<p>hi!</p>
<p>can anyone compare math on eu univs and us liberal arts college? im talking about major</p>
<p>Well, it obviously depends on the university; Cambridge and Imperial (and Oxford) are among, if not the, best universities when it comes to mathematics. I am not an aspiring mathematician, but I can imagine German universities would have strong programs too, probably other countries too…</p>
<p>If I recall correctly, Princeton and Cambridge have the best maths departments in the world. (Probably also Harvard, MIT etc, but yeah). I can’t tell you anything about the LACs I am afraid. </p>
<p>It also depends if you only want to do maths (Europe) or want a more diverse curriculum (US). I can imagine a lot of diehard mathematicians only want to emerge themselves in maths, in that case, Cambridge is ideal.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>I took a couple of math classes at a German university and I am now a math major at Bryn Mawr/Haverford/Penn. I can tell you a bit about my experience.</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Organization of the major: math majors at German universities are required to take several classes in pure and applied math, as well as classes in an allied field (e.g. computer science or economics). Math majors in the US get much more flexibility when it comes to choosing what classes they want to take. I also found that the material is presented in a different order, but you probably don’t care too much about that.</p></li>
<li><p>Rigor: Math at Haverford and Penn is taught with about the same rigor as math at my former German university, while Bryn Mawr is teaching a “liberal arts” version of the subject. I have heard a general sentiment that many liberal arts colleges in the US water the major down quite a bit to make it more accessible.</p></li>
<li><p>Opportunities: I found that there is much more interaction between professors and undergraduate students in the US than in Europe. Undergraduate students in the US are frequently involved in the research projects of their professors, which happens rather rarely in Europe. The US also has a lot of undergraduate programs (summer research programs, conferences, short summer classes, etc) that simply don’t exist in Europe.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>I come from Central Europe and I will get into our math department. not many ppl go there coz its considered to be one of the most difficult schools in country. the drill is that first 3 years u have purely math (with a few optional subjects, but no minors or anything similar) and fir master u choose among, financial, theoretical, applied, statistics and math&programming. </p>
<p>considering liberal arts, i applied to connecticut college, bowdoin and brandeis (my top 3 choices in the usa). conn’s department looks nice with many opportunites for resesrch while bowdoin doesnt have many opportunities. </p>
<p>if i get back home after college im not sure whether i could enroll masters in math due to lack of subjects, etc. is it possible to enroll some of top grad schools in math in the states after graduating from a liberal arts college?</p>
<p>20% of Fields medal’s recipients are alumni of Ecole Normale Superieure in Paris.</p>
<p>thank you.
does anyone else know anything about liberal arts math?</p>
<p>If you are serious about math, I would generally advise against a liberal arts setting. The math departments at most liberal arts colleges are too small to offer much in terms of classes. Do you really want to be bound to take the one math elective course that’s offered that semester, regardless of what that course might be? Or do you want a choice between several classes in different areas of math? </p>
<p>Another thing to think about are graduate classes. Most math majors who are planning to go to strong graduate programs in math take several graduate classes as an undergraduate student. That’s because serious math majors run out of undergraduate math classes pretty quickly. For example:</p>
<p>Year 1: Linear Algebra and Multivariable Calculus
Year 2: Real Analysis 1-2, Abstract Algebra 1-2
Year 3: Topology, PDEs, Complex Analysis, Number Theory
Year 4: ???</p>
<p>And that’s assuming that you would only take 1-2 math classes each semester! My friends with graduate school plans are averaging 2-3 math classes per semester. Think about what you would do at a liberal arts college when you run out of classes to take halfway through your junior year. Would you be happy to take classes in other departments in your senior year?</p>
<p>Talking about the specific schools you applied to, the math departments at Brandeis and Bowdoin are much stronger than the department at Connecticut College. Connecticut College offers barely any upper-level electives, and even has abstract algebra and real analysis (the two core sequences in math) on a two-year rotation - that’s a really bad sign!</p>
<p>I would not rely on the college websites to determine how involved students are in research. Some colleges are advertising their student research much more heavily than others. Instead, I would contact the departments directly. Ask them how many students in recent years have been involved in research, how willing professors are to work with students during the semester, and if there is any funding for students to do research over the summer. Overall, math is a very cheap subject for student research. You don’t need lab equipment or pay volunteers. All it really takes is a professor who is willing to invest some time into you, and you can rarely measure that from a college website.</p>
<p>Thanks a lot for your extensive reply!
I thought of taking Math and Eco majors and then taking financial mathematics at grad school. Im not even sure whether it exists in the States. Barum do you think I can go to masters in math in Europe after liberal arts math?</p>