<p>Can anyone share any insights on the physics or math departments at Harvard? My D is a very strong student in these areas but she is also pretty well-rounded and would want to participate in varsity sports and music if possible. First, how does anyone find either of these departments? Secondly, do you have to have devoted your life to physics and would that be the expectation while at Harvard as well? She has not participated in summer research or gone to summer science programs, for example, as she was competing in summer tournaments. I saw a thread about this on the Princeton site where they said that a singular devotion to your subject was completely expected while at Princeton. Thank you</p>
<p>Although these describe garduate programs, this is a good indication of the education one could receive at the institution.</p>
<p>[Rankings</a> - Math - Graduate Schools - Education - US News and World Report](<a href=“http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-mathematics-programs/rankings]Rankings”>http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-mathematics-programs/rankings)</p>
<p>[Rankings</a> - Physics - Graduate Schools - Education - US News and World Report](<a href=“http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-physics-schools/rankings]Rankings”>http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-physics-schools/rankings)</p>
<p>Also, Harvard has the best record at the prestigious Lowell Putnam math competition for undergraduates.</p>
<p>[William</a> Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Lowell_Putnam_Mathematical_Competition]William”>William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition - Wikipedia)</p>
<p>Harvard is among the top three math undergrad math deptmartments in the world (the others are Trinity College, Cambridge and Princeton). I don’t think that technically that the math deptartment can really “force” you into devoting all of your time to then. Although it should be noted that there are many people you choose to go to Harvard each year because they want to devote nearly all of their time and energy to mathematics and all of it’s beauty (see Math 55 for details.)</p>
<p>I am very similar to your D. Maths and Physics will be my major but am a sportsman and musician as well. Also want to do some philosophy/history. The point of my post?</p>
<p>BUMP THIS THREAD! I am interested</p>
<p>Math and Physics are difficult majors at any university. Harvard is one of the more difficult universities out there. Majoring in Math or Physics at Harvard, therefore, will be one of the more difficult undergraduate paths for anybody. They simply require more intellectual firepower and time than other subjects. It certainly is possible to be a top Math major with major EC’s and a social life, though it would probably be very difficult even by Harvard standards.</p>
<p>One interesting thing about Harvard is that it has almost the same number of Applied Math majors as it has Math majors. It seems to have about 50 Math majors per class and 40 Applied Math majors. That’s in contrast to another strong math college, the University of Chicago, that has about 100 Math majors and 3 Applied Math majors per class. (Chicago’s classes are 20% smaller than Harvard’s, but it’s also easier to double-major at Chicago, so the numbers of majors are probably about comparable).</p>
<p>Harvard is one of the handful of colleges where honest-to-god math prodigies congregate. I think it’s possible to be someone who would be THE superstar math student at many colleges, and to feel intimidated by one’s classmates and middle-of-the-road at Harvard. Positives and negatives.</p>
<p>Physics (which includes biophysics) is a comparatively small major at Harvard – only about 20 students/class. That’s surprising given Harvard’s history and reputation in Physics. There must be some story there.</p>
<p>I should add that practically no one at Harvard limits him- or herself to studying. The more common problem is the opposite one – so much involvement in extracurriculars that academics get slighted a little.</p>
<p>I was floored to learn that the violinist Ryu Goto (brother of Midori and a star in his own right) is a Physics major. </p>
<p>I, too, don’t know why there are not more Physics majors.</p>
<p>^ Lack of available jobs?</p>
<p>I should imagine that the Physics and Math programs are pretty savage, much like every single program at Harvard.</p>
<p>Savage is a pretty interesting diction choice. I would get beastly. But savage scares me.</p>
<p>I didn’t like savage either, to be honest, but I had already written it and couldn’t be troubled to go back that many spaces to change it.</p>
