Carlton or Reed for a student who wants to study pure math?

[Anonymous]

Even a quick glance at the Carleton math sequence shows a number of courses that a student can take in addition to the basics. School level (or even community college) MVC and LinAlg are pretty algorithmic. It always helps to take a college level course, if only to prepare for the faster (semester/quarter) paced college course.

Both Wisconsin and Michigan have excellent (and much larger) math programs but navigating classes in a large university is challenging. As for research opportunities, most LAC/4-year colleges are plugged into REU programs which can be a valuable experience that more than makes up for the more limited research opportunities at LACs. That said most LAC faculty also have modest to strong research programs themselves.

[Anonymous]

If he’s worried about running out of math or it not being challenging enough, level up and major in physics.

[Anonymous]

What’s an REU?

NP

[Anonymous]

Research Experience for Undergraduates

NSF funded - great program!!!

[Anonymous]

Both schools are excellent and will have plenty of curriculum and challenge for your DC.

REUs are great and particularly give opportunities for LAC undergrads to build a CV for grad school applications—but all NSF funding is under a lot of uncertainty these days. Far fewer programs got grants last year and who knows what will happen to NSF budget in near future.

That said: it’s usually easier to do research with local faculty at LACs. In math at least.

[Anonymous]

In math, research is relatively unimportant compared to advanced coursework. That's why top universities offer Directed Reading Programs.

Michigan and Wisconsin have some strong honors math programs - math 295 and math 375 respectively. So does OSU with 4181H (they host Ross, so they know a thing or two about challenging students). UMD has math 340, UGA has math 3500H and some nice meeting scholarships that can being the cost to instate. Most T30s have something similar - Rice with math 221/222, Northwestern with MENU, UWashington with honors multi (though he would need to also have completed diffeq if he wants to skip honors single variable calc). Have him research these courses, syllabi, textbooks etc.

What is his proof background and how does he know he wants to study proof based math?

[Anonymous]

I think multi is Calc 3

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In math, research is relatively unimportant compared to advanced coursework. That's why top universities offer Directed Reading Programs.

Michigan and Wisconsin have some strong honors math programs - math 295 and math 375 respectively. So does OSU with 4181H (they host Ross, so they know a thing or two about challenging students). UMD has math 340, UGA has math 3500H and some nice meeting scholarships that can being the cost to instate. Most T30s have something similar - Rice with math 221/222, Northwestern with MENU, UWashington with honors multi (though he would need to also have completed diffeq if he wants to skip honors single variable calc). Have him research these courses, syllabi, textbooks etc.

What is his proof background and how does he know he wants to study proof based math?

OP here: he's done proofs many years (via a Saturday enrichment program) and that's what he likes about math - the problem solving part of it. Thank you for the listing - will have him look into all of them!

[Anonymous]

I’m glad you got all these sincere replies, OP, but I feel like you are perhaps putting the cart before the horse a little. Is your child a sophomore? If they still have two math classes to take after the one they’re in it sounds like they may be. They still have a lot of learning to do and they may not want to study pure math in..3 years time! And it sounds like you are already planning their graduate work too? I would take all these kind replies and file them away and then take a deep breath. I didn’t know whether to giggle or sigh with this one.

[Anonymous]

Would he rather live in a small midwestern college town, or one of the most liberal cities on the planet? That’s how I’d decide.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m glad you got all these sincere replies, OP, but I feel like you are perhaps putting the cart before the horse a little. Is your child a sophomore? If they still have two math classes to take after the one they’re in it sounds like they may be. They still have a lot of learning to do and they may not want to study pure math in..3 years time! And it sounds like you are already planning their graduate work too? I would take all these kind replies and file them away and then take a deep breath. I didn’t know whether to giggle or sigh with this one.

Where do you read that he's a sophomore? A sophomore who already completed LA and MV would be absurdly advanced. Junior is more likely and lots of juniors are putting together a college list based on potential major.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Reed and Carleton appear in a sampling in the print version of the Princeton Review, "Great Colleges for Mathematics & Statistics Majors."

As are LACs such as Mudd, Pomona, Amherst, Haverford, Williams, Bowdoin, Hamilton and St. Olaf.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Would he rather live in a small midwestern college town, or one of the most liberal cities on the planet? That’s how I’d decide.

Portland rocks!

[Anonymous]

I’ll add that reed has a far superior math program.

[Anonymous]

IPEDS provides information on the number of recently graduated math majors at these schools:

College Navigator - Reed College https://share.google/YK4f9S34uli73HHBH

College Navigator - Carleton College https://share.google/ZzidqEEN22uSSfK99