Math Major

<p>Hi,</p>

<p>I'm currently a senior in high school and i am already set for a top university. I have realized that I am most interested in studying math as my major because I am genuinely interested in it. However, I received B's in my BC calc class and a 4 on the AP exam. I know i could've done better. I have been a straight A math student up till calc and had a lot of motivational/family issues my junior year that prevented me from excelling in the class. </p>

<p>Nevertheless, I am still hesitant in pursuing a math major because i have heard it is one of the most difficult ones out there. So my question is, at what point would I know if i can handle a math major(classes taken, etc)? I know my interest is there. But college math is different and I don't want to fail out. </p>

<p>Much appreciated,
Thanks</p>

<p>Just start the math major sequence and see how it goes. The first two years of a math major are also extremely useful for other quantitative majors (physics, computer science, economics, engineering, etc) so you are not likely to “waste” time on math courses even if you were to change your major.</p>

<p>When do you know that a math major is for you? Once you have had your first “real” rigorous math class. That could be honors calculus or linear algebra or real analysis, depending on the college you end up in. (Intro to proofs doesn’t count though.) </p>

<p>I personally don’t think that math is a hard major; it’s just not a major that most people would find interesting because the questions that math majors care about are too abstract. If you wonder why the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus is true (why should derivatives and integrals be in any way related?!?) or how to find the most efficient way of solving a Rubic’s cube or how to tell if a knot can be untangled, then math is for you. </p>

<p>Or since you just came out of Calc BC: mathematicians are super anal about making sure that their sequences really do converge. Applied people just assume that everything works out nicely and go their merry way. </p>

<p>Math majors tend to care about math as an end in itself. If you care about math as a tool for other purposes, I would encourage you to explore quantitative majors in addition to math.</p>

<p>If you can get through Calculus I, Calculus II and Linear Algebra, then you can be at least an applied math major. I will admit it now, but I got a ‘C’ in my “real analysis-lite” course called (at my school) Advanced Calculus. I did not have a real interest in the course other than satisfying the requirement. Since I was a Computational Math major (read: Math/CS hybrid degree), I was more into combinatorics, graph theory, numerical analysis and numerical linear algebra.</p>

<p>I guess what I am trying to say is that doing well in the first 3 or 4 math courses and having an interest in another math area is enough to be an applied math major.</p>