Math Majors at ND

Hi all. I’m curious about what math majors think of how hard math at ND is. I was accepted REA, and pre approved for Mendoza. What does the math major entail? How challenging is it? How many hours a day do its students study? What about double majoring finance and mathematics?

D is a freshman who will double major in Math and Poly Sci. Depending upon how many AP credits you are coming in with double majoring in Finance and Math may be quite doable. Studying, regardless of where you go or what you major in, will be different in college than HS. D killed herself in HS taking 5 or 6 AP’s senior year and staying up until at least midnight if not 2 AM and crashing on weekends. Notre Dame is challenging but not as tough as HS

Thanks! Unfortunately I will only have credit for MacroEconomics, US History, and English. I didn’t score high enough on the BC Calc test to place out. Do you think this is still doable?

Hi Chicagoan819,

I’m going to be an Honors Math major with a minor in Actuarial Science. I’m currently a freshman, but I’ve declared these two to be my major and minor already. My high school had no AP or IB courses, so I can’t say that I had a lot of prerequisites finished coming in. However, I still have enough space in my schedule to finish everything, and I’ll have to take around 4-5 classes a semester, which isn’t too bad, but also not the best (by the end of Senior year, some business majors just take 3 classes). It’s definitely doable.

Also, the way you’re doing it is probably the best way to approach a math major. If you just make it your second major, you don’t have to take Chemistry, Physics, and language courses because of your primary business major - this might not sound like a big deal now, but it’s a lifesaver in the future. I have to take these classes, and they’re absolutely awful.

Are you taking the normal math major or the honors major? If you’re not sure, I can tell you more about the honors track,which is mainly intended for students considering grad school.

Hi, and thank you for the response. I currently plan on majoring in Finance, while also doing the supplementary major in Applied and Computational Mathematics and Statistics. Do you know anything about this? You think it’ll be overly tough?

No, I think you should be fine. I honestly think the biggest challenge for most freshmen studying Math are the Physics and Chemistry classes. If you’re in business you should do well, and I personally think your combo works really well. I have a lot of friends in ACMS that don’t regret their decision and are doing fairly well. Your hardest class will probably be Econ (I’m assuming you’re good at Math because you’re interested in it). Also, try to get an easy seminar if you can. I recommend the Economics Seminar with Leahy. Not too stressful and pretty enlightening. In terms of your required science, my business major friend took Microbes and Man and got an A with little effort (just some regular studying). If you do that and don’t get screwed over by your Writing and Rhetoric Professor or you Seminar, your freshman year will be pretty decent, all things considered. Just don’t party too hard and you’ll do great!

Sounds good. Can’t wait till August!

I realize this thread is a couple weeks old, but thought someone on here might have an opinion on a combination my S is exploring. He’s pre-admittted to Mendoza and is considering a major in IT Management (concentration in Business Analytics) with a supplementary ACMS major.

Just a little about him that may help: A full IB kid very involved in HS leadership for clubs like DECA and MUN, and a good presenter. He’s not a coder (yet) but super smart in math – Calc BC as a junior, scored 35C and 36M on ACT. His ultimate educational goal is MS in Data Science.

What do you think of that major selection and combination?