[Switching to a career in mathematics]

What five mathematics courses have you taken and how rigorous were they? If they were only calculus, intro to differential equations, intro to linear algebra, etc. then it may not be enough.

 

The "equivalent" of a math degree is tricky because every school has different requirements. Some schools only require students to have a background in real analysis and linear algebra. Some may require more, like complex analysis, numerical analysis, modern algebra, etc. It really depends on the program and you will have to look into that. Most programs have the requirements published on their websites, and you can also email the the program directors at the university. If you haven't taken rigorous courses in real analysis and linear algebra then I would start there. I don't think it is necessary for you to completely start over, but you should at least meet the requirements of the program you are applying to.

 

Another suggestion would be to contact professors at your university, particularly the professors in your specific area of interest, to see what courses they think are essential for graduate study in that field. They would be better able to tell you if you are prepared for graduate school, and if they don't think you are ready, they will be able to suggest a course of study to prepare you for graduate work.

[Disappointing first year in graduate school and now want to transfer]

I am a bit confused as to when you will finish your masters as the school year of 14-15 is pretty much over which means that you would need to find work in September anyway; otherwise if you mean that you will finish at the end of 15-16 this leaves you plenty of time to build a relationship with a professor and get a good letter.

 

Yea, if you've got another year, then you should definitely be able to get a strong letter from someone, as random_grad has said. And if you can't, then that's on you and it is not going to look good to other schools. You have about 4 months to get it together and work this out. Do whatever it is you need to do to get someone in your current department to write you a strong letter, one that ideally talks about research you have done, the skills and training you've acquired, and your potential to excel in a doctoral program where your research interests can be better supported and nurtured.

 

I will complete my masters after the 15-16 school year. 4 months isn't that long of a time, but I'll give it my best shot to get a strong letter from someone here.

 

 

I don't want to be harsh, but holding onto this idea that there's a perfect school out there that's just a transfer away where you'll have close friends / study buddies and supportive professors isn't realistic. 

I think the big question here is - is grad school right for you right now? 

 

This is good for me to hear - I need to know that my expectations at the beginning of the year regarding social life, friends, etc. were a bit a high and that they may not be met even if I do transfer to another university. Research is still the biggest reason for me wanting to transfer, but I still need to be cautious with everything.

 

That's the million dollar question right there. I really do want this, but I also need to sit down and do some serious soul searching.

 

---

 

Thank you all again. I needed some perspective on my situation and I'm really grateful that you all took the time to answer my questions and give some advice.

[Disappointing first year in graduate school and now want to transfer]

Thank you everyone for your replies, it means a lot to me.

 

It is generally better to have at least 1 reference from the latest school. Are you sure there is absolutely nobody there who could write you a strong letter? Perhaps you are forgetting someone because of the overall experience? Maybe from another department?

 

...

If I may comment in regards to seeing a therapist: it can make a huge difference. I ve heard people saying that sometimes you just don t connect but from what friends told me different therapists each have their own strength and it is totally worth it. Go see one sooner rather than later! Consider also reading this book: Mind over mood.

 

I don't think I can get a strong letter out of any professors here. There is one professor who could maybe write something like "She was in my class and did okay", but that is probably all. I have three exceptional letters from undergrad so I don't know if I should give one up for a mediocre letter. Should I try to send in four letters (three undergrad letters and an additional one from my current university)?

 

I am definitely going to look into a therapist, and thank you for the book recommendation.

 

In terms of socialising - maybe "bonding through studying" was an unrealistic expectation. In the romanticised world of academia then yes, you and other budding scholars would spend hours poring over the literature and engage in deep intellectual discussions, connecting through your shared appreciation of your field. In reality, what I've seem is that people in grad school usually bond over lunch/coffee/dinner. Or they go to the bar. Or they play some kind of sport with a gang of friends. In fact, most of the shared activities don't involve studying! 

 

Personally, I'd not necessarily be receptive to somebody I didn't know well asking me to form a study group with them. I guess it's a distrust that the relationship would be one-way (i.e., they're going to mooch homework answers of me). Other folk I know wouldn't always see that as a problem - but it might explain the resistance you encountered to the idea, and why other members of your cohort were perhaps more keen to study with the people they'd already established friendships with.

 

Also, don't limit yourself to just making friends in your cohort! Try to find friends outside of grad school through your hobbies/interests (Meetup has saved my (social) life in several countries over the years - I'd urge everybody to use it). There will certainly be university-wide clubs that you can join. 

 

For transferring: just be polite and diplomatic, talk about poor alignment of the school with your research interests, rather than the social environment. Thank everybody for their assistance.

