<p>Alright, here goes: I'm a senior in a top 20 University majoring in mathematics and minoring in physics. During the first two years, I was battling a illness and it resulted in a fairly dismal performance leading to a 3.0 GPA. However, my junior and senior year have been flawless, I've taken the maximum number of credits and have straight A's in all of them. Of my classes taken my last two years, all the math classes have been graduate, my overall GPA stands at a 3.6 and my math GPA at 3.7 and physics at 4.0 . I scored a 1590/1600 on my GRE and 91%(percentile) on the math GRE ( happy face =) ). I have 3 NSF funded REU's under my belt, one of which was under a Nobel Laureate(mathematical modeling with an atmospheric scientist) and two under renowned mathematicians who are very keen on giving me letters of recommendations! On top of this I have around 5 awards from the university on academic performance and research, 2 publications, presented 10 talks around the country in conferences, selected to 4 summer programs for mathematics research, worked on 3 research projects apart from the REU's( during my sophomore, junior and senior year) during the academic year and produced very substantial results with them. I know an illness isn't a good excuse for my bad performance my first two years but I would like to know what you guys think of my chances at PhD programs. I consider applying to 3-4 top 10 programs, 2 programs 10-20 and 2 programs outside the top 25. I am also considering applying to masters programs before applying to PhD programs if I'm not going to get in. Any comments are appreciated!</p>
<p>I’m not a mathematician or anything, but I don’t think your grades in your first two years will matter much.</p>
<p>Also, I don’t know what school you go to, but here pretty much anything above a 3.0 for mathematics is considered solid. And 3.5+ is stellar.</p>
<p>I’m no expert, especially when it comes to math, but I’m pretty sure your plans for what kinds of schools to apply to are fine.</p>
<p>If math PhD programs are like any of the other science PhD programs, your credentials look pretty good, I’d expect you to get into a couple of those top programs.</p>
<p>Have you taken any grad classes? I hear that has a little more importance in math than in other fields.</p>
<p>Oh, if you read my thread closely I mention that I’ve taken 12 grad classes! All my classes junior and senior year were grad.</p>
<p>I would be surprised if you didn’t gain admission to some very good schools. The straight A’s in grad classes in your last two years should compensate for the less outstanding performance in your first two years. Be certain to include in your application an explanation mentioning the illness in your first two years. Are you taking a year off now?</p>
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<p>Sorry, my reading comprehension is not that great! Or rather, I just missed that part. It seems like there are really no major flaws or shortcomings here - if you get good recs and put some time into your personal statements, I would be shocked if you didn’t get into some very good schools.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the responses. I’d appreciate more comments!</p>
<p>If your LORs are guaranteed strong, I’d apply to more Top 10 programs in whichever math discipline you want. You’ve taken graduate courses to (more than) compensate for your 3.0 your first two years. If you hadn’t taken graduate courses, your early-on GPA would possibly raise some eyebrows, but you’ve definitely showed that you can handle coursework and the first two years were a fluke.</p>
<p>Also, I doubled in Econ/Math, and a lot of my friends who did go on to fairly reputable Math Ph.D. programs (Top 25) didn’t have nearly as extensive a research background as you. Some didn’t have any at all, and just had stellar grades in graduate courses and still got into a Top 20.</p>
<p>Start drafting your SOPs for each school now, identify potential advisors at the respective schools you’re applying to, and start telling your referees to begin preparing your letters of rec.</p>
<p>Thanks! I’d like more advice!</p>
<p>You’re obviously a lying troller. Advice: get a life.</p>
<p>Why would I be that?</p>
<p>In all honesty, you do kind of sound like you are fishing for compliments. I know that the process brings a lot of uncertainty, but I fail to see why a senior at a top 20 school with a 3.6 GPA, three REUs including one with a Nobel laureate, 2 publications, 10 conference presentations and 5 research awards would be nervous about applying to PhD programs. However, I guess everyone has their worries.</p>
<p>Incredible stats if real</p>
<p>^^ Best username on the boards.</p>