<p>I'm considering going to UW if I'm not accepted into my first choices (MIT and CalTech) because it's instate and I'm not worried about getting accepted. My question is: does UW offer a quality undergraduate mathematics program? Going into my freshman year of college I will have single and multi variable calculus, abstract linear algebra, ordinary diff. equations, real analysis, calculus on manifolds, and an assortment of other advanced undergraduate math topics under my belt, and I need to know if UW offers a rigorous enough curriculum to meet my level of mathematical maturity. Thanks in advance for any response!</p>
<p>Are you going to major in Math? The advisors there are very receptive and will respond to you email them at: <a href=“mailto:advising@math.washington.edu”>advising@math.washington.edu</a></p>
<p>I am taking a major in Math, but I’m not as good as you are. I feel that you will be able to find sufficient rigor to fulfill your interests, but perhaps my perspective is skewed by my relative weakness in Math. I’m doing it as a second to make me stronger at Economics.</p>
<p>I’m not very familiar with the math department post-introductory courses, but check out the course listing for an idea of what the Math department has to offer.</p>
<p>[url=<a href=“http://www.washington.edu/students/crscat/math.html]MATHEMATICS[/url”>MATHEMATICS]MATHEMATICS[/url</a>]</p>
<p>I agree with XaviFM - contact the advisors!</p>
<p>Thanks a lot guys! I had looked around the math department web page and couldn’t find any reliable contact e-mail, but the one Xavi provided should work. Also, yes I plan on majoring in math with a possible double major in physics just for the hell of it.</p>
<p>You have a lot of Math background for a freshmen. I think you have maybe a little more than half of what is required for a major (depending on which option).</p>
<p>A few topics that are left are listed in that link that was given above. If you find those classes to be too easy, you can take the graduate classes through permission of an instructor. You’ll probably have to show them that you are capable enough through taking a few courses here first. </p>
<p>There is also MATH 498 which is independent study or research that you can take through a faculty member. Here you get to study an advanced topic under your choosing.</p>
<p>Also take a look at the course offerings: [url=<a href=“http://www.washington.edu/students/crscat/math.html]MATHEMATICS[/url”>MATHEMATICS]MATHEMATICS[/url</a>]. Note that there is an honors math sequence, math 13x and math 33x, that covers many of the topics you have already studied, but in an accelerated, proof-based curriculum that is likely much more rigorous than what you covered in high school, and similar to what you would find in the required core coursework at Caltech or with the most advanced of the three math tracks at MIT, 18.014 Calculus with Theory. Most Caltech applicants have advanced math coursework under their belt, but almost no accepted students are placed out of the required intro coursework because it is so much more in depth than what high school students have studied, even if they have taken college math courses. Likewise, you could place out of many of the UW math courses, but if you haven’t had a rigorous, proof-based math curriculum, the UW honors calculus course series would provide a better foundation for higher math.</p>
<p>Here are the UW physics courses: [url=<a href=“http://www.washington.edu/students/crscat/phys.html]PHYSICS[/url”>PHYSICS]PHYSICS[/url</a>].</p>
<p>Harvey Mudd would be another school to check out for an advanced math/physics curriculum.</p>
<p>I think you’ll find that you will be well served by any of these four schools in terms of academic rigor if you choose the right classes, but check it out for yourself by comparing actual coursework at UW and the other schools: you can find detailed info on individual courses online by Googling the course name (e.g. math 134 at UW vs 18.014 Calculus with Theory at MIT) and finding the instructor’s course pages. Find the honors (x3x), upper division (300, 400), and graduate (500) UW courses and compare the curriculum, textbooks, homework, past exams, class sizes, etc, to the other schools. I think you will find that there are some hidden gems at UW that will save you a lot of money vs the private schools, but you need to draw you own conclusion.</p>
<p>If you do this research on UW courses, please share with us what you learn!</p>
<p>I have a friend who got his bachelor’s in math at uw. he really loved his experience. </p>
<p>This was over 10 years ago, so I don’t know how relevant it is now</p>
<p>@travelgirl: I’ll keep you posted.</p>
<p>@tri</p>
<p>Just to clarify, I didn’t learn most mathematics from my high school. I’m currently only a sophomore and the topics I studied were from MIT’s own OCW (for calculus and diff. equations) and (for the more advanced courses/topics) straight out of the texts used at CalTech and MIT. So my knowledge is indeed proof-based, rigorous, and in-depth. The reason I’m considering UW is because I’ll be applying to colleges this fall, in my junior year, and out of the universities I’m interested in UW is the most likely to accept me a year early.</p>
<p>@lsmajones: so you won’t have graduated?</p>
<p>Correct, I don’t plan on graduating from high school. UW, MIT, CalTech, Harvard, and most other big-name universities don’t require a diploma and openly admit juniors (and in two cases I know of personally my friends got into MIT and CalTech as sophomores).</p>
<p>You are quite right that UW and the other schools you mentioned do not require high school graduation. And you are definitely strong in math for a high school student, however, a couple of things to be aware of in your situation:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>You may need to demonstrate mastery of subjects you have self-studied, such as with the AP Calc exam or similar. See [Homeschool</a> Policies | University of Washington](<a href=“http://admit.washington.edu/Admission/Freshmen/Homeschool]Homeschool”>http://admit.washington.edu/Admission/Freshmen/Homeschool). And UW doesn’t offer math placement tests to place above calculus (AP calc BC will place into the third term of calculus), so you would have to negotiate this with math advising.</p></li>
<li><p>Colleges have high school academic distribution requirements, so if you are not finishing high school, you’ll still need to make sure you’ve covered high school coursework beyond just math. Writing skills in particular will be important for any college. See [College</a> Academic Distribution Requirements (CADR) | University of Washington](<a href=“http://admit.washington.edu/Admission/Freshmen/CADR]College”>http://admit.washington.edu/Admission/Freshmen/CADR).</p></li>
</ol>
<p>You may be able to get around these if you have demonstrated exceptional talent via published papers, International Olympiad, etc. UW has a program, the UW Academy, specifically for 10th graders entering early, and this program allows the early-entrance students to complete their CADRs after they have matriculated at UW, but I don’t know that this is possible in general admissions. It is past the deadline for UW Academy for this year (it is only for 10th graders).</p>
<p>I knew people went straight from HS to UW, but I thought you had to do their program and couldn’t go in between. That’s really cool though.</p>
<p>Thanks for the heads up about the CADR, I’ll probably have a little discussion with some UW advisors and admission officers to see about working around them. Also, I didn’t hear about the UW Academy until literally two days after the application deadline :/</p>
<p>I personally know some UW math majors, and trust me, you will get A LOT out of UW math. It’s not uncommon for very talented young people to take graduate level classes in their sophomore year. They usually do this by taking math 334/335/336 their freshman year. One guy in the program was a Putnam Fellow a couple years ago and then went to Berkeley for grad school, another went to Princeton for grad school, another went to MIT, etc. The professors I know from the department are also extremely helpful (including in terms of extra curricular pursuits if you are motivated), and my math major friend from Yale said he actually liked the UW math faculty better than the Yale faculty. So yes, I think the math program at UW is a good way to go</p>