<p>My S is relatively doing good in Math and likes to study it. He has no concrete image of his future career but considers Economics as an alternative major versus Math. He wants to apply to colleges with high level Math courses available.
I am telling him to apply to colleges where he may study Math and think about switching to Economics when he wants or where he may major Liberal Arts and Science with good Math courses.
Is there any recommendation of colleges where LAS major and good Math courses are available?
His scores are like: SAT Math 790, CR 670, W 690, Subject Math II 800, US History 770
He has participated in AIME but could not reach to USMO.</p>
<p>Both math and economics majors – with plenty of high-level courses – are available essentially everywhere and are usually located in the liberal arts college within a university (or in a liberal arts college itself), where many other majors are also available. In most instances, students applying to liberal arts programs need only suggest some possible majors that might interest them; they don’t have to make a commitment when they enter, and they can easily switch later. </p>
<p>So you two have no conflict.</p>
<p>Many math majors minor in a second field in which math is used, or there may be a concentration within the math major that includes courses in the second field. Economics is one of the most appropriate second fields because it is both math-heavy and practical. </p>
<p>People who like math have an abundance of choices. Within my own family, here are three: 1. My husband majored in math, emphasizing pure, theoretical math, went on to get a Ph.D. in math, and took his skills to the defense contracting industry, where he has had a satisfying career. 2. My son majored in computer science, a field that involves a great deal of math, and is now in a graduate program in computer science, working toward a Ph.D. I think he is likely headed for a career in academia. 3. My daughter is currently an economics major in college – another major that involves a lot of math. She is aiming toward a career in finance or government service and will probably work for a few years after she graduates before going on for a master’s degree in either business administration or public policy. She has no interest in a Ph.D.</p>
<p>I, myself, don’t like math much. I think I’m in the wrong family.</p>
<p>Because the majors that interest your son are readily available, I think he can pretty much select colleges on other bases – cost, location, size, academic reputation, etc. It’s hard to think of a college or university where he couldn’t pursue his interests – except perhaps for a purely technical school, where an economics major might not be available.</p>
<p>I agree with Marian on all points. It isn’t difficult to find math departments that cover all the bases, primarily because so many other majors require math courses that even schools without a lot of math undergraduate majors maintain large departments. The same is true of economics.</p>
<p>My husband is an econ. professor, and he recommends that students interested in pursuing economics past undergrad. double major or minor in math. Some graduate students have majored in math, rather than economics.</p>
<p>My son is a double major in computer science and math. As Marian stated, math is a good accompaniment for many other fields.</p>
<p>Math, econ? Makes me think U. of Chicago - but Marian is right there are hundreds of colleges that have good math and econ. One word of warning - I know a number of kids who were pretty good at math, who discovered that college math is orders of magnitude more challenging. Not to scare him away from a math major, just be prepared if he’s one of those kids who hits a wall in math.</p>
<p>Any college will have math/math related majors readily available.</p>
<p>It is worth mentioning that many students who “like math” in HS (do well in math competitions, including AIME, etc.) do not end up liking high level college math nearly as much, and switch to Econ, CS, etc.</p>
<p>Thank you, everyone!
In my case, I majored Liberal Arts and Science in Japan (there were only two colleges where LAS can be majored in my generation in Japan). I intensively studied Math in the program but became aware that I am not a Math genius:)
mathmom, yes, I was one of those kids, too!
So I chose a research job at a financial institution and study econ by myself. Since econometric research requires good knowledge and application ability of Math, I think I was able to utilize my Math skill to the job and to my self study. I am still working as an economist and managing research teams for the same company.
I know my S is not a Math genius (Sheee!) and he will have to consider which profession would be most suitable for him. He is interested in economics but also in environmental engineering, etc. That’s why I want to suggest him to think about majoring LAS. I think he has a lot of options and it’s better for him to close the doors to many options by himself.</p>
<p>I studied math and statistics as an undergrad and got a PhD in statistics. But, as an undergrad and a grad student, I studied a lot of psychology, economics and a bit of political science. I began my career as a professor at a business school, where I began by teaching decision analysis. Because I knew a reasonable amount of math, I taught myself finance theory and advanced game theory. Later, I left teaching, worked on Wall Street for 5 years and got to learn finance in practice (as opposed to theory) and also taught myself basic accounting. My work now draws on decision analysis, game theory, cognitive and social psychology, my finance background, an understanding of organizations, and occasionally even statistics. Like yours, my experience suggests that a strong grounding in math makes it easier to learn other fields. However, it is useful to pick one or two other fields to develop some expertise in.</p>
<p>Most people are not math geniuses. [That includes me, for sure]. A colleague/friend of mine was an undergrad at MIT and majored in math and realized that while he was really good in math (e.g., 2 or 3 standard deviations out in Math IQ), there were some people who ere 5, 6, 7 standard deviations out. In math, those are the only people who are likely to make major contributions. [That is different from many other fields, but in math, pure brilliance is necessary if you want to be great.] He graduated, got a PhD in mathematical sociology, and now teaches at a business school. But, pretty much all liberal arts college will have math and other fields. Research universities will have math and some, like Harvard and Brown, have applied math. Dartmouth has a major called Mathematics and Social Science. </p>
<p>In the US, there typically aren’t majors in LAS. But, my friend’s daughter majored in applied math and economics at Harvard. A major in math and a minor in something else might not be uncommon. [The Harvard grad now works in a hedge fund modeling fixed income securities.] Incidentally, the most unusual dual major I heard was a young woman who was majoring in math and black studies at Amherst. And, it turns out that she went back and was studying some African text (I think, can’t recall) where understanding mathematics helped one decipher the text.</p>
<p>Students with talent in math should at least consider biostatistics and epidemiology. These are excellent fields for math lovers and are often overlooked. Competent biostatisticians who can communicate well are in very high demand, never lacking for a job. Applied fields. Especially good for people who love h.s. math and the first two years of college math. </p>
<p>At least consider these. :)</p>
<p>I should have written “it’s better for him <em>not</em> to close the doors to many options by himself”.
