<p>I take math classes at JHU right now. Its hard like i cant begin to describe. The people who are math majors love it and look forward to the problems and discuss them in depth. People who arent struggle for hours upon hours with 1 hw. not to say that those that who love it dont have trouble, they do. After freshman yr of college, numbers go away, you need to understand a topic not plug and chug. if your a human calc and dont care about why stuff works- dont bother with math, go into engineering. If the answer is kind of important but not as much as understnading how theory and logic behind it works math may be for you. math is prob one of the top 5 hardest majors</p>
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[quote]
One of the strikes against Harvard for my S was hearing from a math prof elsewhere that, more than other colleges, Harvard is known for a "star system" in math, giving attention to the very best of the best.
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I have heard this about Harvard also, and about Princeton, from math profs. The irony here is that the only students to whom these departments give attention are students who would succeed in math even if they did not have this attention. I think that the dearth of American mathematicians, scientists, and engineers that popular news mags are always whining about is due in large part to this ludicrous misapplication of resources.</p>
<p>Ok guys, let's say I have taken up to calc. II and I have yet to be even challenged. I am listed as a Math major and I will stick with it until it becomes too hard I suppose. Or should I take your word for it and switch to something like economics?? The way you guys have described the upper level classes, like analysis and others, does not really appeal to me. I am more interested in say the applied aspect. So should I switch my major now??</p>
<p>It totally depends on the school. My comments were solely about Princeton; some schools have great, friendly math departments who offer loads of courses with an applied focus. I don't know where you go to school, but it sounds like you are doing more than fine there, so no need to worry. In my experience the kind of harshness I was talking about exhibits itself early and often, so if you're not experiencing it I doubt your school has a big problem with it :) Don't worry, just major in math and have fun!</p>
<p>Well this thread is pretty informative but it is also scary.</p>
<p>People are either born for mathematics or they are not. It is either in there genes or it is not to grasp something such as abstract mathematics.</p>
<p>Well I'm not majoring in mathematics but rather applied mathematics so I am not so scared.</p>
<p>Does anyone know just how different applied mathematics is from mathematics? I know it's supposed to be much easier.</p>
<p>Wegmanstuna, if you're more interested in the applied aspect, then you should definitely change your major as soon as possible, depending on your school. Pure mathematics and applied mathematics require very, very different kinds of skills. If you want a better idea of what pure mathematics is like, I'd look at some of the purer math contests--e.g. USAMTS (usamts.org) and look at their problems. That's a fairly good idea of the kind of thought process needed for math majors, from what I understand.</p>
<p>What goes better along with a CS major, applied math or pure math?</p>
<p>What is the difference between applied math and physics?? I'm not so sure my school offers applied math, but they do have physics</p>
<p>Acere, honestly it depends what KIND of a CS major. There's applied CS and pure CS, and each goes best with its math counterpart. Applied CS is much more strictly programming, becoming adept at fast algorithm development and programming. Pure CS is largely theoretical, dealing with computability and complexity theory, and goes hand in hand with pure mathematics. However, many applied math people go on into relatively pure CS, so I wouldn't discard applied math out of hand.</p>
<p>Wegman, applied math is considerably more general than physics, dealing with mathematics as applied to a number of disciplines. Physics deals with, well, physics, extending through all sorts of physical interactions. I can't give you much more detail than that, though. Applied math and physics, I'd guess, require the same kinds of interests.</p>
<p>Does anyone have any experience with UChicago's math department? I know it is of excellent quality, but I am interested in the quality of teaching, approachability of the professors, etc. Also, the thought of taking Analysis sophomore year is somewhat intimidating.</p>
<p>Weasel, when I visited Chicago, I was stunned by just how amazingly interactive the professors were. Mind, that was mostly based on one Analysis class...mind, I'm working with the mindset that taking Analysis freshman year is wonderfully fun.</p>
<p>Sorry to bring up an old thread, but I have a related question.</p>
<p>I've always been decent at high school level math; I'm lucky, in that it's more the kind where we don't really see very many numbers, and proofs and math team-ish problems are emphasized. I really like this kind of math, and I'm thinking of pursuing math in college. Right now I'm in a math research class, hoping to submit an Intel paper based on stuff I've been working on. My idea of fun includes working through Apostol's Calculus while in precal, because class can get really boring.</p>
<p>The thing is, I don't hold a candle, mathematically, to most of the people in my research class and other math-y people I know. The number of crazy math geniuses at my school (diffeq in 10th grade, USAMO qualifiers, math team stars etc) is great in terms of stretching/growth/learning, but sometimes makes me wonder if a person of more average ability in math and strong-but-not-singular interest in the subject could reasonably pursue it. I do well on standardized math tests (800s SAT math/Math IIC), but I know that doesn't mean anything, and my AMC12 scores are crap (80s-low 90s or so, don't qualify for the AIME). I don't have the problem solving training that a lot of my peers have (i.e., I'm not on math team, and didn't come into high school with as strong a math background), but I think with more exposure I could get better at that sort of process.</p>
<p>Anyway, thanks for reading, any thoughts are appreciated.</p>
<p>dang... diffq in 10th grade. Thats just amazing. I had some work with diffq's last year (when I was in 11) and didn't find it too bad, but not a full class or anything. I don't even know how you could structure your classes to allow diffq in 10th grade (multivar in 9th, calc in 8??)</p>
<p>anyways, I can;t really answer your question but I'd like to hear more about your class. Sounds like you have a great opportunity to do a lot of things in high school that most don't get (sounds like you go to TJ). Take advantage of it! I wish I had a class like that I could take. And btw, join the math team and see how you like it!</p>
<p>bagpiper,
What you are doing is the work of math majors in college. Once you get past the computation requirements, being a math major is all about proofs and research. If you love it, go for it. My son has always been strong in math, but came "late" to the idea of being a math major. (Late being a realtive thing when you're talking abiut a 16 yo junior.) He's not a USAMO-or IMO-er. You don't need to be.</p>
<p>If you are looking for proof-based fun, consider a summer math programs. HCSSiM and PROMYS are particularly good in this regard, though everyone has their favorites. They require an application and a test of mathematical reasoning, so you might want to look up their websites sooner rather than later so you have time to do the tests, etc.</p>
<p>i'm surprised no one has talked about the difficulty of abstract algebra.</p>
<p>drunner, some people consider AA more fun than hard... ;)</p>
<p>I was considering becoming a math major until I met this thread. :p I will have finished Multivariable Calculus and\or Linear Algebra by the summer (I'm in 9th Grade). Does anyone have any advice for me?</p>
<p>W00T! Folklore, here I come! :D</p>
<p>how the heck did you pull that off???</p>
<p>Magic? :D /<em>comment</em>/</p>
<p>Make sure you don't burn out. Take a year off or something because you'll have to repeat some courses in college, and it would be pointless to take the same course twice. I would shift my emphasis to USAMO qualification and other precalculus topics.</p>