Which schools are good in pure / theoretical math?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If female, Wellesley is good.

It is sometimes annoying to my VT student that she is often one of very few females in her math classes.

If being around men - especially socially awkward men - is a problem, then math is not the field for you, lmao.

Well you can stop lyao because socially awkward is not a problem. It’s all the misogynistic, condescending, loud, entitled men that are off putting. And my DD just continues to show them up by doing more and being better, but it’s best to know that’s how math is and choose your path based on your tolerance for the daily struggle.

Not sure where your daughter is but this is not math culture at all in my experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why not try for Oxford / Cambridge / Imperial. They will not care one iota about the Humanities.

Cambridge is the top. The Brits say the kids who don’t think they will get into Cambridge for math go for Oxford.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:“#19 New College has less than one future math PhD per year. That's quite lonely.”

This is what I was referring to about data nonsense.

Many of us know that New College of Florida was basically dismantled by DeSantis. But prior to that it was strong academically.

[Anonymous]

Carnegie Mellon

[Anonymous]

1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT): MIT's undergraduate math program is tremendously respected and is considered quite intensive. Known for their Problem Sets (p-sets), students often find themselves facing complex and time-consuming tasks that they need to solve.

2. Princeton University: The undergraduate mathematics program at Princeton is one of the most rigorous in the country. The course-load here is heavy and the curriculum progresses at a very fast pace with a strong focus on proofs from first principles.

3. University of Chicago (UChicago): With a curriculum that stresses the appreciation of proofs and the purest form of mathematics, UChicago is known for its intense coursework in mathematics. The school offers honors sequences in analysis and algebra that are particularly challenging.

4. Harvard University: Harvard has a notoriously difficult curriculum in theoretical mathematics. Their Math 55 course, for instance, is often referred to as one of the most challenging undergraduate math classes in the country.

5. California Institute of Technology (Caltech): Caltech is small but mighty. The mathematics department offers rigorous course sequences in analysis and algebra that use textbooks written by faculty members.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If female, Wellesley is good.

It is sometimes annoying to my VT student that she is often one of very few females in her math classes.

If being around men - especially socially awkward men - is a problem, then math is not the field for you, lmao.

Well you can stop lyao because socially awkward is not a problem. It’s all the misogynistic, condescending, loud, entitled men that are off putting. And my DD just continues to show them up by doing more and being better, but it’s best to know that’s how math is and choose your path based on your tolerance for the daily struggle.

Not sure where your daughter is but this is not math culture at all in my experience.

Virginia Tech

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why not try for Oxford / Cambridge / Imperial. They will not care one iota about the Humanities.

Cambridge is the top. The Brits say the kids who don’t think they will get into Cambridge for math go for Oxford.

Their maths tripos is one of the most intense, competitive math programs in the world. It is very serious for math and very few American institutions (Caltech, MIT, Reed) replicate it

[Anonymous]

This may fall on deaf ears, but I think a heavily underrated program for future researchers is UCSB’s College of Creative Studies. It’s an accelerated research-based undergrad program where various requirements are lifted (no pre reqs, priority registration, easy admission to grad school classes) so students can focus in on their subjects. The college puts extra resources getting these students into PhD programs if they wish- many leave for lucrative jobs in the process- and it’s normal to see people take 6-8 classes every semester in CCS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If female, Wellesley is good.

It is sometimes annoying to my VT student that she is often one of very few females in her math classes.

If being around men - especially socially awkward men - is a problem, then math is not the field for you, lmao.

Well you can stop lyao because socially awkward is not a problem. It’s all the misogynistic, condescending, loud, entitled men that are off putting. And my DD just continues to show them up by doing more and being better, but it’s best to know that’s how math is and choose your path based on your tolerance for the daily struggle.

My STEM major went to a women’s college for this reason. Gave her the space to grow without the noise and is in a great grad program (with lots of men but is able to tune out the parts that are annoying by or offensive).

[Anonymous]

Unless you are Will Hunting, nearly every math department will accommodate advanced math majors. Focus on campus size, location, school type, gender ratio, everything else.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Unless you are Will Hunting, nearly every math department will accommodate advanced math majors. Focus on campus size, location, school type, gender ratio, everything else.

Seriously. From OP’s message, it looks like their kid has done a bit of linear/calc 3, that’s scratched the nothing surface; any college will account for that.

There was a parent who recently posted their kid finished real analysis and combo before graduating- that’s who needs additional math as they can start complex analysis, real analysis 2, graduate linear algebra starting as a freshamn

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This list includes statistics, but schools with the most alumni per capita who go on to earn a Ph.D. in math or statistics:

1. Caltech
2. Harvey Mudd
3. MIT
4. Pomona
5. Swarthmore
6. Princeton
7. Reed
8. University of Chicago
9. Carleton
10. St. Olaf
11. Grinnell
12. Williams
13. Harvard
14. Haverford
15. St. John's
16. Whitman
17. Rice
18. St. John's
19. New College of Florida
20. Wheaton

https://www.collegetransitions.com/dataverse/top-feeders-phd-programs#math

That's not the useful data column.

If your want peers who had grad school bound, you want the raw numbers, not the per
capital numbers.

#19 New College has less than one future math PhD per year. That's quite lonely.


Having peers in your program is more important than having fewer non-peers on the same campus.

Agree. Are math departments that large at any top school that it really makes much of a difference?

My kid is at Berkeley and the pure math division is not big because it is a very tough major so it is not difficult to get into classes at all.

Can you say more about class size? Can students take placement tests or talk to an advisor to place out of the basics like Multivariate and Linear Algebra?

About 100 kids major in pure math from Berkeley each year (from what I know). You can place out of MV Calc or Linear Algebra through test with advisor approval. Class sizes for most math classes are 30 to 40 except for one class which is pretty big and a pre-req for other majors as well. Hope this helps.

Thank you!! This is great to know.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unless you are Will Hunting, nearly every math department will accommodate advanced math majors. Focus on campus size, location, school type, gender ratio, everything else.

Seriously. From OP’s message, it looks like their kid has done a bit of linear/calc 3, that’s scratched the nothing surface; any college will account for that.

There was a parent who recently posted their kid finished real analysis and combo before graduating- that’s who needs additional math as they can start complex analysis, real analysis 2, graduate linear algebra starting as a freshamn

Yes - this is not all that rare. There are kids like this and not all of them get into MIT.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If female, Wellesley is good.

It is sometimes annoying to my VT student that she is often one of very few females in her math classes.

If being around men - especially socially awkward men - is a problem, then math is not the field for you, lmao.

Well you can stop lyao because socially awkward is not a problem. It’s all the misogynistic, condescending, loud, entitled men that are off putting. And my DD just continues to show them up by doing more and being better, but it’s best to know that’s how math is and choose your path based on your tolerance for the daily struggle.

Try a little less GRRL POWER and a little more reading comprehension.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unless you are Will Hunting, nearly every math department will accommodate advanced math majors. Focus on campus size, location, school type, gender ratio, everything else.

Seriously. From OP’s message, it looks like their kid has done a bit of linear/calc 3, that’s scratched the nothing surface; any college will account for that.

There was a parent who recently posted their kid finished real analysis and combo before graduating- that’s who needs additional math as they can start complex analysis, real analysis 2, graduate linear algebra starting as a freshamn

Why would they skip undergraduate linear algebra and group/rung theory?