Rutgers VS Maryland

Forum for the GRE subject test in mathematics.
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RafaelPrince
Posts: 6
Joined: Fri Apr 24, 2015 12:58 pm

Rutgers VS Maryland

Post by RafaelPrince » Fri Apr 24, 2015 1:02 pm

Hi, guys.

As for pure mathematics, which one will you choose, Rutgers or U of Maryland, College Park? Maryland's ranking seems a little higher than Rutgers', but Rutgers has the most AMS fellows (34). It is a tough choice.

Your suggestion is highly appreciated.

joga
Posts: 24
Joined: Sat Apr 04, 2015 2:21 pm

Re: Rutgers VS Maryland

Post by joga » Fri Apr 24, 2015 2:44 pm

I don't think any sensible advice can be given over such an open question; but that is just me! I believe we can help better if you provide ur interests of study and also i guess u are asking for PhD?

RafaelPrince
Posts: 6
Joined: Fri Apr 24, 2015 12:58 pm

Re: Rutgers VS Maryland

Post by RafaelPrince » Fri Apr 24, 2015 9:04 pm

joga wrote:I don't think any sensible advice can be given over such an open question; but that is just me! I believe we can help better if you provide ur interests of study and also i guess u are asking for PhD?
Yes it's for math PhD. Since I plan to choose my specific area after the first year's study, I care about generally which is better at pure math(for applied math, obviously Maryland). If I feel that I am good enough at first-year's courses, I tend to study algebraic geometry, number theory or mathematical physics. If not, maybe stochastic processes. However, it seems very few professors at either school study this area.
I am also likely to choose combinatorics, PDE, topology or differential geometry.
I know it's a difficult decision, but I have asked for a few extra days to make a final decision. I have to choose one quickly.

johngeller
Posts: 16
Joined: Sat Feb 08, 2014 6:16 pm

Re: Rutgers VS Maryland

Post by johngeller » Sat Apr 25, 2015 10:34 am

joga wrote:I don't think any sensible advice can be given over such an open question; but that is just me! I believe we can help better if you provide ur interests of study and also i guess u are asking for PhD?
Hi Joga, I'm also attending USC. Did you receive the letter with financial award from graduate school? I received the award letter from the department but only an admission letter from the graduate school. BTW, did you get the fellowship?

joga
Posts: 24
Joined: Sat Apr 04, 2015 2:21 pm

Re: Rutgers VS Maryland

Post by joga » Sat Apr 25, 2015 3:28 pm

I do believe I can only present a modestly informed opinion in the field of Algebraic geometry, Algebraic Topology and related aspects of number theory. Under this assumption Maryland seems much better than Rutgers. I agree Rutgers is close to Princeton and both of them have a joint seminar but I still lean over maryland. The overall representation of areas in Mathematics seems more well rounded at Maryland and if you are not very sure of your area then it is a wise choice i guess. ( Rutgers has NYC close by - which is such a hotbed for life both mathematical and social though). You also have the extremely nice S P Novikov who is my advisors advisor at Maryland. Novikov is a true yester year mathematician ( as was my advisor ) - the yester year russian mathematicians had immense and incredible breath something which is truly scary. My advisor though an extremely famous Algebraic geometer was at home in current day Topology, Number theory, complex geometry, differential geometry (He is the first person who put Mirror Symmetry on a clear mathematical framework) Theory physics, Group theory and representation theory, and functional analysis.

@johngeller : I like you have got only an admission letter from graduate school, but was offered the financial and fellowship awards from the department. So I take that as is i guess.

RafaelPrince
Posts: 6
Joined: Fri Apr 24, 2015 12:58 pm

Re: Rutgers VS Maryland

Post by RafaelPrince » Sun Apr 26, 2015 10:49 am

joga wrote:I do believe I can only present a modestly informed opinion in the field of Algebraic geometry, Algebraic Topology and related aspects of number theory. Under this assumption Maryland seems much better than Rutgers. I agree Rutgers is close to Princeton and both of them have a joint seminar but I still lean over maryland. The overall representation of areas in Mathematics seems more well rounded at Maryland and if you are not very sure of your area then it is a wise choice i guess. ( Rutgers has NYC close by - which is such a hotbed for life both mathematical and social though). You also have the extremely nice S P Novikov who is my advisors advisor at Maryland. Novikov is a true yester year mathematician ( as was my advisor ) - the yester year russian mathematicians had immense and incredible breath something which is truly scary. My advisor though an extremely famous Algebraic geometer was at home in current day Topology, Number theory, complex geometry, differential geometry (He is the first person who put Mirror Symmetry on a clear mathematical framework) Theory physics, Group theory and representation theory, and functional analysis.
Thanks for your suggestion. I asked some of my professors, they said Maryland is better at applied math and Rutgers is better at pure math. I checked their research interests, it looks like that Maryland's best area is ODE and dynamical system. Its applied math is ranked #10. However, their overall evaluation in the USNEWS is 4.0 vs 3.9, Maryland leads by 0.1 point. Considering the huge advantage in applied math, does that mean from the ranking we can get the conclusion that Rutgers is better at pure math?
Personally, I would like to attend a university near a metropolitan. But if Maryland IS much better, I have to reconsider.

unitofobscurity
Posts: 8
Joined: Sun Dec 21, 2014 3:30 am

Re: Rutgers VS Maryland

Post by unitofobscurity » Wed Apr 29, 2015 4:49 am

@Rafael Prince:

1. The USNWR ranking is done by people who do not know anything about math research. The error bars on the ranking are well above 0.1.

2. While Rutgers is well within commuting distance to both NYC and Philly, UMD is in a suburb of DC — they even have a stop in the metro system! Do consult Google Maps on this one.

As for research I know little about Maryland, but Rutgers is certainly very respected in combinatorics, number theory, set theory, &c. I doubt you can go wrong either way.

RafaelPrince
Posts: 6
Joined: Fri Apr 24, 2015 12:58 pm

Re: Rutgers VS Maryland

Post by RafaelPrince » Wed Apr 29, 2015 1:59 pm

unitofobscurity wrote:@Rafael Prince:

1. The USNWR ranking is done by people who do not know anything about math research. The error bars on the ranking are well above 0.1.

2. While Rutgers is well within commuting distance to both NYC and Philly, UMD is in a suburb of DC — they even have a stop in the metro system! Do consult Google Maps on this one.

As for research I know little about Maryland, but Rutgers is certainly very respected in combinatorics, number theory, set theory, &c. I doubt you can go wrong either way.

Thanks for your suggestion. I have decided to attend Rutgers finally. There are many different rankings, and I know it's not wise to make a decision completely based on some ranking. As an undergraduate, I don't know much about their research neither. I just know the strongest area of UMD might be dynamical systems.

Hope that after the first-year study, my interest and Rutgers' strength could match each other.

imranch
Posts: 1
Joined: Fri May 15, 2015 9:45 am

Re: Rutgers VS Maryland

Post by imranch » Fri May 15, 2015 1:22 pm

i went for Rutgers but if you want to go for applied math Maryland is better and Rutgers is better at pure math.
http://www.qec.qu.edu.sa/en

RafaelPrince
Posts: 6
Joined: Fri Apr 24, 2015 12:58 pm

Re: Rutgers VS Maryland

Post by RafaelPrince » Tue May 19, 2015 8:53 am

imranch wrote:i went for Rutgers but if you want to go for applied math Maryland is better and Rutgers is better at pure math.
http://www.qec.qu.edu.sa/en
I agree. Maryland is better at applied math. Since I prefer pure math, I have decided to attend Rutgers.
Thanks for your reply.



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