#Caltech vs Harvey Mudd College vs UPenn for Physics/Math

23 messages · Page 1 of 1 (latest)

unborn creek
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Caltech vs Harvey Mudd College vs UPenn for Physics/Math

granite moss
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hmm, caltech easily imo. while HMC def has a focus on undergrad, you won't be disadvantaged at caltech

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caltech has by far the best opportunities for undergrad research. period.

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including SURF which pretty much guarantees you a top-tier REU every summer

calm lance
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how much is the difference in $40k?

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I mean for you personally

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like does it matter for your family?

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correct (in most fields) but there are a lot of grad schools out there. I wouldn't worry about this.

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nah nah that's sunk cost fallacy

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you should evaluate the $40k on its face

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HMC provides better undergraduate education
idk how true this is. probably slightly true, but I think it's overblown. (my gf goes to HMC, I go to Harvard, we compare quality of instruction pretty frequently and our conclusion is always that the gap is smaller than we expect given how ug focused mudd is supposed to be)

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also most mudders would think you're insane for choosing mudd over caltech

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^ a conversation I've actually had on mudd campus lol

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caltech has generally far more resources (admittedly because they also have grad students and research grants) and (frankly) strength of students in physics/math

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oh definitely not

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I think it's extremely reasonable to take stanford over caltech as an aspiring academic

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you'll have pretty much the same academic opportunities at both but classmates interested in a broader set of things at stanford

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I personally chose harvard over caltech because I wanted that and I wanted more flexibility in my classes

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huge STEM core at caltech was scary--I didn't really care for bio and chem (and still don't) and in retrospect I had those classes back to do other things

broken silo
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You want research, I don't see anything even coming close to caltech

vocal token
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if you want you're welcome to ask me anything.
im a math (possibly physics dual) major at caltech (also hoping to go into academia)

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it's harder to get into grad school here afterwards from my understanding, yes.

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it's not impossible nor unheard of though.
there's still plenty of interesting places as well