 

I see your point on group studying, I hadn't really thought of that aspect before. I did go to barbecues, lunches, dinners, seminars, tea/coffee time, colloquia, etc. hosted by the department or other grad students but it may have not been enough. I haven't heard of Meetup before so I will look into that.

 

For transferring, you need to be a bit careful, as it's rarely a "transfer", and more of a "leave and re-apply elsewhere" situation. Chances are, you won't find a program that will allow you to get credit for much, if any, of the last years work and you need to be OK with that. Additionally, you will probably be spending at least another year either at your current school or working somewhere, since the next opening for applications will likely be Fall 2016. 

 

For your case, you have an easier time with leaving amicably- there aren't good matches for your developing research interests. You still need to decide how you want to go about leaving and applying elsewhere, however. The cleanest break would be to give notice at your current school and leave now, then find work for the next year while you apply again. Alternatively, if your current school offers a MS route, you could swap to that, finish the MS in the next year while applying elsewhere for a PhD. 

 

Less clean is applying (quietly, secretly) while staying at your current school. This has it's own hazards, as you really need letters of recommendation from your current school to move on. Especially since you're saying the reason you are leaving is changing interests, which means a new school will want to see that you've done well, and ideally hear from the school that they don't think your research interests match well. 

 

Going to another program for academic reasons is totally valid. But, as Eigen said, it's unlikely that you'll be able to count more than 2-4 courses that you've taken at your current institution. If there's a way for you to leave with a master's (MA/MS/MPhil) that might make your exit smoother. You really do need to find someone write you a rec letter otherwise people might assume that you're transferring for less than ideal/positive reasons.

 

Unfortunately I can't just quit the program and work. I live in family housing and my stipend is the only thing supporting my husband and I right now. My husband has been unemployed since we moved here. We are in a "bubble"; jobs are scarce and even with degrees you are competing with people with 20+ years experience. I've decided to stay at my university this next year because I will be able to finish my masters by the end of the school year. Having a masters will help me get through some programs a bit quicker (I have talked to other programs about this already), so that is a plus.

 

If were to get a letter from one of my professors here I think it would be very mediocre, nothing spectacular. Would a mediocre letter hurt my application?

[Disappointing first year in graduate school and now want to transfer]

I am writing this post to share some experiences of my first year of graduate school and see if anyone here has experienced similar things and/or if anyone here has advice. (I apologize that this is such a long post!)

 

I just finished my first year of graduate school in mathematics and...I feel very disappointed in my program. I was very excited to attend this university because the campus visit to this university blew all the other campus visits out of the water. I picked my university mostly because of the small department; it felt like a very collaborative and positive environment. However, once my first year started I realized that everything felt different.

 

First off, let me say that my program is out of state. I don't have any friends here. I am married so I do have my husband to talk to. I was expecting to have somewhat of a social life during graduate school. What I mean is that I would bond with other students in the program through studying. I have done a few summer programs in math/physics where I made friends with amazing people, and I was expecting graduate school to be the same thing. I have always heard that you make lifelong friendships with people in graduate school. Anyway, it wasn't the case. I didn't connect with anyone for most of my first semester. I was really struggling in one of my courses and was looking for people to study with, all the first years said "no" and when I asked a second years if they wanted to study together they said "Oh, we don't do that here." That took me a little bit by surprise. My officemate and I worked a little bit together when we were in the office together but that was all. I did eventually find a study buddy for my one difficult class (who is actually quitting the program), and my officemate and I are pretty close now, however out of several incoming students and several second year students (at least 30 people), I only made connections with two people. While I consider the two connections I made good friends, we don't talk to each other outside of school. Later during the year I found that everyone had formed their little cliques and would study together...so that made me very depressed because it wasn't that anyone didn't want to study in groups, it was that they didn't want to study in groups with me I thought perhaps maybe my social expectations of graduate school were too high, but other friends at other programs have informed me that they have made great relationships and have study groups often.

 

Another thing that was disappointing was that the positive environment wasn't so positive. During my campus visit I thought everyone was very friendly and everyone seemed to have positive vibes. The professors seemed very approachable. However, I have found that the graduate students and professors here are condescending and rude. Whenever I have small conversations with other graduate students, they always put down what I say and always feel the need to correct me. The program isn't competitive yet I feel everyone tries to compete with each other, even outside of math. Now I just keep to myself and don't talk much to others. Graduate students are always talking negatively about their students and the professors in the department. We have cubicles so everyone can hear everything. It's not a very happy environment and it is difficult to study in. The professors are not very approachable, which I'm not surprised by, but I have been yelled at several times to get out of the copy room or tea room or mail room because they think I am not a graduate student. I also feel like the professors here give me the cold shoulder - they are happy and laughing with their favorite students but as soon as I show up to office hours or want to ask a question their disposition completely changes and they shrug me off pretty quickly. I also felt that their favoritism came through in grading. I have also been worked to the bone as a TA with some professors. When I go to the department to complain I am being overworked, they say there is nothing they can do. That is also a turn off.

