This question has an answer and that answer is Cal Berkeley.

* top 5 AMS department
* strong, but not hyper competitive Ivy admissions profile
* not a SLAC
* not cold

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:UMD has a good math program.

For a good, but not high level female math student like OP's daughter? I would think that the kids successful in math at UMCP would be really outstanding in math, it is a top ranked program. DS barely survived in an average math program at a major university and that was with high school math beyond calculus bc and a nearly perfect math SAT.

+1 I would not choose a major university if you want to be a math major

Anonymous wrote:UMD has a good math program.

For a good, but not high level female math student like OP's daughter? I would think that the kids successful in math at UMCP would be really outstanding in math, it is a top ranked program. DS barely survived in an average math program at a major university and that was with high school math beyond calculus bc and a nearly perfect math SAT.

UMD has a good math program.

Anonymous wrote:OP back again, and I appreciate the feedback. I'd be open to hearing about LACs that are good for math as well.

In terms of future jobs, I'm not entirely sure, and I'm not sure that she's entirely sure. I would guess something along the lines of data scientist or statistician.

I was a math major at Washington and Lee. I'm a white female from this area.

The accessibility of the professors when I had a question was outstanding. The instruction was top flight quality. I agree that even coming from APs, it was an adjustment but a doable one. I was excellently prepared for graduate school in math.

A lot is said about the culture there, but a math major would be in a bubble, escaping all of the drama. The one professor who is a problem is restricted to teaching non-math majors and is being pushed towards emeritus status. It's like being in a simple world where all you have to do is learn math, distraction-free, with other smart people who also love math, some of whom are students and some of whom are professors. Some of my favorite memories are from studying linear algebra in Chavis Hall.

The women's colleges would be small. OP looking for mid-to-large.

Also have a sophomore looking at Math/CS major. He will finish Calc C this year and take Linear Algebra and Multi Variable junior and senior year. He hasn't taken the SAT, but regularly scores high 700 to 800 on math section.

He is looking at small/medium schools. His safety is UMD, in-state. Reaches are Williams, Harvard, Rice, Brown and Princeton. Looking into Case Western and St. Olaf for matches. Also interested in Hamilton and possible Swarthmore. Princeton has the best math department but he probably has very little chance.

What level math is your daughter currently studying and would she consider a woman's college?

MD does actually have a strong math dept. Echoing other poster.....avoid student loan debt at all costs. Save real math training for grad school. Undergrad should be focused on getting the best grades possible while avoiding student loan debt as much as possible. Make sure your kid also double majors or at least minors in computer science or finance. Math combo with those is a great knockout 1-2 punch for excellent high paying careers. Penn State and Rutgers also have strong math. Berkeley of course.

- math major

Anonymous wrote:Rochester Institute of Technology?

Would she consider an all-women's college? I wonder if Barnard, Wellesley or Bryn Mawr would be a good fit.

Another idea is to look at Hampshire/Mt. Holyoke/ Smith. They are all small lacs on the 5-college consortium.

Good call for R.I.T. -- many tech companies in S.V. Recruit heavily from there

Anonymous wrote:I work at JMU and the math department is very good at undergrad math education. 20K students and average HS GPA 3.5. Classes are small because the math department focuses on teaching and not research. Research is often chosen to be accessible to undergrads and done with undergraduate students as part of the process.

This is nice to hear. My DS wants to major in applied math or statistics and has JMU on his list. He likes big public universities in a college town setting. So also considering VT, U Del, Purdue, Indiana. I think he should also look at smaller schools but he won't consider them, that's not what college looks like to him. But, he's the kind of kid who will probably thrive in a big school.

Anonymous wrote:Following for insights. My kid is already in college but wants to double with math major. She realized she likes her mathy classes a lot. She got good grades but was not in the top courses (no calc). She’s wondering if it’s worth the try. I feel like no one ever says what level of student you have to be to be “good enough” to attempt majoring in math, engineering, or CS (Small LAC with small classes)

For engineering or CS, your student needs to be able to tolerate math. S/he need not love math but needs to tolerate it. Of the two people in my family in CS, one said he was 4 courses shy of being a math major in taking required math courses for his CS major; and the other was just 1 course shy of a math major.

I work at JMU and the math department is very good at undergrad math education. 20K students and average HS GPA 3.5. Classes are small because the math department focuses on teaching and not research. Research is often chosen to be accessible to undergrads and done with undergraduate students as part of the process.

UChicago

Rochester Institute of Technology?

Would she consider an all-women's college? I wonder if Barnard, Wellesley or Bryn Mawr would be a good fit.

Another idea is to look at Hampshire/Mt. Holyoke/ Smith. They are all small lacs on the 5-college consortium.

Case Western