Stony Brook or Berkeley (complex geometry)

Forum for the GRE subject test in mathematics.
Post Reply
WDDYz
Posts: 15
Joined: Sun Feb 05, 2023 2:57 am

Stony Brook or Berkeley (complex geometry)

Post by WDDYz » Sat Feb 25, 2023 1:56 am

Hi all. I am choosing from Berkeley and Stony Brook. My interest is in complex geometry (either differential or algebraic, haven't made up my mind). There is only one professor at Berkeley doing complex differential geometry, he is like a rising star in this area. And he has about seven students now, I think that's quite a lot. Stony Brook has more people doing things related to complex geometry, I guess I can have more choices for my future direction if I go to Stony Brook.

Here is the thing: could you help me compare these two schools, about academics, life living there, annual expenses, etc. Thank you very much!

KTheoryKid
Posts: 10
Joined: Thu Feb 16, 2023 10:19 am

Re: Stony Brook or Berkeley (complex geometry)

Post by KTheoryKid » Sat Feb 25, 2023 4:05 am

How is the funding at both?

WDDYz
Posts: 15
Joined: Sun Feb 05, 2023 2:57 am

Re: Stony Brook or Berkeley (complex geometry)

Post by WDDYz » Sat Feb 25, 2023 4:51 am

KTheoryKid wrote:
Sat Feb 25, 2023 4:05 am
How is the funding at both?
I haven't got the funding email from Berkeley yet, but the funding at stony brook is slightly higher than 25k per year with teaching duties. Is the stipend
tight for living there?

xbq22
Posts: 50
Joined: Tue Mar 29, 2022 5:03 pm

Re: Stony Brook or Berkeley (complex geometry)

Post by xbq22 » Sat Feb 25, 2023 5:00 am

Deleted
Last edited by xbq22 on Sat Feb 25, 2023 5:20 pm, edited 1 time in total.

xbq22
Posts: 50
Joined: Tue Mar 29, 2022 5:03 pm

Re: Stony Brook or Berkeley (complex geometry)

Post by xbq22 » Sat Feb 25, 2023 5:53 am

WDDYz wrote:
Sat Feb 25, 2023 4:51 am
KTheoryKid wrote:
Sat Feb 25, 2023 4:05 am
How is the funding at both?
I haven't got the funding email from Berkeley yet, but the funding at stony brook is slightly higher than 25k per year with teaching duties. Is the stipend
tight for living there?
If you don't have external support, living off of 25k a year in Long Island will be a rough go of it for sure, again coming from someone who has lived in new york.

WDDYz
Posts: 15
Joined: Sun Feb 05, 2023 2:57 am

Re: Stony Brook or Berkeley (complex geometry)

Post by WDDYz » Sat Feb 25, 2023 6:05 am

xbq22 wrote:
Sat Feb 25, 2023 5:53 am
WDDYz wrote:
Sat Feb 25, 2023 4:51 am
KTheoryKid wrote:
Sat Feb 25, 2023 4:05 am
How is the funding at both?
I haven't got the funding email from Berkeley yet, but the funding at stony brook is slightly higher than 25k per year with teaching duties. Is the stipend
tight for living there?
If you don't have external support, living off of 25k a year in Long Island will be a rough go of it for sure, again coming from someone who has lived in new york.
Thank you so much!!!

xbq22
Posts: 50
Joined: Tue Mar 29, 2022 5:03 pm

Re: Stony Brook or Berkeley (complex geometry)

Post by xbq22 » Sat Feb 25, 2023 6:07 am

WDDYz wrote:
Sat Feb 25, 2023 6:05 am
xbq22 wrote:
Sat Feb 25, 2023 5:53 am
WDDYz wrote:
Sat Feb 25, 2023 4:51 am


I haven't got the funding email from Berkeley yet, but the funding at stony brook is slightly higher than 25k per year with teaching duties. Is the stipend
tight for living there?
If you don't have external support, living off of 25k a year in Long Island will be a rough go of it for sure, again coming from someone who has lived in new york.
Thank you so much!!!
Of course. At the end of the day you can't really go wrong with either in my opinion, even if personally I would choose Berkeley over Stony Brook. You truly have a decision to make that most would be envious of.

LetMeIn2401
Posts: 41
Joined: Sun Feb 14, 2021 10:22 pm

Re: Stony Brook or Berkeley (complex geometry)

Post by LetMeIn2401 » Sat Feb 25, 2023 7:31 am

It is not necessarily the PhD institution that matters, but also your advisor. Stony Brook is perhaps the best US university in differenital geometry and complex geometry, so you can't go wrong with Stony Brook. In my opinion you should choose an advisor not a university (both are very well respected). I don't think overall school prestige should factor into this decision since I assume you care about your career prospects as a mathematician (and all mathematicians recognize Stony Brook as a really good math institution).

