My son was accepted to Duke and Cornell and he would like to study mathematics. Can you help with clarifying the strength of each of the above colleges Math programs? Any advice? He was waitlisted for UChicage, Princeton , CMU and Upenn, but we have to work with what we got right now. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. My first time doing this.
For mathematics, Cornell (particularly if he’s been accepted at CAS) would be tough to beat. This wouldn’t mean, however, that Duke’s program wouldn’t credibly rival that of Cornell in most important respects.
Thank you. Can you possibly elaborate further on what you feel would be advantageous at Cornell bs Duke. My son was accepted to CAS at Cornell.
Also, if he gets off the waitlist at CMU, would you choose CMU vs Cornell or Duke? Lastly, his dream school is U Chicago. If he gets off waitlist there - is it really that superior to Cornell or Duke? Thank you
As a university, there are several areas in which Cornell would be particularly strong, and these areas would include math, physics and engineering. At Cornell, then, your son would be in one of the stronger programs at one of the nation’s strongest universities, hence the basis of my recommendation (with nothing against Duke, which I’d recommend as well – after all, he applied there for a reason).
CMU and Cornell would seem to be about (incredibly) equal. The edge in terms of his potential options may indeed go to UC’s superb program, but only to the extent that he would prefer the general fit there as well.
Thank you. Your reply def helps. Problem is my son was exposed to so many negative comments about Cornell, that I feel he is very cautious about selecting it. We don’t know much about Duke aside from hearing it’s great reputation and campus life in general. However , we need to focus on academic strength and eventual yield. My son is very driven, hard working and would like to persue graduate degree (math or Econ). I want to help him maximize his potential. He is not the most assertive person, so I worry if Cornell provides enough undergraduate support to their students in terms of advising. My son can study well, but he needs help to navigate the field. If he is handheld a bit, I know it would help.
Unfortunately, I mostly can only point you to a statistic such as Cornell’s notably high 97% first-year retention rate, and maybe also point out that his upper-level math courses may be small enough for him to engage with professors who will actively support his progress.
…and you feel that somebody at Duke is going to hold his hand, because… What exactly??
So far we have received an overwhelming amount of communication from Duke and they pride themselves in giving attention to undergraduates. We only received 2 emails from Cornell. So it created an impression that they don’t care whether you join or not. That’s where I am coming from essentially. I understand that colleges do their recruitment outreach differently. Cornell certainly takes minimalistic approach. It’s easy to fall for Duke’s hospitality and not see the apple for the tree. That’s where my fear lies.
Good to hear merc81 that upper level classes can be small. My son can prob place out of most entry level classes, so he maybe able to be in smaller classes from the start. I wonder if Duke is the same on that regard.
It may be that at either Cornell or Duke he will eventually find himself in math classes with under 20 students. Out of curiosity only, could I ask the level of math he will have completed prior to college?
AP Caclulus BC, Linear algebra,
Also has good experience with proofs
Nice @sal999. I think your son would find himself in smaller classes fairly quickly at either of his current choices.
Good to hear. Question is which program will pride a better yield in terms of future internship/job placement opportunities/career counseling. Also, which school is more collaborative in nature vs cut throats competitive.