u/Fluffy_Ad_6559

If I do Rice undergrad and then Stanford PhD in applied math/cs/electrical engineering, is that more prestigious than doing Stanford undergrad? Intuitively, grad school matters a lot more, but a lot of people I see are saying that undergrad matters more because it is more prestigious and others are saying it depends.

But I want to hear what you all say, and your opinions. Will I always be behind someone that went to a more prestigious undergrad (MIT/Stanford/Harvard).

For those of you who got a PhD in mathematics, what careers have you went into? I know one common path is to become a professor, but I want to know what other options there are.

Throughout high school I have enjoyed doing math. Later I came across math competitions (AMC/AIME) and started studying for them. But no matter how hard I tried, I was never able to make USAMO. Does this mean I am not smart enough to continue pursuing math? Should I just focus on engineering or cs where I can reliably get a good income?

Even if I do decide on pursuing mathematics, what should I do in college? (from USA)

Throughout high school I have enjoyed doing math. Later I came across math competitions (AMC/AIME) and started studying for them. But no matter how hard I tried, I was never able to make USAMO. Does this mean I am not smart enough to continue pursuing math? Should I just focus on engineering or cs where I can reliably get a good income?

Even if I do decide on pursuing mathematics, what should I do in college? (from USA)