<p>My son is a math concentrator. As a freshman he took Math 55a & b (very challenging!) and has taken three math courses this year as a sophomore. He has had some amazing professors as well as some not so interesting. Still, he is excited by his future studies in math at Harvard. Before college, he was torn between UChicago and Harvard, but ended up opting for Harvard as the financial aid package was much more attractive. He is very glad now that he chose Harvard. </p>
<p>I will say that he works very hard. However, he has managed to have a social life and take part in extracurricular activities. My S does not have a singular devotion to math and even toyed with the idea of a double concentration–math and linguistics–before deciding to concentrate solely in math. However, he continues to take linguistics courses.</p>
<p>To learn more about the math department at Harvard, go to harvard.edu website and search in the College’s academic departments.</p>
<p>My daughter graduated from Harvard a couple of years ago with a degree in Physics. It was a lot of work but I wouldn’t call it savage. She still seemed to engage in plenty of ECs a long the way. Nothing stops the ECs at Harvard.</p>
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<p>Indeed. I was amazed at the EC my S chose to be involved in! He learned a ton of stuff, though I’m not sure how much will be of any use. But he had fun and got to know people who did not care about psets.:)</p>
<p>1) There are actually a bit more than 20 physics majors a year: from [url=<a href=“http://webdocs.registrar.fas.harvard.edu/ugrad_handbook/current/chapter3/physics.html]Physics[/url”>http://webdocs.registrar.fas.harvard.edu/ugrad_handbook/current/chapter3/physics.html]Physics[/url</a>]
it seem there are about 26 just in physics, another 8-9 in “physics and related field”, and a few more in “related field and physics”- not sure if we should count those or not. Still even 34 isn’t a lot given Harvard’s strength in the area.</p>
<p>2) Harvard has a great “advanced mechanics” class for freshman, Physics 16, taught by Howard Georgi, who comes to weekly problem sessions,</p>
<p>3) I would really discourage a varsity athlete from doing Math 55- it’s hard to do well at sports if you are up until 6 AM once a week! But even math majors don’t have to take this class, and there are alternatives that do rigorous proofs and still allow students to explore other interests.</p>
<p>Although it’s just the opinion of one person, a physics professor I talked to told me that Harvard’s undergraduate physics program wasn’t the best (He was not trying to lead me to his own school either; he actually told me to avoid his school).</p>
<p>Anyway, the small number of physics majors is a positive thing in my opinion! It equates to smaller class sizes and less competition for research. :)</p>
<p>To really get the most out of being a math major at Harvard, you need to come in ready to take 23 (at least) or 25 (more common) your freshman year. It is possible to major in math, having started with 21, or even 1a/1b, but you’ll only be able to access a fraction of the course offerings.</p>
<p>Applied math is more forgiving – you could take 23 or 25, but it’s not a proof-based concentration, so 21 or applied 21 is fine. Applied math (and all the stats you take) is also more relevant for students who want to go off and work for a hedge fund or be a quant.</p>
<p>Physics is a bit similar to math – I don’t think you’d want to be a physics concentrator unless you took 15 or 16 your freshman year, and those are pretty beastly classes, as has been mentioned.</p>
<p>There’s this distinction that you realize at Harvard (or earlier!) between being “normal smart” at math and “freaking smart” - and it becomes really evident as the topics become more abstract and more proof based. I was always very good at math (took AP calc in 8th grade + such), but dabbled a bit at Harvard and quickly realized I didn’t have the math brain that I needed to be an awesome math or physics concentrator.</p>
<p>just<em>forget</em>me, did you take math 25 at Harvard?</p>
<p>just<em>forget</em>me: You took AP Calc in 8th grade and struggled with math at Harvard?! I’m a senior and just managed an A- in math first semester at another Ivy League university that I won’t name… Obviously I would die. Oh well. Perhaps its best that I’m going to be rejected anyway (though I am planning to major in physics, not math).</p>
<p>I’m interested to hear that Harvard physics is not highly regarded. I won’t be accepted so I won’t have to make a choice, but it will hopefully make me feel better about being rejected =P</p>
<p>^Not at all. Harvard has one of the top physics programs in the world as well. It’s up with MIT, Caltech, etc.</p>