Hello, this is my first discussion here! Nice to meet you.
I am an international student from South Korea and I’m supposed to start studying Mathematics & Computer Science at University of Oxford in U.K. from this year.
But, since a few months ago, I’ve been very interested in the economics with the strong base in mathematics; kind of quantitative humanities. I once luckily encountered MIT Opencourseware so that I could watch a few videos on the economics(e.g. intro to microeconomics, econometrics) and I realized that MIT is the real place where I can study what I want! I was also very impressed by the fact that so many economists, including Paul Samuelson, started to introduce mathematics into economics at MIT.
So, after a few weeks of more learning about MIT from websites, I try to find what it is like to transfer to MIT.
I think I’ll try my best at Oxford to get the first class(maybe grade A in American system GPA?) at all math subjects; get a leader position in societies regarding economics and finance; get recommendation letters from professors with alma mater at MIT; take part in some sports like running marathon which I’ve kept doing since my high school.
Finally, the thing I want to ask here is what you recommend doing in addition to what I listed above to be successful for transfer. Please suggest any opinion and I’ll really appreciate that.
P.s. about my high school experience, I think it was not that bad except my bad GPA
And I apologize for my bad english if you couldn’t understand any words above.
Do you plan on transferring after first year? As you are studying Maths and CS you will have Prelims in first year, which means that the only possible grades will be Distinction, Pass or Fail, there is nothing like a First in Prelims. Also, I believe that you will only get an overall classification, not seperate grades in different subjects. (Not entirely sure about that though, I’m also only a Maths fresher.) Exams will take place at the end of Trinity so you won’t even have grades when you apply. (Apart from collections in January)
Also, about recommendations, you will most likely have to ask the tutors conducting your tutorials for one. You could look up if there is someone from MIT at your college (but I think that would be a great coincidence as there are most likely at most 10 Maths and CS tutors at one college)
Are you sure you have thought this through well? You haven’t even started studying yet and I’m sure you have worked hard for your app and Maths and CS in general. Maybe you will realise that you enjoy it way more than you expected once you start your degree. It’s only four more weeks after all…
Sorry, I can’t help you with the rest, I don’t have experience with the US system, just wanted to point these things out.
Wow! Thanks for your detailed reply. I didn’t know much about the grades system in oxford, so maybe I’ve never learned that I won’t have any grades to submit when applying for transfer to other college. Thanks for that point.
When it comes to the professor with MIT bachelor’s degree, I found one in Mathematical institute website and if I can, I’d like to visit him and discuss what MIT courses are like. Then, maybe I’ll be able to determine whether I’ll apply or not!
By the way, do you enjoy your maths courses there? Do you think of the courses challenging enough for you?
You and @Nyctea will be starting at the same time, so s/he won’t know about how the courses are yet! and even then, whether the modules are challenging for Nyctea won’t tell you anything about whether they are challenging for you.
You should have your collection results from January in time for the mid-February application deadline. You will need to have 3 recommendations and all test results by then.
Are you aware that you must submit your high school transcript and standardized test scores? As a non-native english speaker you have your choice of submitting SAT / ACT or TOEFL plus a Math subject test and 1 of Physics, Chem or Bio subject tests. That is required no matter what country / school system you are coming from.
Fyi, be aware that it is recommended that transfer applicants take “a variety of mathematics and science courses before applying” and that it “is rare that an applicant is admitted without calculus and physics at the college level.”
Obviously you do not have that option, and they review on a case-by-case basis, but just so you know what is typical.
@collegemom3717 I wasn’t sure if we would get actual grades for collections, thanks a lot for that info! (I have a scholarship and need to report my progress around February. I was worried about that but if we get grades for collections it’s not a problem anymore. )
@alphaclass Sorry that I can’t be more helpful, I hope you have a great year anyway! Does your college start with M by any chance, if you don’t mind me asking? There are very few colleges that take multiple M&CS students each year, mine is one of them. It would be funny if we ended up at the same college.
Actually, I have applied for some American colleges last year, so I think I have decent ACT/TOEFL/SAT Subject(Math2/Chem/Physics)/AP scores as an international student.
And I’m still worried that oxford only provides the specific course for the specific major so that I can’t take any bio or chem course, but case-by-case evaluation comforts me a little bit.
@Nyctea haha, my college starts with E actually and I feel sorry that we won’t study mathematics in the same college. But I think we may see each other in some math classes!
Well, I guess that would have been too much of a coincidence. I hope you enjoy the rest of your summer holidays! I’m looking so much forward to October!
