<p>I've been accepted to Duke and Cornell with essentially equal financial aid offers, so I am wondering which would be objectively better for an undergrad majoring in mathematics, planning on going to grad school (at the moment, at least.) I will have visited both in person before I make a decision (about to visit Duke), so I think that I can personally make an aesthetic decision, but which environment would be better for mathematics? Which one would have research more easily accessible for undergrads? Thanks, and I hope these are all answerable questions.</p>
<p>Cornell has the stronger graduate programs in both pure and applied math. That matters for a number of reasons, not least that your letters of recommendation might carry more weight. (Note that this is probably the other way round for statistics. SAMSI and NISS might attract quite a few statisticians to the Duke - UNC - NCSU research triangle.) </p>
<p>In the last two years, Cornell undergrads seem to have gotten on average into more selective math graduate programs than Duke undergrads. That’s an extrapolation based on my limited number of friends at each place, and based on the number of students I have met from each school at the various graduate open houses for accepted students.</p>
<p>That being said, both schools are strong enough that you are not closing doors by choosing one over the other. I understand that the atmosphere at Duke is very different from the atmosphere at Cornell, so you might give some thought to which social and academic environment you would strive in.</p>