Anonymous
Post 04/23/2025 13:16     Subject: So many math majors
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Is this a new thing? The kid from New Jersey who thought he was screwed, endless questions here for next cycle or disappointed parents from this cycle whose math kids have to go to Europe.

What is going on with math… When did it become the hottest major?


Engineering applications outside of CS have soared to the point of being almost impossible if one wants a top15/ivy, with these schools having sub-2.5% acceptance rates for the E schools compared to the overall admit rates sub5%. Thus applying to math or physics has become the latest hot trend especially this recent cycle--there were a couple of college-counselor podcasts that encouraged math or physics as a slightly easier admit than engineering for quantitative kids who were not sure of engineering. Ivy/elites have a lot of options for interdisciplinary coursework, dual majors, minors, etc that make the job prospects for getting into tech consulting/tech industry or quantitative finance relatively similar for math/physics majors versus engineering/cs for these specific career goals. Also, most of these top schools allow transfer into engineering as long as math/physics the first year goes well. It is being used as a backdoor to E for some; for others it is a genuine interest.

So the kids who actually love math now have to compete with CS and Engineering majors looking for an easier way in? How terrible.

I’ve always been under the impression that math is for super passionate students, but I guess it’s turning careerist.
Anonymous
Post 04/23/2025 13:07     Subject: So many math majors
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Is this a new thing? The kid from New Jersey who thought he was screwed, endless questions here for next cycle or disappointed parents from this cycle whose math kids have to go to Europe.

What is going on with math… When did it become the hottest major?


Engineering applications outside of CS have soared to the point of being almost impossible if one wants a top15/ivy, with these schools having sub-2.5% acceptance rates for the E schools compared to the overall admit rates sub5%. Thus applying to math or physics has become the latest hot trend especially this recent cycle--there were a couple of college-counselor podcasts that encouraged math or physics as a slightly easier admit than engineering for quantitative kids who were not sure of engineering. Ivy/elites have a lot of options for interdisciplinary coursework, dual majors, minors, etc that make the job prospects for getting into tech consulting/tech industry or quantitative finance relatively similar for math/physics majors versus engineering/cs for these specific career goals. Also, most of these top schools allow transfer into engineering as long as math/physics the first year goes well. It is being used as a backdoor to E for some; for others it is a genuine interest.


Wow. Had no idea. Makes sense. Which podcasts?
Anonymous
Post 04/23/2025 13:03     Subject: So many math majors
Anonymous wrote:Is this a new thing? The kid from New Jersey who thought he was screwed, endless questions here for next cycle or disappointed parents from this cycle whose math kids have to go to Europe.

What is going on with math… When did it become the hottest major?


Engineering applications outside of CS have soared to the point of being almost impossible if one wants a top15/ivy, with these schools having sub-2.5% acceptance rates for the E schools compared to the overall admit rates sub5%. Thus applying to math or physics has become the latest hot trend especially this recent cycle--there were a couple of college-counselor podcasts that encouraged math or physics as a slightly easier admit than engineering for quantitative kids who were not sure of engineering. Ivy/elites have a lot of options for interdisciplinary coursework, dual majors, minors, etc that make the job prospects for getting into tech consulting/tech industry or quantitative finance relatively similar for math/physics majors versus engineering/cs for these specific career goals. Also, most of these top schools allow transfer into engineering as long as math/physics the first year goes well. It is being used as a backdoor to E for some; for others it is a genuine interest.
Anonymous
Post 04/23/2025 12:52     Subject: So many math majors
Is math now more popular than CS at private selective schools?
Anonymous
Post 04/23/2025 12:48     Subject: So many math majors
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Employers want problem solvers that they can train to learn the business. Math majors have demonstrated analytical and abstract problem solving skills. Given the sorry state of K-12 math education in the US math majors are going to become rarer as time goes on. Smart major in today’s unpredictable job market.


Mostly quant and AI. Niche market.

