Does anyone know how undergraduate research at Cornell compares to other institutions like MIT or Caltech?
Cornell is one of the best research institutions in the country and routinely places among the top 3 (if not no 1) in producing students who go on to PhD programs. You mention MIT and Caltech so I am assuming that the research you are referring to is engineering based? In that case, Cornell Engineering is certainly one of the best and you should have no trouble finding research opportunities with professors who are leaders in their fields.
Actually, I’m interested more in mathematics and computer science. I guess the latter could be classified under engineering, but do you have any information about mathematics research at Cornell? Thanks!
Cornell is very prominent in research mathematics. However, in undergrad mathematics, the research the profs are doing won’t likely affect your time there.