selecting colleges as a math major, click here as any help is appreciated!

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hi everybody,</p>

<p>I am a rising senior about to apply for colleges. My junior year grades, SAT scores, ECs, etc. are as follows. </p>

<p>AP Calculus BC: A, A
AP Biology: A, A
AP US History: B, B
Mythology: B,A
Spanish 4: A,A
Photography: A,A</p>

<p>SAT 1: 760 CR 800 Math 750 Writing
SAT 2: 800 Biology 780 US History 800 Math 2</p>

<p>AP Scores: Calculus BC- 5, Biology - 5, US History - 5, Computer Science - 5, Chinese - 5</p>

<p>Extracurriculars:
Mock Trial - First year witness, team made it to semifinals, 4 nominations for my role as witness.
Cross country
Private tutoring for a freshman in Alg 2/Trig
Working at a local swim school- 11 hrs. a week for half the school year.</p>

<p>This summer I took a Linear Algebra course at a community college (got an A) and did a 6 week internship, working on a project at a biology lab in a state college. The reason why I bring up my junior year situation is because this is the year everything clicked, and I began to enjoy school and challenge myself in all aspects. I want to major in Math in college. I've heard that it is very different from high school math, but I think I'll enjoy it. </p>

<p>So here are my questions, or where I need help.
1) I was never a dedicated student before this year, regretably, so my total GPA is 3.6 or so un-weighted. I recognize that I can't attend top tier schools with such a low GPA, but I'm looking for mid-level schools with a solid math department where I can really grow intellectually. I would love suggestions for any such schools you guys think I can get into.</p>

<p>2) Schools that I am considering right now are: UC Irvine, UC Davis, UI Urbana Champaign, Tufts, Carnegie Mellon, UT Austin. I would appreciate feedback about my chances for getting into these schools, as the requirements for some schools seem rather high for my profile.</p>

<p>3) Which colleges, if any, will appreciate the fact that I really matured during junior year and got my act together? My senior year schedule is as follows: </p>

<p>AP Stats
Humanities
Physics Honors
AP Gov/ AP Econ
Journalism
(Calculus D at community college)</p>

<p>I think I'll do well, and if so my grades will definitely exhibit an upward trend. </p>

<p>If there's anything else you need to know about my profile, just ask. I'm sure there's some relevant information that I left out.</p>

2

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<p>What about costs?
Can you afford the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) required to attend those schools?</p>

<p><a href=“https://npc.collegeboard.org/student/app/tufts[/url]”>Net Price Calculator;

3

<p>One math major (now a grad student in math) who is well informed on this issue, is b@r!um. Try sending her a PM and see if she can give you some suggestions.</p>

<p>Wishing you all the best!</p>

4

<p>What state are you in?</p>

5

<p>Thank you all for replying and reminding me of some key things to put up:</p>

<p>I’m from California, which is why applying to the UCs is a big deal, and from an upper middle class family. My financial situation is secure enough to apply for these colleges. Also, I come from a competitive public school in the Silicon Valley area. </p>

<p>To happymomof1: I’ll definitely pm b@r!um, thanks :).</p>

6

<p>Some of the larger schools, especially publics, admit by the numbers. Your numbers are very good.</p>

<p>Others do read entire applications and review them holistically.</p>

<p>Smaller liberal arts colleges are likely to pay more attention to you as a person.</p>

<p>Almost every school has a math department and can provide a major for you. You need to choose other criteria (size, location, cost, availability of activities or special academic opportunities).</p>

7

<p>Most of the UCs should be on your application list.</p>

<p>Note that private or out of state public schools can cost up to $60,000 per year (versus $30,000 to $35,000 per year at in state UC). If your family finances make it difficult to get need-based aid, but also difficult to afford list price at the higher ranges, you may need to check costs carefully.</p>

<p>Lower list price non-UC schools that have good reputations in math include Minnesota and Stony Brook.</p>

<p>You may want to browse course catalogs to see what each college’s math offerings are like. Note that taking just linear algebra may cause you to have to repeat it if you go to a semester system school with only a combined linear algebra and differential equations course, so you may want to consider taking differential equations sometime before entering college if that is a concern.</p>

<p>Liberal arts colleges are primarily advantageous for getting small interactive faculty led courses at all undergraduate levels, including freshman and sophomore level courses. However, you will likely be skipping most of those courses in math, so the advantage of attending a liberal arts college would be less for you than for many other students. Junior and senior level math courses (which emphasize proofs, derivations, and theory, as opposed to computation and application) do tend to be small faculty led courses everywhere, and tend to be more frequently offered in larger schools (e.g. every semester instead of once per year or two years). Research universities also offer graduate level courses and graduate level research opportunities that advanced undergraduates can do.</p>

8

<p>The other thing you may want to ask yourself is what related subjects you are interested in, possibly for the purpose of taking elective courses and looking at career paths (other than the obvious one of going to graduate school and doing math research). At graduation, math majors often go to (reasonably well paid) jobs in finance/economics/statistics or computer software, so taking elective courses in these subjects may be helpful.</p>