Just to iterate further, a strong letter of rec from someone like Donaldson would go as far (if not further) as a letter of rec from any of the professors at UC Berkeley. So I think your success as a future mathematicians is mostly a function of your own skills and who your advisor is (and IMO Stony Brook and Berkeley are both amazing). So just email advisors and ask your own undergrad advisors and see what they say.

Also, I think this forum is mostly a bunch of confused undergrads lol. You should not use this forum for such an important decision.

LetMeIn2401
Posts: 41
Joined: Sun Feb 14, 2021 10:22 pm

Re: Stony Brook or Berkeley (complex geometry)

Post by LetMeIn2401 » Sat Feb 25, 2023 7:38 am

Also, I have think it is a toss up between the Bay area and New York. I would rather be 45 mins away from NYC (which is truly amazing, I am doing my undergrad in NYC) than live in Berkeley with its really bad housing situation, and poor safety because of a lot of homelessness and drugs, but I much prefer the weather and scenery at Berkeley. FWIW, Berkeley students have had to strike recently because their stipend was basically unliveable but I think you should wait and compare both stipends using a cost of living calculator.

WDDYz
Posts: 15
Joined: Sun Feb 05, 2023 2:57 am

Re: Stony Brook or Berkeley (complex geometry)

Post by WDDYz » Sat Feb 25, 2023 7:56 am

LetMeIn2401 wrote:
Sat Feb 25, 2023 7:31 am
It is not necessarily the PhD institution that matters, but also your advisor. Stony Brook is perhaps the best US university in differenital geometry and complex geometry, so you can't go wrong with Stony Brook. In my opinion you should choose an advisor not a university (both are very well respected). I don't think overall school prestige should factor into this decision since I assume you care about your career prospects as a mathematician (and all mathematicians recognize Stony Brook as a really good math institution).

Just to iterate further, a strong letter of rec from someone like Donaldson would go as far (if not further) as a letter of rec from any of the professors at UC Berkeley. So I think your success as a future mathematicians is mostly a function of your own skills and who your advisor is (and IMO Stony Brook and Berkeley are both amazing). So just email advisors and ask your own undergrad advisors and see what they say.

Also, I think this forum is mostly a bunch of confused undergrads lol. You should not use this forum for such an important decision.
Thank you soooooo much!

xbq22
Posts: 50
Joined: Tue Mar 29, 2022 5:03 pm

Re: Stony Brook or Berkeley (complex geometry)

Post by xbq22 » Sat Feb 25, 2023 5:20 pm

deleted

corkquark
Posts: 31
Joined: Wed Feb 08, 2023 11:53 am

Re: Stony Brook or Berkeley (complex geometry)

Post by corkquark » Sat Feb 25, 2023 9:25 pm

Hi,

As someone who's actually from Queens and has visited Berkeley, I would 100% choose Berkeley over SBU. SBU's campus is - to put it lightly - trash, weather is not great, and the campus life is far worse. That being said, you may have a better advisor/department at Stony, but I would personally sacrifice those things for the quality of life boost at Cal. Drugs is a silly excuse and homeless people are not dangerous. You will be surrounded by much nicer locations in Cal and even if you're depressed about work or funding or what have you, at least your location will be beautiful and fulfilling. You will not have the same privilege at Stony. 45 mins from NYC on Amtrak is not close and not the easiest commute and it is far less glamorous on Long Island than it may sound.

Feel free to DM for more of my opinions.

WDDYz
Posts: 15
Joined: Sun Feb 05, 2023 2:57 am

Re: Stony Brook or Berkeley (complex geometry)

Post by WDDYz » Sun Feb 26, 2023 8:48 am

corkquark wrote:
Sat Feb 25, 2023 9:25 pm
Hi,

As someone who's actually from Queens and has visited Berkeley, I would 100% choose Berkeley over SBU. SBU's campus is - to put it lightly - trash, weather is not great, and the campus life is far worse. That being said, you may have a better advisor/department at Stony, but I would personally sacrifice those things for the quality of life boost at Cal. Drugs is a silly excuse and homeless people are not dangerous. You will be surrounded by much nicer locations in Cal and even if you're depressed about work or funding or what have you, at least your location will be beautiful and fulfilling. You will not have the same privilege at Stony. 45 mins from NYC on Amtrak is not close and not the easiest commute and it is far less glamorous on Long Island than it may sound.

Feel free to DM for more of my opinions.
I see, I have never been to these two places. :shock:

corkquark
Posts: 31
Joined: Wed Feb 08, 2023 11:53 am

Re: Stony Brook or Berkeley (complex geometry)

Post by corkquark » Sun Feb 26, 2023 4:09 pm

WDDYz wrote:
Sun Feb 26, 2023 8:48 am
corkquark wrote:
Sat Feb 25, 2023 9:25 pm
Hi,

As someone who's actually from Queens and has visited Berkeley, I would 100% choose Berkeley over SBU. SBU's campus is - to put it lightly - trash, weather is not great, and the campus life is far worse. That being said, you may have a better advisor/department at Stony, but I would personally sacrifice those things for the quality of life boost at Cal. Drugs is a silly excuse and homeless people are not dangerous. You will be surrounded by much nicer locations in Cal and even if you're depressed about work or funding or what have you, at least your location will be beautiful and fulfilling. You will not have the same privilege at Stony. 45 mins from NYC on Amtrak is not close and not the easiest commute and it is far less glamorous on Long Island than it may sound.

