<p>I am an undergrad student from india and applied to both universities in the Uk and in the USA. </p>
<p>I plan on studying Economics. But naturally care about reputation and brand name as well</p>
<p>I received acceptances from both Oxford and Princeton, not harvard or yale. But i am having a dilemma as wo which to choose !!??!?!?!</p>
<p>Many family friends have told me that the Uk is better for undergraduate education as they place a good emphasis on undergraduate, whereas the US universities place more on research and graduate programs. This is why i put harvard and yale in as well... IS it true that if you have total control over your choice with NO FINANCIAL difficulties the UK is a better choice if both are on your plate ? When one looks at the admission stats for these Harvard and Princeton clearly are more competetive overall with rates between 9 and 13% for admission whereas oxford has a 25% admissions rate (however the rate was 11.3 in my subject - Economics and Management) - see Oxford Gazette stats).</p>
<p>I really dont know where i want to work at this point, but does it matter when looking at universities in this league ?</p>
<p>Thank you very much in advance for your help!</p>
<p>Princeton has a great undergraduate emphasis as well. Also, it has a very good economics program. I don't think you'll go wrong if you choose Princeton.</p>
I really dont know where i want to work at this point, but does it matter when looking at universities in this league ?
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No. You can't really go wrong with either one. That said, I recommend the following:</p>
<p>1) If you really know what you want to study (i.e. you are 99% sure that it's economics), then I would recommend choosing Oxford over Princeton. It gives you a <em>great</em> education (tutorials) with great depth.</p>
<p>2) If you are not so sure, I'd go for Princeton. You'll study the liberal arts and can switch majors, etc.</p>
<p>3) It also depends very much on the deparment. I'm not sure whether either university has clearly the better department, though.</p>
<p>I had a very similar choice (Cambridge or Princeton), and I chose Cambridge. The reason was that a) the department was clearly better (Computer Science), and b) I knew I wanted to focus on computer science. There are loads of threads here on CC and elsewhere (TSR, for example) that discuss this. Maybe google it.</p>
<p>You've done a great job, congratulations. You can't go wrong.</p>
<p>BTW: May 1 deadline has passed. What did you send them?</p>
When one looks at the admission stats for these Harvard and Princeton clearly are more competetive overall with rates between 9 and 13% for admission whereas oxford has a 25% admissions rate
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Oh, don't look at the stats only. I know several third- (or fourth)-tier schools that have acceptance rates that are lower than HYP. The applicant pool of Oxbridge is <em>very</em> self-selecting, much more so than the pool of HYP. That partly explains the low admission rate.</p>
<p>Thank you very much for your reply, yes the deadline on may 2st has passed, but I called them and requested an extension which was granted, with a final postmark of may 15th. Hence the urgency of this issue. </p>
<p>From your reply i can see that you know a lot about this, how would you said that Oxford would be perceived in the USA vis a vis Princeton ? and Vice versa (Princeton perceived in the UK vis a vis Oxford) with regards to work prospects.</p>
<p>What I mean is that the applicants to Oxford and Cambridge are generally academically better than the applicants at HYP. Why? Well, in the UK you apply to a maximum of 6 schools. So applicants only apply to universities where they have a realistic shot. Whereas in the US, you can apply to any university and people with not-so-good grades still might still apply to HYP just to try to get a lucky shot. I mean, a lot of US applicants apply to "reach" schools. That's different in the UK. People applying to Oxbridge all have a realistic chance of getting in. </p>
<p>Plus, in the UK you only apply to either Oxford OR Cambridge, not both. If they were allowed to apply to both, admission rates would go down to ~10%.</p>
<p>Well yes, I did read a lot about it, I was in the same position as you :)
I am not sure how Oxford is perceived in the states since I'm not an American. From what I've heard, however, there is a certain "magic" that is connected with Oxbridge (and especially Oxford). In the UK, people are well aware of the quality of Princeton, although I would be inclined to say that an Oxford degree would probably me more impressive for the majority. </p>
<p>At the end of the day, however, both unis will give you the same job opportunities. You shouldn't worry about aspects like these, where the differenec (if any) is so marginally small.</p>
<p>Thank you very much again, you are really helping me... Justne other question, how would you comepare the two with regards to student life?</p>
<p>THanks again, :) i will definately let you know what i decide or post any other questions i have... Maybe if i decide to go to oxford, we should meet up :) lol</p>
<p>Student life...well, I haven't been to either university yet (I'm going to Cambridge this fall), I cannot really give you an opinion based on experience. However, from what I've read, it seems that at Oxbridge, you have much more own responsibility what to do with your time. In fact, what appealed to me at Cambridge was the fact that you are supposed to work independently; it is certainly much less hand-holding than in the states (and I wanted to be treated as an adult, not as a youngster). That means that it's your responsibility to do your work, it also means that you have more free time and more possibilities to pursue social activities. I think that in the UK studying, going to a pub and drinking a beer, having intellectual conversations and going clubbing all go "hand-in-hand". Of course, alcohol plays a role, too.</p>
<p>In general, I think that you're much more free to do what you want in the UK, though I'm of course biased. I must say, however, that the student life was one aspect that I liked about Cambridge (and not so much about Princeton or other US colleges). To each his own, though.</p>
<p>For economics, I'd definitely pick Princeton over Oxford. Princeton's economics department is much stronger. Besides, a Princeton BA in economics will prepare you much better for advanced graduate study in the field.</p>
<p>You'll notice at many universities the top professors and researchers only teach graduate classes and some undergrad classes, on the other hand Princeton's top faculty teaches mainly undergrad classes</p>
<p>This is a tough choice. I would go to Oxford, but I can recognize that most normal people would choose Princeton. You could probably get higher grades there which would improve your options after graduation.</p>
<p>Oh, and if you are into the whole "college experience" the princeton would give you more of that. If you are genuinely interested in academics and interested in pushing your intellectual limits independently, then Oxford would be it.</p>
<p>''Normal people'' will get struck in the dilemma...A well updated/wise person will choose princeton over Oxford for the best undergraduate experience..(And this is not a normal thing to happen to a normal person...I mean, not everyone gets to choose between top colleges!)...</p>
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A well updated/wise person will choose princeton over Oxford for the best undergraduate experience
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What nonsense. How dare you speak for all "well updated/wise person"?</p>
<p>To the OP: both are great, but also substantially different. I'd say Oxford is academically superior (although Princeton is still great). Princeton gives you liberal arts education, though (if you like that). You cannot go wrong with either choice.</p>