<p>I was wondering if anyone who got into a top graduate school for mathematics could post his/her stats. Thanks!</p>
<p>are there any websites that have peoples' stats for math grad schools?</p>
<p>There aren't really such websites. And depending on your definition of "top" graduate programs, I may or may not be able to provide you with some statistics.</p>
<p>If you don't mind, id love to see some.. Thanks :)</p>
<p>Here's my basic statistics:</p>
<p>*3.881 GPA
*3.918 Math GPA
*77th %ile on the GRE Math Subject Test
*800 M, 570 V, 5.0A on the GRE General Test
*Five graduate courses in mathematics (A, A, A-, in progress, and in progress)
*Two research experiences (one very mediocre one at NYU and an NSF REU)
*Three assumingly well-written rec. letters (one from a pretty well known prof, one from a post doc who can write like an English major, and one from a summer research mentor)
*A fairly well written (I'm guessing) statement of purpose (yes, I've been told by some schools that those are very important)
*Junior Mathematics Award at NYU (basically top 2 of each year in math get it)
*Job experience in both tutoring and question writing for standardized tests
*Graduated in three years (don't know if this was a plus or a minus, but I figured I might as well throw that in)</p>
<p>Accepted: Brown, Rutgers New Brunswick, SUNY Stony Brook, and UCLA
Rejected: Columbia, Harvard, MIT
Withdrawn: CUNY Graduate Center, Lehigh, UCSD</p>
<p>I'm very happy with how well I did. A bit disappointed I didn't get into Columbia, as that was at one point my top choice, but I visited Brown and absolutely fell in love with it, so I'm very excited. I withdrew some of the applications after I got my first acceptance because they were either safeties or in places I'd prefer not to live compared to my first acceptance. I'm assuming I would have been accepted to at least two out of three of them, but I guess we'll never know.</p>
<p>Some of the things I think really helped were that I had a good research experience (and a good letter from it), and letters of recommendations from two professors with whom I had taken graduate courses (as well as undergraduate courses in the past, so they knew me very well). Everything just seemed to fit together. So although you're looking for stats, sometimes the most important things are those that you can't put numbers on.</p>
<p>As far as the GRE Math Subject Test, I can give you friends' results and where they're at:</p>
<p>29th %ile is at McGill (also had no research experience, but they did well)
40-something %ile is at Duke
79%ile is probably going to Penn State
60-something%ile is probably going to Indiana</p>
<p>So really, people with low scores are going to places around as good as people with high scores (some better, some worse). Just an example of how little importance is placed on it. The graduate program director at Stony Brook even told us that they didn't really put much weight at all on the subject test (and instead put much, much more weight on the letters of rec and statements of purpose). So I wouldn't really put much weight on these stats. The key to getting into a good grad school is to do well in hard math classes, get great letters of rec, put effort into your statement of purpose, and don't have any really bad things show up on your transcript (i.e. a D in Abstract Algebra or something). Oh, and try your best to do some research!</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice! Just curious, I'm starting at Rice this fall... should I look for research opportunities right away or wait until im a sophomore/junior?</p>
<p>You usually can't do REU's until after you have completed your sophomore year.</p>
<p>I graduated in only three years, so I had two summers to do research. The first summer I did NYU's Summer Undergraduate Research Program (which was not prestigious at all - just a way to get a bit of experience). Then the second I did an NSF REU. You'd have a hard time finding anything big after freshman year, so just try and find something that you'll enjoy. Then for the summers after your sophomore and junior years, try to do REUs or similar experiences. This is, of course, assuming you have some interest in research. You should be doing these more for the experience and to find out whether or not you like research than to build a resume.</p>
<p>im doing reu at penn state in 3 weeks.I just completed my freshman year.But i'm a student at penn state so that might be the only reason i got it.</p>
<p>emengee- why, in your opinion, were you rejected from MIT.You got an 800 on the math GRE. And even though you got a 570 on the verbal section, i would think they wouldn't really regard that.Do you think your score on the verbal section hurt you.I'm not really good with words on standardized tests(words that aren't conventionally used).</p>
<p>caa5042: The short answer is that my research interests weren't very well represented at MIT (basically there was one professor that would have likely been a good fit, and they had already admitted a much more qualified student who would likely work with him). The long answer is as follows:</p>
<p>Graduate admissions are much, much, much more complex than undergraduate admissions. Compared to the importance of SAT scores in the undergraduate admissions process (which are quite important in many schools because they provide a way to compare students at thousands and thousands of high schools), standardized test scores in the graduate admissions process are not very important, if at all. Additionally, the GRE general test in mathematics should be extremely easy for a mathematics major because he or she is competing against many students who haven't done any math since high school. For a math major to score below the high 700s is almost embarassing.</p>
<p>The applicant pool of graduating mathematics students wanting to enter doctoral programs consists of the best of the best. Everyone will have high mathematics GRE general test scores, so a high score won't stick out. They don't care very much about verbal scores, so a high score won't even be considered any different from a mediocre (or even low) score. Everyone will have math GPAs close to 4.0, so having a 3.9 GPA is not going to make you stand out amongst the hundreds of other applicants with 3.8 and above.</p>
<p>So what will make a student stand out in this process? Four things. The first is original research. Doing an honors thesis looks okay, attending an REU looks good, and publishing a paper looks great. The second is a good set of letters of recommendations. Not everyone has letters from prominent mathematicians raving about how their students will be the next Gauss. The third is a well-written statement of purpose. Although some people would dispute this with me, I have spoken with graduate directors who have said that there is a very clear distinction in statements of purpose between students who are driven and know what they want to do and students who seem less ambitious. And lastly, graduate coursework. I was told by a graduate director at one of the schools to which I was accepted that they generally do not admit students without some sort of graduate coursework.</p>