Feel free to DM for more of my opinions.
I see, I have never been to these two places. :shock:
i would suggest u search up a day in the life for both schools if u cant visit but temper the impressions with the acknowledgment of the embellishment a content creator must add

FieldsMedalist
Posts: 41
Joined: Tue Jul 19, 2022 6:14 am

Re: Stony Brook or Berkeley (complex geometry)

Post by FieldsMedalist » Sun Feb 26, 2023 6:40 pm

corkquark wrote:
Sat Feb 25, 2023 9:25 pm
Hi,

As someone who's actually from Queens and has visited Berkeley, I would 100% choose Berkeley over SBU. SBU's campus is - to put it lightly - trash, weather is not great, and the campus life is far worse. That being said, you may have a better advisor/department at Stony, but I would personally sacrifice those things for the quality of life boost at Cal. Drugs is a silly excuse and homeless people are not dangerous. You will be surrounded by much nicer locations in Cal and even if you're depressed about work or funding or what have you, at least your location will be beautiful and fulfilling. You will not have the same privilege at Stony. 45 mins from NYC on Amtrak is not close and not the easiest commute and it is far less glamorous on Long Island than it may sound.

Feel free to DM for more of my opinions.
Your opinion is biased, you are talking based on your own feelings. This is not a very wise thing to say.

Also, what you're talking about might be useful if someone is considering an undergrad degree. But for someone going for a PhD in Maths, they should be very careful which to choose; not based on what campus looks nicer.

BangentTundle
Posts: 22
Joined: Thu Feb 23, 2023 9:13 am

Re: Stony Brook or Berkeley (complex geometry)

Post by BangentTundle » Mon Feb 27, 2023 11:41 pm

Who are you considering at Stony Brook?

WDDYz
Posts: 15
Joined: Sun Feb 05, 2023 2:57 am

Re: Stony Brook or Berkeley (complex geometry)

Post by WDDYz » Tue Feb 28, 2023 1:27 am

BangentTundle wrote:
Mon Feb 27, 2023 11:41 pm
Who are you considering at Stony Brook?
See the private message.

asleep
Posts: 14
Joined: Mon Feb 28, 2022 2:46 pm

Re: Stony Brook or Berkeley (complex geometry)

Post by asleep » Tue Feb 28, 2023 3:59 am

Two cents as someone who did math at Berkeley. Wasn't a grad student, but I graded for the professor who runs the analy/topo qual course that I believe is a requirement. I can't speak to the geometry-specific merits of the department since that isn't my area, but a few ancillary points about the department & university. Have heard it used to be much more cutthroat, the retention rate was lower since they allegedly used to overadmit to have grad students to TA the large lower-div math courses (Cal doesn't do undergrad TAs in the math dept). It's become much better now and retention shouldn't be a problem nowadays, but the qual courses are still tough (aforementioned analy/topo avgs around ~25%).

Quality of life wise, Berkeley is great. Berkeley proper is very lively itself, and SF is a trivial subway ride away. Crime-wise, sure there are portions of the city that you should avoid, but just keep an eye out and you'll be fine. It's no more dangerous than NYC, Chicago, Atlanta, or any major metropolitan area. Stipend-wise could always be more, but the union is definitely making progress (you can definitely find a place affordable enough, bus transit in the vicinity is free with a student ID also). The responsibilities outlined by their teaching contract are very fair, and compared to other universities I've served on course staff on, they definitely had the most "equitable" expectations of their TAs.

In essence, I wouldn't make QoL your deciding factor, but if it is, don't discount Berkeley.

BangentTundle
Posts: 22
Joined: Thu Feb 23, 2023 9:13 am

Re: Stony Brook or Berkeley (complex geometry)

Post by BangentTundle » Thu Apr 13, 2023 1:57 am

Where did you choose OP?

WDDYz
Posts: 15
Joined: Sun Feb 05, 2023 2:57 am

Re: Stony Brook or Berkeley (complex geometry)

Post by WDDYz » Thu Apr 13, 2023 10:15 am

BangentTundle wrote:
Thu Apr 13, 2023 1:57 am
Where did you choose OP?
Stony brook!

BangentTundle
Posts: 22
Joined: Thu Feb 23, 2023 9:13 am

Re: Stony Brook or Berkeley (complex geometry)

Post by BangentTundle » Thu Apr 13, 2023 10:58 am

WDDYz wrote:
Thu Apr 13, 2023 10:15 am
BangentTundle wrote:
Thu Apr 13, 2023 1:57 am
Where did you choose OP?
Stony brook!
Sent you a DM



Post Reply