UC Berkeley vs Cornell vs Cambridge (UK) [for Physics related studies]

Twoin18
Sun, 26 May 2024 11:30:53 +0000

Yes I went to Cambridge. I was admitted for NatSci but changed to Maths during my gap year, because it was less work That’s because maths is just 12 hours of lectures a week whereas NatSci is 30 hours of lectures and labs before you start the problem sets. I also stayed for a PhD.

To your questions:

1. there’s little if any undergrad research connected to labs either during term or vacations. But you do take a lot of lab classes as part of your course. You aren’t encouraged to stay in the summer (it’s hard to find accommodation then). The key to a PhD is the fourth year which is much more research oriented and where you decide on a PhD topic. In the U.K. you’d go straight into research after that (no taught courses or qualifying exams).

2. there are more summer internships nowadays after year 2 for those looking to get a job (those people won’t always stay for a fourth year). But be aware that coming back to the US can be tricky as the timing is similar to US quarters, late June-late Sept. It’s not uncommon for U.K. students to do something unrelated in the summers, working at a retail job or similar to pay for a long holiday (in my day interrailing and mountaineering expeditions, now often more exotic).

3. The best students want to stay at Cambridge or Oxford, the US is another alternative, but not always the preferred option except for overseas students who have a hard time securing funding to stay in the U.K. (most comes from research councils and is specifically directed to U.K. residents). This is quite different to the US where you are typically encouraged to go elsewhere for your PhD. You’ll encounter plenty of Cambridge professors who arrived for undergrad at age 18 and have spent their entire career there.

4. You can attend other lectures and there are lots of academic clubs to pursue areas of interest through independent work. Again the fourth year is the time for substantive research, which can be interdisciplinary.

5. only the third year exam class goes on your resume. But first and second year results may matter for internships and references (and to a limited extent for being allowed to specialize in later years). Now that most people take a fourth year before applying for a PhD, getting a first in the third year is what matters. Previously you got a conditional offer for a masters or PhD based on your third year exams (requiring a first). You may need to get a first or close to it to be allowed to stay for the fourth year.

6. Yes supervisions are generally good, especially the intro ones. There can be some variability by college, depending on how many fellows there are at your college in your subject. Sometimes you need to go to other colleges or have supervisors who are PhD students, especially for more obscure courses.