Number Theory: Cornell or Penn State?

Forum for the GRE subject test in mathematics.
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belleal
Posts: 15
Joined: Tue Sep 27, 2011 9:46 pm

Number Theory: Cornell or Penn State?

Post by belleal » Thu Feb 23, 2012 2:41 pm

Hey guys!
I would like to know your opinion... Which school is a better place to study (algebraic) number theory: Cornell or Penn State?
I'm aware of the rankings, in which Cornell is better classified. However, Penn State seems to have a larger and strong number theory group.
Does anybody know the departments? What do you think?
Penn State contacted me offering a UG Fellowship, but I must decide until tomorrow if I'll take it. I don't know how to decide so quickly.
Thanks for the help!

omgmath
Posts: 19
Joined: Sun Nov 06, 2011 11:45 am

Re: Number Theory: Cornell or Penn State?

Post by omgmath » Thu Feb 23, 2012 4:02 pm

http://www.math.cornell.edu/People/Facu ... ishna.html

^ contact this guy and ask for his input (Ravi's a nice guy)

gromov
Posts: 38
Joined: Sun Feb 13, 2011 6:49 pm

Re: Number Theory: Cornell or Penn State?

Post by gromov » Thu Feb 23, 2012 5:12 pm

What rankings are we talking about here? I am unfamiliar with the precise details of the number theory departments at those schools, but a ranking system such as US News puts various kind of algebraic topics in the same bucket, when in reality it is not at all true that a school strong in, say, algebraic geometry is necessarily strong in number theory. Plenty of algebraic geometers have no interest whatsoever in number theory.

You should think about what kinds of topics interest you and see which school has more of that.

belleal
Posts: 15
Joined: Tue Sep 27, 2011 9:46 pm

Re: Number Theory: Cornell or Penn State?

Post by belleal » Wed Feb 29, 2012 2:20 am

Thank you guys!!! :)

I decided to decline the offer. Couldn't choose so quickly....



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