 

The biggest reason why I am transferring is because of my research interest. I am most interested in applied and computational mathematics, but the applied math group here is very small (5 people). I didn't think this would be a problem when I decided to attend here, but now that I have decided on my specific area of interest, all the applied professors have said they are not interested in that area. There are also not many courses here in applied math; other professors from other departments end up teaching them due to a lack of professors in applied math. I have found someone in another department that does research in my area of interest, but there would be a lot of hoops to go through and I am already turned off by the program anyway.

 

My mental health has also declined rapidly. I have a history of anxiety and depression and it has only worsened since starting graduate school. I knew I would be stressed with the workload, but the social aspects and other stresses have pushed me overboard on some days. In January I was in my office sobbing because I had realized I chose the wrong university. This decision constantly eats at me and I haven't been able to sleep. I dread going to campus and have no desire to study. I have seen a psychologist on campus, but they do not do counseling on campus (which I think is a little strange, do you?) so I have a referral to see an outside therapist. I still have not visited an outside therapist.

 

I have only shared my desire to transer with my two connections here and my husband. I have not told my advisor and I am worried that when I do transfer the whole situation will blow up in my face; I am worried I will burn many bridges with the university. 

 

So I have a couple of questions:

• Were my expectations of graduate school to high? Is there any hope that I will be able to find a graduate program that has a somewhat decent social environment?
• I am using letters of recommendation from my undergraduate university as I made no connection with any professors here to write a letter. Will the universities I apply to find this odd? I am worried that they will contact my university to ask about me, and then the department will find out and get mad at me.
• When is the right time to announce I am transferring? When I get accepted into another program?
• If you have seen a therapist/counselor/psychologist, do you feel like it has improved your mental state of well-being? I am battling with myself about seeing a therapist. I don't have anyone to talk to now so it seems nice, but I afraid they won't "get it" and it won't be helpful. It is also expensive even with health insurance and I do not have a car to get me there.

Any other advice is appreciated too. Thank you.

[Seeking Advice on Preparing for Mathematics Graduate Programs]

I'm a little surprised that you are considering taking Linear Algebra and Abstract Algebra at the same time. I think the norm is to take Linear Algebra first to develop some "math maturity" before moving on to Abstract Algebra. However, you have studied some algebra on your own so you may be fine. You can try taking them both at the same time and drop one of the courses if the course load is too much.

Some schools only require Analysis and Linear Algebra, some schools may require more. This is something you can look up online for each school you are interested in. You can also talk to your advisor(s) and see what they suggest. Since you are interested in applied math they may suggest developing a strong background in analysis.

Undergraduate research is very important. Of course it is not as rigorous as graduate level research, but any research experience is a good research experience. Grad programs like to see when applicants have done undergrad research and it will make your application stand out. It shows that you know the process and that you will be capable of doing it in the future.

Putnam score will be impressive (you can list it under an "Awards" section in your CV) but I doubt that will be more important than other components of your application (such as research experience, letters of recommendation, etc.). I think your undergrad research and coursework will be more important.

[Profile evaluation for mathematics PhD programs]

I think you have a great profile and have a great shot at getting into a graduate program. Here are some thoughts that came into my head:

 

Study hard for the subject GRE because your score will either help or hurt you.

 

You have already taken some graduate courses and so you will be prepared for the rigors of a graduate program. I have heard some schools like to see this so you may want to highlight/emphasize this in your application.

 

You should look at each individual school to see what undergraduate classes they require. Most require a course in linear algebra and real analysis (which you have done), but some schools require more so you may want to look into that.

 

Make sure to emphasize your project you are working on now in your statement of purpose, CV, etc. Programs like to see you have done something above and beyond course work.

 

Three letters of recommendation is the standard when it comes to graduate school applications. I think you should have at least two letters be from mathematics professors, the other can come from mathematics as well or another source. One of these letters should be from the person you are working with now.

 

I know you ordered your schools from top choice to bottom choice, but are there any schools on that list that are "safety" schools? That is, are you 100% certain that you will get accepted into any of these schools? If not, you should add a safety school to your list.

 

From personal experience, 10 schools is a lot to apply to. I also applied to 10 schools and it was financially, mentally, and emotionally draining. Looking back, I wish I had narrowed down my list more to schools that were closely aligned with my research interests. If you don't know your research interests that is fine, but I would encourage you to apply to a school that has diverse research interests. Unfortunately, I chose a program that doesn't have diverse research interests and my research area has changed... so I am reapplying again this fall.

 

Anyway, I think you have a great shot. Good luck to you.