Most of the math majors I know are not working in these fields. It’s definitely not mostly quant and ai.
Anonymous
Post 04/23/2025 12:12     Subject: So many math majors
Are many of these kids trying to do PhDs in math? Will this make Math PhDs more competitive too? My kid wants to do a PhD in pure math, currently a freshman in college.
Anonymous
Post 04/23/2025 11:36     Subject: Re:So many math majors
does this "oversubscribed" only apply to schools where math is a popular major? are there schools where it is less popular?
Anonymous
Post 04/23/2025 11:24     Subject: So many math majors
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Employers want problem solvers that they can train to learn the business. Math majors have demonstrated analytical and abstract problem solving skills. Given the sorry state of K-12 math education in the US math majors are going to become rarer as time goes on. Smart major in today’s unpredictable job market.


Mostly quant and AI. Niche market.


I think the PP means that employers hiring for non-math jobs like to see math majors because it’s an indicator of “analytical and abstract problem solving skills,” which can be valuable even when the work itself requires almost no actual math.


Yup. Like most liberal arts majors, math builds skills that are broadly applicable.

Bingo. I prefer math majors to business majors in my line of work for this reason.
Anonymous
Post 04/23/2025 11:23     Subject: So many math majors
I majored in math and graduated ~10 years ago from a “top” school. It’s very versatile. I have worked in finance since graduating and am now at a hedge fund. A close friend of mine is a quant with the same degree. Another is an AI engineer in the Bay Area. Tech, finance, and data science doors are wide open for competitive math majors. Plus it’s an interesting area of study for the right person.
Anonymous
Post 04/23/2025 10:49     Subject: So many math majors
Data science.
Anonymous
Post 04/23/2025 09:10     Subject: So many math majors
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Employers want problem solvers that they can train to learn the business. Math majors have demonstrated analytical and abstract problem solving skills. Given the sorry state of K-12 math education in the US math majors are going to become rarer as time goes on. Smart major in today’s unpredictable job market.


Mostly quant and AI. Niche market.


I think the PP means that employers hiring for non-math jobs like to see math majors because it’s an indicator of “analytical and abstract problem solving skills,” which can be valuable even when the work itself requires almost no actual math.


Yup. Like most liberal arts majors, math builds skills that are broadly applicable.
Anonymous
Post 04/23/2025 09:09     Subject: So many math majors
I love all of the assumption of strategy here. My kid likes math, is really good at it, isn’t interested in CS or engineering, and doesn’t know exactly what he wants to do professionally. So he plans to major in math.

I decided on my majors (including English, which was then the most popular major at my large state university—how the times have changed!) the same way. Subjects that interested me, that I had an affinity for, and that I figured I could apply to whatever career I pursued.

For every kid choosing math strategically I’m guessing there’s at least one like my kid who just likes math.
Anonymous
Post 04/23/2025 08:57     Subject: So many math majors
Anonymous wrote:Parents have been pushing Kumon, Mathnasium, RSM, Beast, AoPS, etc from preschool days onward. It’s all these kids are repeatedly exposed to.


+1
Anonymous
Post 04/23/2025 06:35     Subject: So many math majors
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Employers want problem solvers that they can train to learn the business. Math majors have demonstrated analytical and abstract problem solving skills. Given the sorry state of K-12 math education in the US math majors are going to become rarer as time goes on. Smart major in today’s unpredictable job market.


Mostly quant and AI. Niche market.


I think the PP means that employers hiring for non-math jobs like to see math majors because it’s an indicator of “analytical and abstract problem solving skills,” which can be valuable even when the work itself requires almost no actual math.
Anonymous
Post 04/23/2025 06:21     Subject: So many math majors
Anonymous wrote:Employers want problem solvers that they can train to learn the business. Math majors have demonstrated analytical and abstract problem solving skills. Given the sorry state of K-12 math education in the US math majors are going to become rarer as time goes on. Smart major in today’s unpredictable job market.


Mostly quant and AI. Niche market.