<p>surely there’s quite a bit of redundancy at CMC, too, @nostalgicwisdom, and in general if you have a student already doing some upper-level college math courses s/he should at least consider going to an LAC adjacent to a university with a good graduate math department. This is one exception to my “it’s only undergrad, don’t get your knickers in a knot about which school you attend” rule.</p>
<p>OP, email the head of the departments and they will tell you exactly how many students get in where and the rates. A nice professional inquiry right to the source is the way to go. In the letter, you can even give a quick preview of your grad plans. </p>
<p>And wherever you go, discuss your plans day 1 with your advisor because many top grad schools, just like employers, look for specific things from specific feeder schools and your advisor can guide you right from the start how to prepare the best app from your school.</p>
<p>Make sure that you apply to more than just Mudd and Williams: both are highly selective and it is possible that you might not get into either of them.</p>
<p>If you want another couple schools of roughly the same caliber academically, consider the aforementioned Carleton and Amherst.</p>
<p>I’d also add Grinnell and Reed.</p>
<p>Macalester, St. Olaf you could consider matches.</p>
<p>Choose a true safety and you’d have a nice list of apps.</p>
<p>prezbucky gives good advice above.</p>
<p>@prezbucky
At the risk of sounding elitist, I’m not sure Grinnell and Reed would be reaches and Macalester and St. Olaf would be matches. Do I have the wrong definitions of reach and match? My ACT, for instance, is 6-9 points above the average for these schools.</p>
<p>@Sesquipedalian4 my D1 had similar stats to you (fewer APs) and was waitlisted at Reed. Stats only count 25% for admissions at Reed per another poster I trust on this info. </p>
<p>“I like being regularly intellectually challenged by my peers”</p>
<p>Intellectual challenges do not have to come from other math majors, but it is nice to have enough math peers around you. Here is a list of the numbers of those who graduate with a math major in the colleges mentioned by others in this thread:</p>
<p>Williams: 7% (35/526)
Swarthmore: 4% (15/381)
Pomona: 8% (31/380)
Harvey Mudd: 10% (19/189)
Carleton: 6% (32/496)
Grinnell: 4% (13/334)
St. Olaf 4% (31/726)
Reed: 4% (13/333)
Oberlin: 2% (13/720)</p>
<p>MIT: 6% (64/1042)
Cal Tech: 13% (32/256)
U of Chicago: 8% (107/1278)
Harvard: 6% (117/1803)
Princeton: 3% (37/1271)</p>
<p>(Based on the data from College Navigator: <a href=“College Navigator - National Center for Education Statistics”>http://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/</a>)</p>
<p>I know one US Math Olympic team member (for 4 years) went to Harvard and another is going to MIT. Those with extraordinary math achievements tend to choose the top research universities for obvious reasons. Some of those who major math in a top LAC may be inspired by the professors at the LAC. Research opportunities are plenty in LACs and faculty support is strong. If you are the tip-top math student, an elite research university with wider course offering may suit you better.</p>
<p>@Sesquipedalian4 , I think that the low acceptance rates and extremely high academic reputations of Grinnell and Reed prevent them from being safeties for anyone. </p>
<p>Mac is a top-25 LAC and St. Olaf is top-50. They might be low matches, but no way are they safeties.</p>
<p>I think of the levels like this:</p>
<p>High Reach: 0-5% chance of getting in
Reach: 5-15%
Low Reach: 15-25%
High Match: 25-40%
Match: 40-60%
Low Match: 60-99(ish…)%
Safety: 100%</p>
<p>Typical safeties are non-flagship state schools outside of California and mid-to-low-tier privates.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>But how many of the upper division courses (numbered >= 100) are offered on a regular basis? Many of the courses in the list do not show any offerings for the year.</p>
<p>What do you plan on doing after undergrad, do you want to get a PhD or master’s?</p>
<p>Some things to keep in mind at lacs high -level math courses are often not readily available. Exceptions are for very rich / research-oriented lacs like Williams, Swarthmore, Amherst etc.</p>
<p>Lafayette may be worth looking into, research is more prevalent there compared to peer lacs. I know Lawrence University in WI has a good physics program, but I am not sure on the math.</p>
<p>LACs widely vary in the types of atmospheres they provide. You can get a great education at many lacs that will prepare you for graduate school if that is your goal. Have you considered research universities that have a similar vibe or feeling as a LAC? University of Rochester has a more intellectual environment and is a good school for the sciences and related fields. UChicago, Caltech are to name a few yet they are pretty darn selective.</p>
<p>I also love Grinnell and Reed. Intellectually driven and lack the greek scene. The former is in a very rural area though, if that’s your cup of tea.</p>
<p>TBH math is such a widespread degree you almost can’t go wrong.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Another thing to ask about is the nature and extent of undergraduate research activity. A thesis requirement may be a good sign. Here’s a list of math thesis topics at Reed:
<a href=“http://academic.reed.edu/math/theses.html”>http://academic.reed.edu/math/theses.html</a>
See if you can find similar lists reflecting student research interests at other schools.</p>
<p>Fit is also a factor in admissions at LACs. With a small student body, they need to find students who will fit in – who understand and appreciate the prevailing culture. Who really want to be there. Who will contribute their talents, skills and life experience to the campus community. </p>
<p>This is where extracurriculars and backgound are significant, as demonstrated by your recommendations, resumes and essays, especially the “Why College X?” essay. Demonstrated interest such as visits also help. The value of fit is abstract and hard to quantify but for sure being a good fit will increase your chances and a bad fit the opposite.</p>
<p>@jkeil911
I’m surprised no one has mentioned Wesleyan. It’s the only major coed LAC with its own graduate program in Math:
<a href=“Courses Regularly Offered, Mathematics and Computer Science - Wesleyan University”>http://www.wesleyan.edu/mathcs/graduate/regular_courses.html</a></p>
<p>I wouldn’t worry so much about absolute numbers or divide by the number of undergrads. I would ask instead what portion of Math majors go on to do graduate research.</p>