<p>At first glance it might seem arbitrary that these four things are the most important in graduate admissions; however, what they have in common is their ability to predict a student's ability to succeed in earning a PhD. The difference between what it takes to be a great undergraduate matematics student and what it takes to get a PhD is the ability to do original research. Many students can study hard enough to do well on the GREs and earn good grades in school, but the talents required to create new mathematics cannot be measured by any standardized test or curriculum. Therefore the admissions committees look to see if the student has already done some sort of original or quasi-original research. They ask the student's professors (through letters of recommendation) if the student will be capable of original research. They look at the statement of purpose to see if the student understands the rigors of graduate school and to see if the student is ready (and excited) to jump into it. And although graduate coursework is not as big of a predictor as to whether or not a student is capable of original research, it certainly shows that the student can handle the heavy workload required of a graduate student.</p>
<p>It may seem unfair that undergraduate students are expected to perform original research and take a few graduate courses before the graduate. It certainly wasn't like this decades ago, and one has to wonder where we'll be at in a decade or two. Will students have to have publications and two years of graduate coursework before they will be considered for PhD programs? Who knows. But the point of the matter is that it there are so many competitive candidates out there that unless something changes, it's going to be harder and harder to get into a doctoral program in the future.</p>
<p>Thanks a lot, that was a great post. And, emengee, did you get a fellowship/TA-ship, and do you have any advice on getting these?</p>
<p>lol...capable of doing original research? thats kinda intimidating.In your opinion, does one naturally develop this ability as he/she progresses through college and takes all the tough math courses?Or is it something inherent? I'm good at solving math problems but i'm not sure if i can handle math proofs and stuff.And i guess i'll never know if i can because i only have to take 4 math courses for my major(chemical engineering).But i've always been interested in math. I dunno...i just think its a good way to enhance one's problem solving skills(one who aspires to be an engineer for instance).I would double major if i could but im not sure if i'd be able to handle that.</p>
<p>how do you compare your ability to 'think like like a mathematician' at the beginning of your undergrad career to your ability after you completed all the math courses?</p>
<p>That's one thing that makes me skeptical about the degree im pursuing.I really like chem, math and physics and do really well in them...but i dont know if the engineering courses are really going to prepare me for the challenges i'll face as an engineer.</p>
<p>I'm going to Brown next year with funding. The first year is a fellowship, and the following years are TA-ships by default, although there are some competitive fellowships and RA-ships one can get. There's so much funding out there for math graduate students that it's really not worth going to school if you don't get funding (the exception out there is really rich people, but who cares about them).</p>
<p>As far as advice for getting funding, just do the best you can while you're in school. Get a research experience or two in if possible, take a few graduate courses (and do well in them, of course), and get to know some professors so they can write you good letters. The same advice for getting into grad school goes for getting funding, since 99% of the time (with math at least) they go hand-in-hand.</p>
<p>Just out of curiosity, what kinds of researches did you do?</p>
<p>I did a small research project during the summer of 2004, and I attended an REU in the summer of 2005 (for which my group has written a paper that is currently being refereed, and for which I gave a talk at the Joint Math Meetings). By saying you should do some research, I don't mean you should solve one of the Clay Math Millennium problems - I mean you should work with a professor over the summer or attend an REU, if at all possible. I guess Harvard, MIT, and other similar top schools might want more research experience, but I'm not familiar enough with their admissions to really know.</p>
<p>emengee-how did your REU go?every aspect of the program.how was your group, what kind of 'work' did you do? etc.details will be appreciated...Im doing an REU in two weeks.</p>
<p>So, I don't have time to give you too many details, as I'm at a friend's house and will be on vacation very soon. So I'll give you what I can now:</p>
<p>My REU was a blast. There were eight students in three research groups, and we all got along fabulously. We worked in our groups during the day, we all had lunch together, and we hung out in the evenings (movies, bowling, rock climbing, working on presentations and whatnot, etc.). Then on the weekends we did other things (hiking, trip to NYC, etc.). It was a great experience socially, and the research went well too. My group solved two of the three problems we were considering, and the other groups did well too. We currently have a paper being refereed, so hopefully it will be accepted and that will turn out well. Who knows.</p>
<p>The thing is, REU experiences can be great or they can be awful. It depends on how prepared the professors are both for the research and for the social aspects. Some people have a great research experience and a terrible social experience, or vice versa. We were lucky enough to get both. My best suggestion to you is to make good friends with everyone quickly, as it will make the summer much more fun.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>yeah..fortunately i'll be staying with a couple of the REU students in an apartment.How often did you guys give presentations?-and how big was the audience?</p>
<p>We had presentations every two weeks or so, to the other students and professors. Then in the end we went to another REU to present to them (and they presented to us), and we had final presentations which involved a few representatives from the college, as well as some other guests. The biggest presentations were when we went to the Joint Math Meetings, but those only had about 30 people in the audience. Undergrads generally don't bring in the crowds ;)</p>