<p>My D just wants to do math all day...What kind? Beats me. I don't know, understand, or like math. H and D can't get enough of it. QUESTION: What colleges should we look at for math where people are just loving the math and aren't all competitive about it. She is an excellent math student, but does not enjoy competition, as it takes the "fun" out of it. So, what we need is a FUN Math Major School. Not esp. a fun school, but fun in the math dept. She is more quirky than some, a bit of an alternative kind of kid. Plays drums, wears purple Cons, etc. Very liberal and into social action and community service as well. </p>
<p>Knox college - it specially sent me a letter proclaiming the uniqueness and “fun factor” of its Maths department. For more info, click [Knox</a> College Department of Mathematics](<a href=“http://math.knox.edu/]Knox”>http://math.knox.edu/)</p>
<p>I just looked at Knox. Thanks. Will pass it on to D that they claim their math is “fun”. It was not on her list because of the size. She wants her college to have more students than her high school. So, at least over 2,000 but not too huge either. I’d cap it at 15,000, but 5-10k is probably going to be best. She would like to be on the eastern seaboard, as well.</p>
<p>Try Bryn Mawr. b@r!um who often posts on the International Student Forum is/was there as a math major. I know it is a smaller place than your daughter is thinking of, but your description of her would be a decent fit. It definitely is a quirky place.</p>
<p>I believe they run the Budapest Semester in Math program. Also, they have a reputation for encouraging as many students to study math, not just the brightest.</p>
<p>Other schools worth checking out are Williams and Reed even though the latter has less than 2,000 students. Another school is Santa Clara in California.</p>
<p>Sounds like Mac would be right up her alley (or, right up her road-made-out-of-inverted-catenaries). Not only for the Math, but also for the “very liberal and into social action and community service” aspect as well.</p>
<p>Macalester is a first-rate liberal arts college (LAC) in St. Paul, MN. It is slightly less selective than some of its New England peers (Middlebury, Bowdoin, Wesleyan) but still attracts more than its share of top students. Math & CS is its largest department, even though it is probably best known for International Studies.</p>
<p>Oh, I should say too that Mac has slightly fewer than 2000 students. And it is not in the east. But, it is also one of the only top LACs that is inside a major city.</p>
<p>Thank you all so much. Now I feel we have a direction to set off in. From your posts, it looks like the “direction” may need to be encouraged into the Midwest and West to get the best fit, school, and math dept.</p>
<p>The Midwest does offer some great opportunities. See if you don’'t find schools that are slightly less selective, with more merit aid, and a more laid-back college atmosphere than some of their Eastern peers. Though there are good choices in many parts of the country.</p>
<p>DD2 was looking for quirky and will be a math major this coming year. She applied to Knox, Carleton, Lewis & Clark (Portland), Oberlin and Kenyon. She also liked Smith a great deal in Mass (loved their math web site too).</p>
<p>I would love it if she would apply to brown. She doesn’t really have the real stats to get in, but someone has to be in the bottom 25%, right. I am going to plan a visit.</p>