Undergrad in India or in the USA: does it matter?

The variety of undergraduate (UG) programs that the US universities offer and the amount of flexibility a student in a top US university has is mind-blowing. University of California, Berkeley offers over 350 UG programs against over 80 provided by Delhi University. You will easily find US students majoring in Maths with a minor in music or psychology.

The classroom sizes are smaller in the US, which allows for better interactions between the teachers and the students. A typical student in a US university is driven primarily by his interest in the field of study he wants to pursue. Hence school applications and program selections are very diversified, reducing the number of people applying for any specific program or university. In India, it's hierarchical, with most students choosing engineering with IITs at the top of the list. Even among IIT aspirants, Computer Science becomes the top choice, broadly followed by Electrical, Mechanical and Chemical Engineering.

In the US universities, there is a lost of emphasis on research at the UG level. Many students work on sponsored and independent projects in their field of study. First-year students get a chance to explore and work on problems prevailing in the industry within months of joining the college. Unfortunately, this is not the case in India.