Hey, I got accepted to UCSD Warren college for math and compsci, and ICL for math.
For a variety of reasons I think UCSD is the best fit for me. At ICL I hear there is little emphasis on community and the dorms are very spread out, and that sounds not good. I also am interested in studying more than just math, and at ICL I couldn’t do that. My only concern is that maybe ICL has a significantly better math department which can open more doors for me, since at the end of the day I will most likely be focusing on math. Can someone give me an idea of the prestige and quality of both these math departments?
I also got into Haverford, Kings college London, and University college London. My understanding is that UCL, KCL, and ICL are all very similar but ICL has the best math department. Are there any other important differences I shouldn’t overlook in these schools? Should I not overlook Haverford’s math department?
Imperial will likely have the most challenging math program.
UCSD CS would set you up very well for employment in software in the US if you are American (you are not, I assume). If you want to challenge yourself at UCSD, you could by taking grad-level courses.
Haverford is an Ivy-equivalent by alumni achievements so do not overlook that school even though it is small. It will probably give you the best American college experience. You may have to take higher level math classes at Penn but you would be able to do that through the Quaker consortium.
There isn’t much sense of community at any of the UoLondon colleges. In that sense, yes, UCL and KCL would be very similar with Imperial being most prestigious in most STEM (though UCL is strong too).
Cost differences are not an issue?
Finally, what type of teaching and assessment are you use to? At ICL (like most of the world, it is a lot of lecture and self-study with pretty much all marks coming down to big exams at the end of the year. UCSD and Haverford differ a lot in size and feel but they are both American, utilizing continuous assessment and a GPA system where grades of each term are weighted equally. Also, while at an English uni, you would concentrate solely 100% on math, in the American schools, you will get a broader education and also will have the ability to change your major (more easily at Haverford than UCSD though you are already in one of UCSD’s more desirable majors). The downside is that unless you force yourself, you may not learn as much math.
What do you plan to do after you graduate?
In finance, ICL would open doors to the City (and Haverford to the Street; UCSD more to Silicon Valley).
OK, I see that you are American. In that case, the choice should really be between UCSD and Haverford. If costs are not an issue, UCSD for CS and working at top companies in Silicon Valley if that is your goal. Haverford is an Ivy-equivalent by alumni achievements so would set you up well many ways, including on Wall Street if that is your goal.
If you’re in the math department at UCSD, you can also switch into Math-CS and Math-Econ (both very competitive, impacted majors) with ease. I know several math majors at UCSD who have found prestigious Silicon Valley CS internships.
What do you mean by “at the end of the day I will most likely be focusing on math”? Do you want to do a math PhD? Or get a job e.g. in data science?
The top UK math courses (and Imperial is pretty good) are more intense than US alternatives, though that’s unsurprising due to the greater starting level of preparation with further math A level and focus solely on math during the degree. So if you could cope it would probably set you up well for a math PhD. But for getting a data science job in the US after your BA I’d probably choose a US math+CS course instead.
I think I may want to transfer. If I got good grades at imperial, how hard would it be to transfer into Harvard or something like that? I have sub par high school grades in English and history, none of APs are humanities, and my humanities sat2 scores are not that great. At imperial I would have no opportunity to beef up that side of my application. Would this be a problem for transferring?
My research tells me that the social scene at UCSD is rather weak, and same thing at all the UoLondon schools. Lots of people going home on the weekends. I’m not excited about the social scene at Haverford either, because it’s really small and it might be hard to find my crowd there. I suppose my first priority right now is to find a place where I’ll be happy for four years, and my second priority is to be able to study a variety of subjects and get a valuable degree.
Where do you think I might be able to transfer with top marks at Imperial?
Why couldn’t you study more than just math at ICL? That doesn’t make sense because your first two years you have to complete the general education requirements.
I would stick with the English system because general ed is basically repeating high school. Unless that’s something you want to do? Have you looked at the general ed requirement of UCSD?
I went to UCSB and the first two years weren’t that different from high school curriculum. The English classes you take are basically the same as a good high school English class.
@thomas4881 I’m with @PurpleTitan our experiences were probably very different. Some colleges at UCSD (Sixth) have easier GEs, but others (Revelle) are torture. Several hundred pages of Hebrew Bible/Virgil/Freud readings per week, pretty harshly graded/nonstop essays, five quarters’ worth of it…I’m a decent writer, but those classes shredded my soul. Also, pretty much everyone is taking upper division major courses by their second year. At any rate, an easy GE curriculum here seems like a weird reason to send someone to the UK.
I wish America had the same education system as the UK and Australia. It’s a little absurd that you can take AP classes in high school and have them count towards your college GE requirements. At least in the UK they get you started on your career right away. If PurpleTitan wants to major in mathematics in college, I think that’s all you should have to do to become a mathematician.
The maths program at Imperial runs for 3 years only as opposed to 4 years in US schools. The tuition fees are also cheaper at Imperial, though living in London can be very expensive.
Take the Imperial offer. It will open many doors for you – many, many more doors than what those other schools in your list would or could ever do. You can always take further studies in a top US school coming out of Imperial maths.
Have you also gotten offers from Warwick? If you’re looking for a university in the UK offering a similar experience to a top US school, then you’re looking for Warwick.
Imperial would have the most rigorous and respected maths program of the three and thus is the best preparation for a math PhD and also is the most respected outside the US.
But at UCSD, he would actually learn CS and it’s a feeder in to Silicon Valley. At Haverford, he could learn CS as well (or double major in anything else they offer, including econ), and I’d actually recommend that school for finance on the East Coast. Haverford may be tiny but if they are like other Ivies/equivalents, their alumni network will go above and beyond the other 2 in helping during the jobs search.
So given that, I’d have to ask you to back up your assertion that ICL would open “many many more doors”. To what and where?