I agree with shawbridge that “in math, pure brilliance is necessary if you want to be great”. When I had to decide which career to take, half of my 6 math course friends went to master courses of other different areas, one took a teaching position in HS, another and I went to financial institutions. I was interested in Economics and took the courses available and studied Input/Output analysis by my self. It’s an application of linear algebra. That led me to financial world.
From my experience, I tend to think it would be beneficial for my S to explore other subjects other than Math in college even if he majors Math. Yes, there are so many things to try out in college.</p>
<p>This is a great thread for me. As I help my junior D look for colleges, my freshman D and I have begun talking about her possible college choices. She is good in math and really likes it, but as a humanities type, I have been at a loss to suggest majors and careers for someone who likes math. So far all I have suggested is engineering and architecture (and I don’t even know about that…but it seems like it would appeal to her precise nature)</p>
<p>I know a math kid who had trouble deciding what to do for a career with it. He thought teaching (didn’t like it), engineer (took some classes and didn’t like it). He finally decided to become an actuary after shadowing a friend of a friend of a friend. I think that someday he would like to get an advanced degree and teach at the college level. But with wife and kids, he’s found being an actuary a good way to make a living.</p>
<p>Some CC person referenced the Sloan Cornerstone website that I found really interesting. Take a look.</p>
<p>[Sloan</a> Career Cornerstone Center: Careers in Science, Technology, Engineering, Math & Healthcare](<a href=“http://www.careercornerstone.org/mathematics/mathematics.htm]Sloan”>Career Cornerstone Center: Careers in Science, Technology, Engineering, Math and Medicine)</p>
<p>GC: Just so you know…there is virtually no math in architecture and it will not typically appeal to anyone with a “precise nature”.</p>
<p>Currently S2, a hs junior, has plans to major in both math and psychology, but has no targeted career plans either. From Shawbridge’s post above, this sounds like an interesting combination, although H & I thought it weird when S2 first proposed it.</p>
<p>My S might minor music. He is a violinist and dedicated to his orchestra. Good college orchestra or community orchestra opportunity is his another MUST.
I often talked to other parents whose children do music about their academic achievement. Most of them do Math well and very often best among other subjects. My guess is that Math and Music are somehow related. I assume that Math is one kind of Arts in nature.</p>
<p>archiemom is right, while it’s somewhat helpful to be good at math in architecture, I’ve never had to use anything more advanced than trig. Calculus is necessary to *understand *engineering, but in real life you either size structural elements by tables or get your engineer to do the math.</p>
<p>while our S is on the brilliant level in math, he is surprising me with his willingness (at his own suggestion) to double major in pure math and computer sciences (emphasis on Artificial Intelligence) At least that is his plan at this point and he seems to understand that it could (and should) all be in flux for a bit.
Keeping options open is an excellent plan, but you’re lucky in that many schools have fine math departments
- but do your research. A few small LACs which were good “personality” fits in feel and size and where S was offered significant scholarships, he ultimately turned down after visiting and studying what they offered in math.
But basically, I would say your S has good test scores and if his GPA matches he will have a ton of excellent choices</p>
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<p>This may sound odd, but a student who is interested in music but does not intend to major in it may find the best opportunities for musical performance in a college or university that does NOT have a professional-level music major. (Most colleges have a music major in their liberal arts college, but this is not the same thing. It’s far less intense than the type of music major pursued by people who are planning a career in music.)</p>
<p>In universities that do not have professional-level music majors, skillful musicians who are majoring in other fields are warmly welcomed into the college’s orchestras and other ensembles. Without those students, there wouldn’t be any ensembles! On the other hand, in universities that do have professional music majors, the musical ensembles may be dominated by students from the music department, with little room for anyone else.</p>
<p>My daughter, who plays a wind instrument at a fairly high level (she qualified for all-state twice in high school) attends a university that has no professional-level music major and has only about two dozen students in its liberal arts music major. She has been made to feel very welcome in the college’s wind ensembles and has enjoyed performing with one of the groups very much. She also took an academic course in the music department last semester, and perhaps she will again.</p>
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<p>This is absolutely true. My S is also going to minor in vocal performance and ended up turning down several colleges with excellent music departments <em>because</em> opportunity would have been severely limited since he was not “in the major”</p>
<p>He chose a technical college and they have a surprisingly good music department who is eager to have him.</p>
<p>Many thx, Marian and #teorymom,
How can I screen colleges and Us with or without professional level Music dept.? Is there any good resources for this purpose?
My S considered applying to music conservatory until 3 years ago when he was rejected by the pre-college program of “J”. Naturally, he becomes concentrated in his school musical events and his Youth orchestra. He no longer talks about becoming a professional musician but enhanced his interest in composing, etc. I have no problem with his decision. It’s his life and I know being professional musician is unimaginably tough. But I would support him if he still would like to apply to conservatory.
I discussed with son bout possible double major or joint study program but he clearly refused. Now I came to the idea how he thinks his interest in music. So I see it a very good idea for us to screen Colleges without professional level music dept.</p>
<p>That particular technical college serenaded us with WAY too many acapella music groups at the admitted students day! ;)</p>