all five schools are great schools for mathematics, this only applies to the graduate school. Who cares about the major rankings for undergrad? Truth is, because Berkeley is a state school, the “quality” of the student body is not at par with the other four. If you considered money as a major factor, then clearly Berkeley is a wonderful school. However, as I said, you’ll be better off at the other four schools. Just make sure you like the school that you’ll attend.</p>
<p>Personally, I would choose Caltech. Since the school is so small, I think the experience is more intimate and personal.</p>
<p>Congratulations on your five acceptances to the best schools in the world.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone. This is a really hard decision.</p>
<p>Just had a talk with my parents, they seem to want me to go to Harvard but they said they’ll support whatever decision I make. They told me not to worry about the money.</p>
<p>The quality of undergraduate pure math majors at Berkeley was very good years ago (when Berkeley was significantly less selective) from my observation of such students in comparison to the much less impressive general undergraduate student body at the time. It is likely still true now. The OP will likely find other students who enter as freshmen having completed all lower division math courses already and jumping straight into upper division math courses as freshmen and taking graduate level math courses as sophomores or juniors.</p>
<p>On the other hand, some of those pure math majors that I remember would not have been the perfectly well rounded and “packaged” applicants who would have gotten admission to super-selective schools, then or now (though this was not true for all of them, since Berkeley’s low cost for in-state students was a significant attraction).</p>
<p>Also, the upper division courses are almost all small classes taught be faculty members. The fall 2012 schedule does list two exceptions, but one of them has an honors option that is a small class.</p>