Getting a PhD in Mathematics

Graduate School
1

<p>Hi there!</p>

<p>I'm currently a rising junior, and I am a math major at a school in the University of Texas system. </p>

<p>I want to attend a more prestigious school for graduate school; I am originally from WA state and attend a UT school on a full academic scholarship. </p>

<p>I am wondering what types of activities I should most actively seek to get involved in to up my chances. </p>

<p>I don't have a lot of experience doing math-related activities, but I am interning this summer doing math research. I will take the P1 actuarial test next fall as well as Putnam, and I am currently studying for my general GRE.
I have a 3.94 GPA, 3.97 major GPA, and I am in the honors college here. I'm taking abstract algebra next semester, and I am going to apply for Budapest Semesters in Math for next summer, along with several other undergrad research programs (Lafayette, Brown, some others). </p>

<p>I am a white female, and I am an officer for our math club and work in our math lab as a tutor. </p>

<p>I am going to apply to MIT, which I know is a long-shot; I want to know how to strengthen my resume. I am a musician, as well, and an athlete, but I know that a lot of getting into grad school has to do with research ability. I worked in a chem lab my freshman year and am published as 3rd author on that. I changed majors last semester and the highest level math I've taken is Number Theory. I also know Java and a bit of C++. </p>

<p>Does anyone have any suggestions as to how to improve my resume, or perhaps good programs to look at?</p>

<p>Thank you!</p>

2

<p>Research, research, and research. Your GPA is good and I suspect your GRE will be fine. You need letters of reference from faculty who know you well. Your plan for the summer is a good one. See if you can continue doing research in the Fall. Secondarily, you can take more advanced Math courses, possibly even graduate courses if you are able to. These will prepare you for what you will be doing in graduate school.</p>

<p>Certainly you should apply to MIT but do a little homework and find other universities which have the sub-field that you want to study and which are maybe not as selective. The key to a successful graduate program is your advisor. If you find an excellent one as a lesser known university, it will still be OK.</p>

3

<p>BSM is good, my daughter did it. One prof at her grad school remarked that it is a good program. You can take advanced math classes there, but it is not a research program. You might be better with research. I dint’t know they had a summer session either.</p>

4

<p>They actually do offer credited research over the summer, according to the website!</p>

<p>Thanks for your replies so far. :slight_smile: How should I go about finding more research opportunities at my home institution? My internship is for an accounting company. </p>

5

<p>Talk to faculty members and ask. Most professors are happy to mentor undergraduates. Your school might also have an office of undergraduate research to help students find opportunities.</p>