Major in Applied Mathematics.
I need reasons as well.
Don’t know Bard, but can tell you Macalester is urban, in a nice part of Saint Paul, steps away from ethnic restaurants and little shops. Diverse looking----I was most impressed with this; all shades and hues of people, all kinds of hairstyles and clothing. Macalester is outward looking, engaged in the world and the community, as opposed to being so purely intellectual and navel gazing. It is a compact campus with a brand new student rec center. Strong in the social sciences.
People are Minnesota nice, truly nice. If you are coming from somewhere far away, this would be good and help you make friends and fit in. When we visited, there were kids out on the lawn everywhere, so the place felt very lively.
I don’t know which you should choose, but I can tell you what the main differences between them are. Macalester is urban and very centrally located, whereas Bard is pretty secluded and in the middle of nowhere. Both are pretty liberal, but Bard has a reputation for being super alternative and artsy. It probably gets colder in the twin cities than it does in the Hudson valley. I think Macalester has slightly more prestige than Bard, but I have no idea how they compare in Applied Mathematics.
Macalester has a much more traditional atmosphere. Is that what you’re looking for?
And in terms of my major?
I don’t think either one is ideal for applied math. Edge probably goes to Mac but not by a whole lot.
They’re very different schools but both have solid academics. Which college did you like better when/if you visited?
International student.
I assume you’re looking at these schools because they offer financial support to international students. Bard has the Distinguished Scientist Award as well, which is open to international students.
Bard is rural - but within a train ride to NYC. And it is at least 15% international. But it is an isolated campus in the Hudson Valley as opposed to Macalester which is in a city.
The math department at Bard is small. I know a couple of students who majored in math and were very happy with the professors. Some have gone on the grad school, another went right into programming. But specifically for Applied Math versus theoretical - I have no idea if it would meet your needs. It’s not an engineering school - although a 3/2 program is offered with Columbia Engineering. I recommend that you write to the chair of the math program and tell him about yourself and what you’re looking for in a program. The professors at Bard are terrific and I’m positive you’ll hear back.
@SpiritManager Thank You
D had a semester with Math professor who was visiting from Bard that she said was the best math teacher she had ever had. The value of that anecdote to you? 0
The non-math differences between the two are almost certainly more important for you than the math department ones (especially as I am sure that you have already looked up the bios of the math professors online, read the departmental pages on their websites, and looked at the course catalogues for class offerings). If you haven’t seen a deciding difference in those places, take a look at the overall college environment: we all do our best work when we are happy in our environment.