<p>Which LACs can offer me the best possible mathematics education? I want a well-rounded education, but I eventually want to go to grad school. I have stats that would make me competitive anywhere. So far I am considering Carleton and Reed (as well as U of Chicago). I have been told to consider Swarthmore, Grinnell and Williams.</p>
<p>I want a balanced student body with plenty of math and science majors, research opportunities. I am fairly accelerated in math, so running out of classes could be a concern in a LAC.</p>
<p>I agree with all those choices. Also, you bring up a very good point, but keep in mind that there are people at liberal arts schools who are accelerated in math; it's not necessarily a rarity. You should get a copy of the course catalogs for the schools you're looking into, and see what math courses they offer. I'm sure that there will be enough math classes for you at all of these schools. I think that I will take Honors Linear Algebra when I start in the fall, but I looked at the course catalog and found that there are enough courses for me for all four years. The course catalogs can also be found on the college websites.</p>
<p>I was a math and computer science major at Holy Cross and found it a very challenging curriculum. It enabled me to get a job at Microsoft in Seattle.</p>
<p>I wouldn't worry about running out of classes. Most LACs will have all the classes you'll need, even if you are accelerated. The only concern might be that if you want to do graduate-level classes, you won't have the option to do that absent some cross-registration agreement with a university. (Amherst would have this through the 5 College Consortium, as I imagine Pomona would through the Claremont Consortium as well as Swarthmore with UPenn.) That's something to research or ask about at info sessions if you think you might want to pursue graduate level classes while an undergraduate.</p>
<p>The "catalog" may list classes that are very rarely offered. Look at the current course schedule, and the course schedule from last semester and next semester, to see what classes are actually being offered currently.</p>
<p>I don't know if the OP going to run out of classes at any of the schools he mentioned above. Even if he has only gone through multivariate calculus and linear algebra (typical for the kids who do BC calc as juniors - our HS has a couple like this every year), the possibility of running out of math classes is a real risk at a small LAC's or LAC's with small math programs.</p>
<p>Graduate classes at Penn provide nice options for Swarthmore and Haverford math majors.</p>
<p>I guess I might not "run out" of classes, but what I was trying to say is that I might not be able to take as many classes that interest me. I took Calc BC as a freshman (had to petition the school board), and I am currently a sophomore. I will graduate a year early, so I will have three years of college math under my belt when I enter as a freshman.</p>
<p>I am looking for courses that are truly challenging, and I am definitely open to retaking courses if they will challenge me. (The community college math courses aren't very rigorous.)</p>
<p>I am going to rephrase my question: What are some LACs that I should look into that will have challenging math courses (the kind of stuff that makes you think--not just 'straight out of the book') and a group of kids who love (and are ridiculously good at good at) math?</p>
<p>The LAC's mentioned above have challenging math courses, and of course learning stuff like linear algebra and analysis and topology will make you think!</p>
<p>Check out Wesleyan--we actually have a small grad program in math, which allows for slightly more options than at some other LACs. Maybe that will help.</p>
<p>Whoever's been offering you advice has been offering sound advice. Your list is certainly not random but rather carefully thought out. </p>
<p>Carleton, Reed, Swarthmore, Grinnell, Williams all will offer strong math programs supported by good depth in the sciences.</p>
<p>I'd second consideration of Wesleyan and Pomona. In the latter case, Mudd is obviously next door offering strong support. Certainly if you'd consider a small tech school, Mudd and Caltech should independently both be on your list as well.</p>
<p>As an addendum, in general I'd be careful looking at promoted cross-enrollment opportunities offered by many schools. The reality is often far removed from the hype (the Claremonts are a clear exception). Talk to students if you visit to get a sense of numbers participating. They are usually quite small - and usually so for good reason.</p>
<p>St. Olaf is not a highly "Christian" environment such that a non-Christian would be uncomfortable. I venture to say that you might not even notice you are at a Christian college. Visit and see. (I like St. Olaf)</p>
<p>One other thing the original poster may want to consider is whether his/her interests and career goals in math run towards more theoretical mathematics or applied mathematics. This may be a consideration particularly with liberal arts colleges where there is not as large a faculty as at a university. As a result, some liberal arts colleges (not all) tend to focus their math department more on one or the other. While you'll likely find course offerings in both areas at most schools, the depth (i.e., advanced course availability) in one area is sometimes deeper in one area over the other in a small department such as is typical with LACs. So, I'd encourage the poster to think about his/her interests and goals, and ask questions of the departments of any colleges being considered. For some background on the differences, and what it might mean to future study in mathematics, see: [Mathematicians[/url</a>]</p>
<p>I am not sure what kind of mathematics I want to study. I am leaning towards theoretical as of now, but I think it is too early to tell. I like all math, but I have always enjoyed the more "visual" topics the most. For example, I enjoyed vector calculus more than differential equations and I liked geometry more than algebra. To me this sounds like I would be more interested in theoretical math, but I am not familiar with the differences. I enjoy proofs. When I took the courses, differential equations seemed more "applied" than vector calc (although I remember some electricity and magnetism applications).</p>
<p>In short, I am not familiar with any mathematics beyond the lower-division courses (through linear algebra with an introduction to proofs) I have taken. I don't know what I will specialize in later, but my hunch is theoretical math. I want to go to a school that offers both, however.</p>
<p>Running out of courses is a legitimate issue at small LACs. However, the flip side of the coin is that the top LACs are structured to encourage "directed study" (which is a private tutorial course with you and a professor) or seminar study (prof and a few students) that often pick an advanced topic of interest, such as a new research paper in the field. These can obviously be very advanced. For example, Swarthmore's entire Honors Program is designed around special double-credit seminars in these kinds of topics. Honors designations and grades are based on a week of oral and written exams given by a panel of outside visiting experts in your three areas of preparation. I have never heard of Swarthmore Honors Program students feeling insufficiently challenged. Here's a link to the Math Honors program along with some sample written Honors exams if you want to test your meddle:</p>
<p>Your best bet, if you are a student with atypical preparation in a field, is to sit down with the chairman of the math dept at each school you are considering and hear how a program can be tailored to meet your needs.</p>