<p>The Putnam competition, while giving you a decent idea of what the top math schools overall are, do little more than that because of flaws in team scoring methodology. For all practical concerns, all the top schools P, H, M, etc. are nearly equivalent. I’d use other factors (non academic) to decide.</p>
<p>This thread is getting increasingly ridiculous by the gratuitous act of mentioning another school that isn’t even asked about in the first place!</p>
<p>@Aislynn: I would agree with aparent5 that for math, the difference between MIT and Princeton is so minimal that you should look at other factors, especially campus culture and student body. IMO, <a href=“http://my.mit.edu%5B/url%5D”>http://my.mit.edu</a> is the best place to learn more about MIT; for Pton maybe you want to glance over other threads on Pton board, especially Pton vs. [you name it] threads. Currently Pton vs. Hvd and Pton vs. Brown are quite hot. Good luck with your decision - I wish I got to choose between MIT and Princeton like you do :).</p>
<p>@frozen-tears…other interests than studying O_O
Just kidding…lets see:
Reading,
knitting(I’ve made two human sized sweates so far one of which got me Grand Prize in the Junior Division at MD Sheep&Wool Fest.)
Cooking(I used to have severe food allergies so it was a survival issue which morphed into enjoyment)
PC gaming
DDR( when I go over to friends houses)
TaeKwonDo(I’ve won trophies in sparring and forms)
writing sometimes when I have the time
working in labs…when not breaking beakers(which only happen twice! I was putting them on some shaking thing) ^^;
those logic grid puzzles
Sudoku
Math competitions
Oh, did I mention reading!</p>
<p>Alumother, Aislynn has asked this on the MIT board also and is getting responses from MIT-knowledgeable folks there. Aislynn, as most are saying, the math departments at both schools are fabulous, you won’t go wrong in that regard whichever you choose. It’s the intangibles, the lifestyle and surroundings, the “weekend life” issues that come into play in your decision now.</p>
<p>If you attended CPW and will attend the Princeton event, you’ll probably have a good idea by next week where you feel most “at home”. Good luck with your wonderful decision!</p>
<p>I’m also a prospective maths major. I like Princeton because its not only a very strong program, but I like everything else Princeton has to offer. At Princeton there’s some 60 faculty including the likes of Andrew Wiles and I think there are only 39 undergrad maths majors. I don’t know about MIT but I imagine theres much more students/faculty at MIT. </p>
<p>You may have different tastes but I urge you consider the different atmosphere at both places. Have you visited? You should go to the maths dept at Princeton and talk to the faculty and see what they offer. Does one really believe that a 5.0 is really any different from a 4.9? I believe one of the biggest differences you’ll notice is the residential colleges- I remember Random House at MIT and contrast that to Mathey at Princeton. They’re very different in every way and which is better for you shouldn’t be judged by a 0.1 difference on set of graduate rankings or the number of Putnam fellows or IMO gold medalists or whatever. You should be asking what group of people appeal to me? What other interests does each college offer? What sort of lifestyle do I want? Eating clubs, capella groups, and a quasi-rugby team- Princeton appeals to me more. What appeals to you?</p>
<p>Princeton is in my opinion has the most sexy campus for any college, anywhere</p>
<p>Good Luck.</p>
<p>Random House is sort of an outlier, even for MIT.</p>
<p>With all due respect to MIT (relative is alum), Princeton, if you’re interested in dabbling in other things.</p>
<p>I’m came back from Princeton yestarday.
And this time the decision was crystal clear.
When I started 9th grade awhile back, I wanted to go to Princeton because cool people went to princeton(yes I know wonderful logic).</p>
<p>And now having seen Pton, I can say it has a amazing faculty, it is a beautiful campus,…and its extremely artsy…and the majority of its students are in the humanites or social sciences, and the majority of the pre-frosh are the same…and I’m not one of them…Princeton is a very nice place.</p>
<p>But I’ve decided to go to MIT.</p>
<p>Hey, you looked around and you made the choice that was right for you. Good luck with your future endeavors!</p>
<p>I tend to think you’ve made the right decision. A friend of mine’s kid is an abosolute math all-star - leagues above his school faculty, and he turned down Harvard for MIT because he was so impressed with their programs there.</p>