<p>I got accepted to liberal arts program for these three and i plan to major in math or philosophy or physics. </p>
<p>How do the undergraduate programs for math, physics and philosophy at USC, brandeis and U of Mich compare? </p>
<p>How much teaching actually done by the professors instead of TAs is especially important to me. I also care about how my peers will be as well. (e.g. how much they study, etc)</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>This is an easy one to answer. USC and Michigan are both very, very large state schools. You will have very large classes your first few years, and you will have TAs in many of your introductory classes.</p>
<p>At Brandeis, you will have dramatically smaller class sizes and classes taught by professors, not TAs. Brandeis has all of the elements of a small liberal arts college, but set in a research environment. Undergarduate teaching is the main focus of the faculty, not personal research.</p>
<p>Math and phsyics are great at Brandeis; I know nothing about philosphy.</p>
<p>Now, if your main interest was big-time athletics and partying, then you should consider USC and Michigan. But if your focus is academics, class size, quality of teaching, …, then Brandeis is your clear winner.</p>
<p>What about friends/student quality in terms of friendliness, open-mindedness and acceptance?
I was told that Brandeis is rather clique-oriented. But again, every school is clique-oriented to some extent. I am just wondering how ‘strict’ or rigid the cliques are.</p>
<p>I just got accepted at NYU, UMichigan, and Brandeis as well. I personally think Brandeis is the better school if you’re seeking graduate studies. They have joint programs with top universities and most of their undergrads go on to top graduate schools.</p>
<p>As for the student/campus atmosphere, I have a friend that goes to Brandeis and she told me she loves it. Granted, the campus would be more boring than NYU and UMich’s, but Boston is just 15 minutes away!</p>
<p>These are very tough comparisons to make, mostly complicated by the fact that Brandeis is 1/10 the size of UM or NYU.</p>
<p>They all offer three very, very different experiences.</p>
<p>They are all great schools in any case.</p>
<p>I think the fact that Brandeis students tend to be involved in many different activities, that tends to counteract any cliqueness there might be. In my case for example, I’ve had friends I made on my first year hall, one of whom is part of the athletic scene while others were pre-med students (which I am not). I have other close friends who I got to know kind of randomly in the dining halls or during events freshman year and in part through classes who are more into the humanities and social sciences and who were my suite mates another year. Through them and through my orientation group, I also got to know students in the theater scene. Through my involvement with the student newspaper, I know people involved with campus media and student government. And then there are the people I know through classes and on campus jobs. So I think it depends on how involved you are and your own personal experience - this year I’m living with other people who I know through a combination of the above.</p>